By Robert Seixas, ZAGAT.com staff editor
The stereotype of the haughty sommelier steering diners to super-expensive wines is as dusty as a 100-year-old bottle of Château Latour. Like the restaurant industry in general, sommeliers have shifted away from a fussy, formal approach. These days, they function more as consultants, sharing their knowledge with customers who are increasingly likely to know a thing or two about wines themselves. Yet dealing with a sommelier can still inspire a certain degree of anxiety – the fear that your palate or pocketbook simply won't measure up.
To get the view from the other side of the corkscrew, we spoke with three master sommeliers (only 74 people hold that title in North America): Roger Dagorn (of New York City's Chanterelle), Paul Roberts (wine director for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, including California's French Laundry and per se in New York) and William Sherer (of New York's Atelier). Their insights should prove enlightening whether you're a wine novice or know-it-all.
ZS: What's a diner's biggest fear when ordering wine?
Dagorn: "That they'll feel stupid or intimidated."
Sherer: "That the sommelier is going to talk them into trying a wine they may not want."
Roberts: "They worry 'have I gotten a good deal?'"
ZS: Do customers ever complain about the markup on wines, and how do you handle it?
Sherer: "I would apologize! On occasion, someone will comment. But we usually get people looking for fine, expensive wines, and they have an expectation that certain wines should live in certain price zones."
Dagorn: "Not often. People have to realize there are other expenses involved – salaries, money for linens. And there's a restaurant's profit margin of 30 percent."
Roberts: "A few complain and compare the prices to retail, but they should know they're paying for the whole experience. We would never get into having that kind of conversation with the customer at the table. We would somehow come across as rude."
ZS: Can you tell how much a customer knows about wine?
Sherer: "[Yes], by the way they talk about wine."
Dagorn: "No, it's not so easy. And people normally don't tout their level of knowledge."
ZS: What does it take to become a wine expert – can anyone learn, or does it require a superior palate?
Dagorn: "Anyone can train themselves. The education aspect is important before you train your palate – knowing where wines come from, the climatic condition of certain regions, etc. [Training] the palate comes next, and anyone can do that."
Sherer: "Curiosity. And the love of wine is necessary. Things you like come easily."
ZS: Have you ever been stumped by a customer's question?
Roberts: "Everybody forgets. I tell a customer that I'll look up the answer."
ZS: What happens if a customer says a $1,000 wine is flawed, but you disagree?
Sherer: "Very rarely happens. In the business, we say 'did you punch their card,' meaning, did you feel them out first. Maybe someone who's familiar with ripe, powerful Napa Valley–style Cabernets will be taken aback by a dry, earthy old Bordeaux. [But even] if I think the wine is sound, and the customer insists it isn't, I offer another similar wine – at no extra charge, of course."
ZS: What if a customer says he hates a bottle of wine – after drinking half of it?
Dagorn: "I'll offer something else. A good experience for a customer is most important. We want them to come back and feel good about the service."
ZS: What was your most embarrassing sommelier moment?
Sherer: "Once a captain poured port into a table's glasses already filled with a 1982 Bordeaux that today would be worth $1,500."
Dagorn: "I'll be having a conversation with someone at the table when I realize I'm pouring a red wine into someone's white wine glass. Which makes rosé."
Roberts: "I remember the first bottle I ever opened as a sommelier – I cut my finger and was bleeding all over the place. And my boss was watching me the whole time."
ZS: What customer behaviors annoy you?
Sherer: "When they immediately assume they can't trust me, that I'm here only to push wine sales."
Dagorn: "That they want to pour the wine themselves. I really don't understand why people [do that]. It's second nature to us, and that's what we do here – to know how to fill a glass appropriately, among other things."
Roberts: "Sometimes a guest dismisses you, and it kind of hurts – since you reach a [master level], you hope they respect you."
ZS: What wines currently offer some of the best value?
Dagorn: "Pinot Noir from New Zealand. And wines from the Southern Rhône and Languedoc-Roussillon."
Roberts: "Spain is on fire now [among inexpensive wines]. When you equate value with sheer top quality, I would say some Californian Syrahs."
Sherer: "Argentinean Malbecs. Moderately priced Austrian Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners."
ZS: What do you drink at home?
Dagorn: "Wine and lots of water."
Roberts: "A lot of beer. And Dolcettos, Barberas."
Sherer: "Everything. Beer, Burgundys and kirs."