| I'm sick and tired of getting crappy wine | | | | might not be much), and they will sell it, whether |
| recommendations from servers. | | | | or not you want it. |
| On a special occasion, prior to becoming a | | | | Secondly, they are influenced by rewards. At any |
| sommelier, I went out to dinner at a well rated, | | | | given moment, there are competitions, |
| gourmet, vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco. | | | | giveaways, and cold hard cash given to servers |
| At the time I was living in Reno, Nevada where | | | | who sell specific wines. For instance, my work is |
| vegetarian food was a myth, so this was a | | | | giving away a trip to New York City and |
| special night out. I didn't recognize anything on the | | | | backstage concert passes to the waiter who sells |
| wine list so I asked our server for a "fun fruit | | | | the most of a major wine brand. |
| forward white" to pair with our appetizers. Out | | | | Lastly, servers don't have the power to take a |
| came a bottle of very acidic French wine (a | | | | wine back. If a guest doesn't like the wine, they |
| varietal I'd never heard of) that tasted very little | | | | should be able to return it. But for a sommelier, it |
| like fruit and much more of chalky mineral water. | | | | is about building long term guest relationships, take |
| We drank the bottle and didn't appreciate it; too | | | | a loss now, for a win later. |
| embarrassed to send it back. I wish I knew then, | | | | So next time you're out and uncertain about what |
| what I know now. | | | | to drink, do yourself a favor and ask for a |
| Firstly, the waiter doesn't know the whole wine | | | | sommelier. |
| list. They like what they like (or know, which | | | | |