08/28/09 - My life as a working Sommelier

The difficulty (ok, ONE of the difficulties) I face frequently at my "day" job is that I'm not the Somm of the restaurant, but I *am* a Somm. I often feel like I'm "stepping on toes" when I help out with wine for my fellow servers. It's not so much an issue when I'm starting a table for a server who just hasn't shown up for work yet. It's a whole different ball game when a table asks me to open some wine for them as I stroll past the table.

I got to the restaurant 2 and a half hours before my shift was scheduled to begin. I like to be early. I can fold my napkins, buff out my section, make everything pretty, all long before people arrive and stress time starts. I also don't mind taking the early table now and again ;) I started a table for another server, opened up some Shafer Merlot '04 for them, and passed the table on. It was one of two tables that I started at 4pm, the absolute beginning of dinner for our restaurant. The other table I kept.

A very nice couple in town for a mini-family reunion, flew down from Spokane, WA. (Mad props to Horizon Air for being the best damn airline around!) Merlot really is making a comeback folks. After a nice app of scallops and goat cheese stuffed figs with a couple of Goose Martinis, they decided wine was appropriate with the meal. I love tables that are engaging. I mean- I'm damn charming at the table, and I love it when people will joke back with me, talk about what they enjoy in food, and are willing to listen to recommendations and descriptions. I think my point is this- I'm a professional, I can make your dining experience thrilling, and it's joyous to me to be able to perform on point for you. We discussed seafood, and moved to the beef. They were considering some white, we moved into- you guessed it, Merlot. The '04 Twomey showed beautifully next to the ribeye *and* the shortribs, everybody happy :)

This shift was the beginning of a mini-competition between another server and myself. We have at the restaurant 22 labels on/off the list of current inventory 5 bottles or less. The other server and I are going to sell the rest of these bottles out in the next month, to see who can empty the bins *and* make the most money off the remaining bottles. The Twomey was the only bottle I counted for me last night- he moved a Rosenblum Syrah and a Girard Petite Sirah. He's up by $20 on me. I'll get it back soon. We still haven't determined the prize for the competition; I'm sure it'll be stellar since it's coming out of the loser's pocket.

I got home to another blind tasting- thanks baby! My logic on the wine in question was good, but I ruled out a crucial factor based on not tasting the acid enough. My initial conclusion was off by half the world (thinking OR PG, actually NZ SB), and as the wine warmed, it became much more obvious to me. The wine ('08 Nobilo Sauv Blanc, Marlborough NZ) never showed as much acid as I would have expected, but was much more typical of the style as it came up to the 40-45 degree range.

08/22/09 - My life as a working Sommelier

I spent much of the day outlining courses for future trainings. Once upon a time I had all this stuff outlined, .pdfs ready. Once upon a time I'd done all this before- the basic principles don't change. Sadly, it's been a number of years since I have done any professional wine training, and I've lost a computer, an external hard drive, and many many discs in the past two years. So, the day was spent planning out (from memory and resources I still have) classes for the service industry. I still have several classes to outline- not just for servers though. I also have several management classes, a few classes for consumers, and even a class for retail specific portions of the industry!

I've been so focused on Wine Wednesday in the Pearl events, on working at the Grill, and on developing client relationships that I've really dropped the ball on further web-site development over the last week or two.

The restaurant was full for the evening, but with 15 servers on the floor, it doesn't feel too slammed if your tables aren't needy. I had a two table section, so I moseyed around the floor at a quite leisurely pace. My own tables ordered some wine from me, unquestionably "ordered" wine. Well, the Columbia Crest Merlot and the Torii Mor Pinot were orders. The Elk Cove Rose of Pinot was my recommendation from our list of *2* roses. I was also able to get over to the bar and sell a bottle of BV Tapestry.
I actually quite enjoy having a slightly slower section, having the ability to roam the floor and help out selling wine. Naturally, if the restaurant offered a position as a steward or somm, I'd seriously consider it. That doesn't quite show signs of happening, but my manager did come to me the other day to ask my thoughts about supervising the floor once in a while...