Too often people think of the sommelier as the protector of precious knowledge, a priest conducting a ritual with religious overtones.
“I prefer to think the successful sommelier instills trust in the customer by being authoritative but also friendly,” says Joseph Spellman.
Spellman, a 38-year-old Park Ridge native, just happens to be the lead sommelier at Charlie Trotter’s restaurant in Chicago and, since this past spring, one of only 78 master sommeliers in the world.
His job makes him shepherd to a flock of more than 25,000 wines and butler to a demanding collection of consumers with extremely varied attitudes toward wine. His new title gives him international visibility and heightens the expectation that he will be able to identify unlabeled wines with the speed and certainty of a Western gunslinger challenged to a duel.
Spellman ticks off four qualities he believes the would-be sommelier should possess: “physical agility, commitment to food and wine, desire to live an unusual life in terms of hours as well as career, and interest in people, places and products.
“It’s a role derived from the traditional English butler more than anything else. The modern sommelier is expected to have a thorough knowledge of food, wine, other beverages and, God help us, cigars.”
Spellman first became aware of wine as a boy at the family dinner table during holiday feasts. But he didn’t sample “serious” wine until, as a 21-year-old University of Chicago English major, he began to work in Mallory’s, a Hyde Park restaurant, and tried a great white Burgundy from Puligny Montrachet.
“That got me interested in more than the basics,” he recalls. “It was deep, earthy, sensuous and complex. Learning was a gradual process. I didn’t realize it but I had a good palate.”
Trade tastings, a course at the Chicago Wine School and reading added to his knowledge. He worked in a series of restaurants here with progressively sophisticated wine programs, worked on the retail side briefly and returned to prestige restaurants such as the short-lived Le Prince, the Pump Room and Latour in the Park Hyatt Hotel. In fall 1993 he joined Trotter’s operation.
Today, when not out among the customers, he is talking to suppliers and participating in tastings.
“I’ve just returned from an event in Canada and another in New York City that featured 1940s and ’50s Bordeaux in magnums and old Champagne–40 to 50 wines.”
But staff tasting also is crucial, he says. “We need the customer’s trust in wine advice from the sommelier to spill over to our servers. They must understand distinctions and be able to recommend favorites.”
Although he doesn’t work with food directly, he reviews the menu daily to be prepared to match it. When asked what his favorite wine and food matches are, he says: “Ribera del Duero red (Spanish) with roast lamb; Bandol rose (French) and Mediterranean vegetables; Champagne and sushi.”
The sommelier’s demeanor influences consumers, Spellman believes. “They look for confidence and verbal sharpness,” he says. “It’s helpful to be clear, direct, straightforward. Your tone of voice matters and so does the way you stand. Make eye contact, smile and be willing to listen.
“You have maybe five minutes total at table, so you have to communicate with more than words.”
A clear and up-to-date printed list is a sommelier’s most valuable prop, Spellman says, instead of the thick, intimidating, leather-bound wine list. In the same way, he prefers wearing a business suit to a tuxedo or uniform.
“Today the sommelier is a businessman,” he says, one who provides his clients with specialized information.
Despite industry expectations and traditions, Spellman doesn’t see the value in playing wine identification games. “Our skills are exaggerated in the wrong way by blind tasting competitions,” he says, “and the global merge of quality makes these distinctions more difficult. I’m not sure, tasting blind, I could tell a South African cabernet sauvignon from an Australian cabernet.
“It’s more important to be able to distinguish young from old, high acid from low acid, fruit from wood.”
“If you can distinguish good from not good, you are doing your job,” Spellman says.
There’s one question from customers, however, that can be difficult, even for a master sommelier: “How much does this wine cost?”
“I try to be frank about it,” Spellman says of the average bottle price of $60 at Charlie Trotter’s. “Most of our guests are upfront, too, and tell me, `I’d like something in this or that range.’
“If the first wine is rejected, I am more likely to go down in price than upsell. That helps build trust. Lucky for us, a lot of our guests want wine that is rare, old and expensive.”
A MAN WHO KNOWS HIS WINE OFFERS GUIDANCE
Q. What’s the best way to approach the wine list in a restaurant?
A. Begin with the menu. Decide what wines are appropriate to the food being ordered and to the style of the restaurant. I don’t order great white Burgundy in a trattoria, for example.
Then look at the list to discover if the type of wine you have chosen is available at a price that is comfortable. Scan the list to pick up names you have encountered. If a brand name or grape type is unfamiliar, ask for advice.
If the price per bottle seems high, or your companions cannot agree on a single wine, consider ordering wine by the glass.
Q. When is it proper to pour wine yourself in a restaurant?
A. Whenever it is on the table. As with the bread or the salt and pepper, if you need some and no server is at hand, do it yourself. If the wine is in an ice bucket, it is trickier to pour, and I would not get up to retrieve a bottle that’s been placed away from the table. If there is a sommelier, I would wait or ask for him.
Q. Does the sommelier expect a separate tip?
A. It is a nice gesture, but is done rarely and is not expected or required in American restaurants today. The sommelier is compensated by the management or the tip pool or both. But if exceptional service was provided, a tip is a way to express thanks for it.
Q. Should I bring my own wine to a restaurant?
A. It’s a very tricky thing. I’m all for it when the restaurant has a minimal selection of undistinguished wines. But if the restaurant is making an effort to provide wines commensurate with the style and quality of the food, I prefer to go with the program.
We allow customers to bring wines so long as they are not available on our list, and we charge a corkage fee of $25 per bottle. We feel that is justified by the care we show and the quality of our glassware and service.
Q. Suggest some intriguing wines you consider good values.
A. Argentina whites such as Torrentes from Santa Julia and reds from Chile such as Stone Lake Pinot Noir. Estate German riesling from Gunderloch (Rheinhessen) or Kunstler (Rheingau). Sauvignon blanc from California’s Sonoma or Lake Counties such as Geyser Peak or Guenoc.
