Drinking wine should not be that serious
I may make some people mad with this one, but who cares.
When I approach a table or recommend a bottle to a friend, I always go into the conversation with the same goal: I want to find them something they will love. In my head, being a sommelier is a selfless act. You put aside all prejudices and opinions and focus on someone else’s palate.
That wine could be a $60 bottle or a $200 bottle. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is the experience. Did the wine satisfy their palate? Were they happy with their experience at the table? Did it elevate their dinner in a way that encouraged social connection and enhanced their food? Were they pleased enough to want to come back, or recommend it to a friend?
If so, I’ve done my job well.
Yet, it seems my way of thinking isn’t the only way of approaching wine with guests. Wine is pleasure, but it’s also a business. We have sales numbers to hit. We have rare allocated wines to procure to make our lists seem well established. We have reviewers and industry experts to prove ourselves to. Wine is wine, but a restaurant relies on revenue to provide a livelihood for its employees.
So of course, like any business, things can get competitive. Who can sell the most expensive bottle? Who knows the most about a region or (god help me) the soil of that single-vineyard cuvée?
I’m still new as a sommelier and I’m fully aware that my opinions will likely change on certain apsects of this job over the years. But as someone who has entered into a completely new industry with fresh eyes and new perspectives, I find there’s quite a bit of the “way things are done” that I don’t agree with. And I’m learning that that’s okay.
I used to be the kind of person who would follow the crowd, not rock the boat, keep going at things the way they are. But as I’ve gotten older and a little more confident in myself and my voice, I’ve found a sense of freedom to share what I think. I’m okay with questioning the status quo with a simple “but why?” Why are things done this way? Why do we have to follow this thought process that feels antiquated and exclusive?
These ways of thinking have created this divide between the “wine snobs” of the world and the average every day drinker. It’s the kind of thinking that creates two categories of people: the ones who are serious about wine, and the wines who are not. Personally, I don’t think these categories should exist at all.
Sure, you’re absolutely allowed to get nerdy about producers and soil and what have you. But you’re also allowed to simply enjoy wine for what it is. You’re allowed to share a bottle with friends that you picked out simply because the label was cool and still categorize yourself as a wine lover.
Wine is pleasure, history, culture, and connection. Everyone deserves to access these things. Everyone is entitled to like what they like and not be shamed for it. We can’t expect this business to continue to thrive if we aren’t inviting everyone to the table and handing them a glass. Wine has survived thousands of years because of all the ways it has been a way to connect others.
If there’s ever a subtle eye roll or a snobby comment or any other type of gesture you can think of that encourage exclusivity, I find myself rejecting it. If that makes me seem like an “unserious” sommelier, then so be it. I’d rather help you find cool wine then boast my own reputation. Because truthfully, I didn’t get into this business to be the best or gather fame in some way. I’ll never be the best. But I can ensure you, we can hang and drink a cool wine together. Probably something I bought for $25 because, like I will keep screaming into the void, good wine doesn’t aways equate to a high price tag.
Wine of the week
This week, a couple came into the restaurant with Pieropan La Rocca Soave Classico 2023, made with 100% Garganega in the Veneto and they gifted me a taste, and I LOVED it. I may have bugged my coworkers about getting it on our list it’s that good!
Tasting notes
Appearance: Clear, bright, lemon-yellow color, starting to age
Nose: Clean, evidence of oak, honey, dried apricots, butted popcorn, more evidence of age on the nose
Palate: Dry, high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, more of that honey and butted popcorn on the palate, very long finish.
Final conclusion
For a wine with such character on the nose (honey, apricots, butted popcorn—I could have kept going with the list!) there was a surprising vibrancy with the acidity on the palate that made it feel so unique.
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