One of my closest friends has worked in the food and wine industry since high school. She has seen all ranges across the “fancy” spectrum and has spent a lot of time learning the translations that she needs for understanding what people are actually asking for when they order wine. I asked her for a brief overview of how people order.
People most commonly order varietals or ask for something based on a region they like. The follow-up questions then has to be whatever they haven’t already answered – she said, “you have to ask follow-up questions to figure out what KIND of Bordeaux they usually drink since its frequently a blend or WHERE their favorite [sauvignon blanc] is from because one from Marlborough will be zesty and green versus an Italian one I'm working with right now is actually quite round and has a little bit of oak on it.”
The most common question she gets asked is if a wine is dry or not – “which for someone in wine,” she said, “is always a funny question because almost ALL wine is dry, with the exception of dessert wines that will typically be in a separate section of the menu.” Usually, people are trying to ask if a wine is fruity, but that can be hard because they can like a wine that is fruity if it is also well balanced. Ultimately, “it takes a lot of work and basically just knowing your list and how your wines measure up to others on the market.”
A final piece advice she gave is, “especially in high end restaurants where the staff really know their stuff, [it’s a mistake] to not give a price range up front when you ask for a suggestion. I really wont judge if your price range is under $100 or under $50 or whatever, I'm gonna help you find something great, but it's super helpful to have that jumping off point.
So cool to get an insider perspective on this from your friend! It actually reminded me of this HuffPost blogpost that I read a while ago that covers many of the tips that we've discussed in class:
ReplyDeleteNever order the second least expensive wine
If you're going to have at least three glasses of wine buy the bottle
and my personal favorite...
Never drink the house wine
Check out the post here for more details!
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-peterson/how-to-order-wine-at-a-restaurant-_b_9788624.html
Building on to your last point regarding price, even if the sommelier is not judging you, you may be on a date or in a group setting and concerned about how others will perceive your price selection. One trick I read is to communicate your price range to the sommelier is to point directly to a price on the wine list, and say "I'm considering a bottle like this." It seems like there is a unspoken understanding in the restaurant sommelier universe that this translates to "I'm willing to pay this much but I don't want to say it out loud".
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear if anyone has done/seen this done before!
What a great topic. Awesome to hear Lauren's friend's insider POV, and the HuffPost blog is definitely entertaining and informative.
ReplyDelete