Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Sokolov on sommeliers—And a blogocontroversy update

Raymond Sokolov in today's WSJ (sub. req'd):

Speaking for an increasingly beleaguered group not represented at the bargaining table (namely the folks who sit at restaurant tables and pay the outrageous tabs), I say "Down with sommeliers!" They are part of an insufferable tradition of pretentious overstaffing in luxury restaurants, which only adds to the expense, not the enjoyment of a meal. Oh yes, there are exceptions, serious experts who really do help you through the pages of a wine list filled with unfamiliar labels and lead you to a few sleepers of value amid the $500 bottles of old treasures. But for most people hoping to find a bottle, any bottle not shamelessly pegged at triple the retail price, the sommelier is just another marketing hurdle in the way of sensible dining out.

Amen, brother. Restaurant wine service in this country stinks, with few exceptions. Red wines too warm, white wines too cold. Tiny glasses. Waiters who refill your glass (to the top) without asking. Gouging price markups. Outrageous corkage fees. And pretentious twits with a tastevin. UPDATE: The Cogitator writes:

Wine is overpriced in restaurants. It is served to American standards in America (ice cold whites, overfull glasses - larger than life, red served in tiny narrow glasses). In less than the finest establishments the wine list is less than stellar. None of this is news. When it comes to wine in restaurants, you get what you pay for, and the best wines and wine service are almost universally found at the restaurants serving the best food. And this is the way it is the world over. So in short, I don't really see what the good professor is complaining about, you have to set your expectations for wine service at the level of the restaurant you are visiting. Sounds like a case of 'sour grapes' to me

Sounds like defeatism to me. Why do we put up with it? Wine drinkers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your liver! Find the restaurants in your locale that have the best wine service and patronize them. If you encounter lousy wine service, politely let the management know why you were disappointed. Sure you'll come off as a pretentious wine snob, but so what? Embrace your inner snob. On a serious note, there was a very helpful arti le in the LA Times recently, which claims:

Happily, a number of restaurants offer well-selected wines that are terrific with ... ethnic and other favorites. There are even bargain lists at steakhouses and French restaurants. The trick is knowing where to find them.

The article then lists a number of such places in LA. I look forward to the day when the Times moves this article to its pay-only site, so that only those of us who had the good sense to download a copy will know where to look. In your locale, once you find such places, keep going back. And spread the word just enough to keep them in business, without making it impossible to get a reservation. (Jeez, my inner economist is coming out in spades right now.) UPDATE2: By the by, I own the Bernstein book and recommend it strongly. Be warned, however, it is not a serious guide to either wine or even wine snobbery. Instead, it is humor (sort of like the Official Preppy Handbook, if your memory goes back that far). Having said that, the humor works because Bernstein really is quite knowledgeable.