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From the olden days, when a saumalier managed the pack animals for French lords, to the present, when the sommelier often acts as wine salesman, manager, food runner, busser, waiter, and more, the occupation has been constantly evolving.
A sommelier’s role is not simply to serve wine in a vacuum but to maintain the table. If a guest at the table asks the sommelier about the menu, one needs to describe it accurately. If the table requires water, the sommelier should pour it. If the kitchen needs help running food, if the host needs help seating guests, if the back-waiters need help clearing a course… if the sommelier has time, they should be on hand. Today’s sommelier needs to be intimately connected to the dining room, and he or she must demonstrate mastery over all aspects of food and wine service. In addition, guests expect today’s sommeliers to have a grasp on a larger number of the world’s wines than ever before, to speak in volumes about vintages and producers, and to make the steps of service appear effortless. In a great restaurant, where an elaborate meal may develop across many courses, the choreography of wine and food service resembles an art form. Amidst all of this movement and bustle, the shouting from the kitchen, and the pressure to sell, the real goal—happy, contented guests—is sometimes forgotten.
Ultimately, a restaurant is selling an experience, not a plate of food or a bottle of wine. The sommelier’s job is to balance their role as a salesman with the satisfaction of the guest. But we are salespeople: restaurant owners do not employ sommeliers to ruminate poetically on our favorites; they employ us to run profitable