Sommelier Reveals Why You Should Send Back A Bottle Of Wine
Hearing this assertion from a sommelier and restaurateur invited skepticism, to put it mildly: "You can just send something back just because you don't like it?" he asked. "Are you ready to defend that?"
Well yes, with apologies to my bottle-slinging brethren, I am.
I'm not going to pretend I like the idea, or that it's something you should make a habit of doing, but sometimes there's a disconnect between what we tout and what you really want. And in the end, it's our job to get you what you want, plain and simple. Yes, it's an awkward transaction, just as it is awkward when you send back a dish you think is too salty or something. The difference is that the crestfallen, possibly hostile sommelier is standing right there before you, whereas the chef can call you every name in the book from behind the kitchen door.
So here's how it goes: The sommelier arrives at the table, proudly pours you a sip of whatever he or she recommended, and you taste it. It's not corked or anything, but you're not really feeling it. You can (politely) reject it. Speaking from a sommelier's perspective, you're probably wrong (oh, and by the way, the chef says the food is seasoned perfectly, thanks), but at this point any decent sommelier should be pro enough to mask his or her disappointment, irritation, whatever, and just make a new bottle happen. The same goes for temperature preferences or other service requests that may fly in the face of accepted sommelier wisdom. You want your white Burgundy brain-freezingly cold? You got it!
When I first started out in restaurants I'd argue with patrons over whether something was corked or faulty, and such interactions never worked out well. Despite the cults that have arisen around both chefs and sommeliers, ultimately our job is to serve, which means swallowing our pride once in a while. If you're wrong we'll sell it to someone else. If you're right, we'll eat the cost and move on (if we're on our game we can always bug our distributors for a credit on the faulty bottle).
But here's the thing. If you're able to use a few descriptive adjectives to help your wine-server out a little bit, and if said server doesn't have some kind of righteous wine-geek agenda, you shouldn't really encounter many of these situations.
My goal as a sommelier is to make people happy with their wine choices, to have them think me a hero for having elevated their meal through my stellar beverage choices. But hey, sometimes things don't work out, and it's my job to get over it and get you a new bottle of something you will enjoy.
Even if you're wrong.
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