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Sommeliers On The Rise? Or Fall?

Posted on May 6th, 2009 9:42am by Nancy Nichols
Filed under Restaurant News, Wine & Spirits

The other night I had a long conversation with a smart wine person. He was disturbed by the loss of significant sommeliers (read: real) in upscale eateries. “Too many people just call themselves sommeliers,” said he who will remain nameless. “Most wine people in restaurants blabber about varietals. Anybody can read a book and recite the qualities. But they don’t know vintages and they haven’t tasted enough.”

I agreed. The poor economy has forced many local restaurants to eliminate even the marginal “sommeliers” from their payroll. Conversely, Pappas Bros. seems to keep piling them on. They have Barbara Werley, one of only 17 female Master Sommeliers in the world; Kim Wood, Advanced Sommelier; and Heather Greene, Certified Sommelier. Yesterday, teammate Jason Hisaw graduated to Advanced Sommelier status.

Hisaw, and 56 others, took the exam this past week in Anaheim, California. Only 27 passed. The Certified Wine Sommelier position is based on the Court of Master Sommeliers Worldwide and Certified Specialist of Wine according to The Society of Wine Educators.

Hey, Leslie “Catch A Falling Star” Brenner: perhaps you should ask Barbara Werley about Bordeaux. You Rhône Ranger, you.

10 Comments to “Sommeliers On The Rise? Or Fall?”

jane @ May 6th, 2009 at 10:13 am

I am all for sommeliers being trained properly. Not all of us can be wine experts, and I certainly do not want to feel ridiculed if I am unsure about my wine choices(of course, my husband is a chef, so I come armed) Most ’so called sommeliers’ are so arrogant that if I don’t have my husband with me, I just don’t order. Given the recent scathing review at the Old Warsaw, I am guessing their sommelier is lacking in said experience.

I took a class at Central Market with local Andrea Immer. She is one of (I think) the top female master sommeliers in the world. The comfort level I felt while talking to a true professional was great, and she didn’t make me feel like an idiot. THAT”S what a true sommelier should be like.
rascalndallas @ May 6th, 2009 at 10:20 am

I have dined, on numerous occasions, at amazing restaurants in the Dallas area (and who hasn’t?). When it comes to sommeliers, I have been most impressed with Kim, whom you mentioned above, and Paul, at Fearings. Both men are consumate professionals and passionate about their craft. After many years of dining out, I did not fully appreciate the value of a well-paired wine with my food, and now I do. I certainly hope that their positions at reputable restaurants remain… I would be lost without them.
Nancy Nichols @ May 6th, 2009 at 10:25 am

Is Paul still at Fearing’s??
rascalndallas @ May 6th, 2009 at 10:34 am

Yes, I just dined with him last Tuesday night… unless something has changed since then???!
cj @ May 6th, 2009 at 10:36 am

After reading that review of Old Warsaw, I’d be willing to bet that person is NOT a sommelier. That’s the problem. I’ll bet they’re all still reeling over there from that review!
N @ May 6th, 2009 at 10:48 am

In my wine experience, I’ve never been tacky enough to call myself the “sommelier” of a restaurant without the proper credentials, training and certification. Wine manager, maybe.

But you all point out an important detail: how the patron or customer is treated. I would never ridicule a guest, whether he or she only knew that red was a favorite OR that they didn’t like dry wines. My personal rule is: cater the wine selection to their tastes, preferences and budget. But the most important is their taste. That’s why I’d provide samples of a few wines to get a gauge of what they like and don’t like. From there, choosing something they will like gets easier. And if price didn’t fit their budget, I’d make the call to discount the wine that first time.

After all, why “settle” for a less-preferred wine because of price, when your goal is to make guests completely happy and satisfied of the whole experience?
Alfonso @ May 6th, 2009 at 3:09 pm

On the rise, definitely on the rise, from the historical perspective of the last 25 years or so. Without a doubt. Hard work, with terrible hours, in noisy, crowded, hot, dark places. These folks are doing it for love. Gotta hand it to all of them younguns’ and pro’s- Chapeau!
Curtis @ May 7th, 2009 at 12:32 am

@ NN
Paul Botamer is CERTAINLY still at Fearing’s, and will hopefully be there for a LONG time to come.
You must be thiking of their former maitre d’ Alex. He has been banished to Houston from what I understand. You might be confused as he refered to himself a “wine master.”
DeeLish @ May 10th, 2009 at 9:56 pm

Curtis,
Although I cannot deny anything Alex said to you personally, he WAS in pursuit of his Certified Sommelier designation. Plus his new post in Houston is a definite promotion for him.

It would certainly benefit a fine dining restaurant to hire a well trained sommelier. The training not only requires them to know an insurmountable amount of information, but understand and offer superb service. Many times an individual starts off a little cocky, but the training will soon put them in their place. The failure rate grows tremendously as they rise from Level 1, to Level 2 (Certified Sommelier) to Advanced Sommelier and ending with Master Sommelier.
DeeLish @ May 10th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

Oops. That usually isn’t considered a bad word. It was edited out automatically.