The new sommelier wants to be your friend

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Uncorking for HPR Hawai'i Uncorked, A Celebration of Wines: The Best of Both Worlds, Old Wines and New A benefit for Hawai'i Public Radio Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sheraton Waikiki Hotel Grand tasting of 200 wines, food matching, silent auction, seminars, noon to 3 p.m.; live auction, 3-5 p.m. Twenty-one-vintage tasting with Michael Silacci, director of viticulture and enology for Opus One Vineyards, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (separate ticket price of $150 per person, limited to 35 people) $75; $65 for HPR members and American Express ticket purchasers Tickets: 955-8821; on the Web, hawaiipublicradio.org

The sommelier.

This is how many diners feel, and sommeliers know it. The best of them work hard to dispel the image of pretension, superciliousness and snobbery that surrounds their profession. Many have dispensed with the tuxedo, the sash and the tasting cup on a chain that were once the mark of their trade.

So let's start with the name. It's pronounced "saw-muh-lyay." But just say wine captain or wine steward.

The wine steward who comes to your table will probably ask if he or she can help, and ask about what you're planning to eat. The steward also will find a way to ask how much you plan to spend. You can answer in a dollar range, or, if that makes you self-conscious, many wine lists identify wines with a number that you can refer to, as in "I'd like something in the range of Number 26."

You'll probably also be asked whether you prefer red or white, light or robust, or the names of wines you like, as in pinot noir or cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, American or French. (That last option could be referred to as New World or Old World).

Always be as specific as you can in explaining your wishes. Feel free to ask questions. These people are there to make your dinner more enjoyable — they aren't there to judge you or to get you to spend more than you want to.

The sommelier knows the menu well and can suggest wines that enhance the food rather than conflict with it or overwhelm it. He can talk about the vintage, share information about the winemaker. He also often is responsible for selecting and buying the restaurant's wine, caring for its wine cellar, its physical environment, contents, storage and sales. In many cases, he provides wine training for the restaurant's waiters.

"There's definitely an advantage to working with a sommelier or wine steward," says Burke Owens, associate curator of wines at Copia, a cultural center for American wine, food and the arts in Napa, Calif. "If you're going to a restaurant with an extensive wine list, it's likely that many of the customers will not be very familiar with all the wines — part of the sommelier's job is to have an interesting list with wines of quality and character not usually available at smaller restaurants or a local store. So part of the job is explaining the wine list and helping the consumer make an appropriate choice."

How have they learned so much? Traditionally, the knowledge and care of fine wines were nurtured only by the rich and (often) titled, who sometimes collected wines and needed knowledgeable caretakers.

In today's world, however, wines and the subculture that accompanies them are accessible to anyone who's interested: Books and magazines specializing in wine are plentiful, wine societies offer specialized courses, and wine tastings and festivals abound, such as this weekend's Hawai'i Uncorked tasting, auction and seminar (see box).

Studying theory and reading about wine, however, goes only so far. Nothing compares to tasting thousands of wines and developing a palate sensitive enough to remember those tastes.

Working at a restaurant with a fine cellar usually has been a crucial professional step. Working for someone with expert knowledge also can be critical. "Mostly, you learn in an apprentice format, working for someone who knows much more," says Andrea Immer, master sommelier and dean of wine studies at the French Culinary Institute in New York and coordinator of the Kapalua Wine and Food Festival.

But no specific training or credential is required to call yourself a sommelier in the United States. Many sommeliers are self-taught — driven by a passion for wine and the challenges of making wonderful marriages of wine and food.

"In this country, you can be superb and not be credentialed," says Larry Stone, the widely respected sommelier at Rubicon in San Francisco who also has been an advisor to the Winter Wine Escape at the Mauna Kea Resort.

Even so, internationally recognized credentials do exist, primarily through two prestigious programs based in London: the Master of Wine degree and the Court of Master Sommeliers. Both demand successful completion of rigorous exams. And not many people are able to pass — there are at present 19 masters of wine in the United States and 51 master sommeliers. Hawai'i's Chuck Furuya is a master sommelier.

In January, the Culinary Institute of America, in the Napa Valley, initiated another professional wine studies program — one it hopes will raise the level of wine education in America and will provide another accreditation option.

"We saw this big gap out there," says Karen MacNeil, chairwoman of the institute's new program. "Restaurants in America have become so good and so polished, we realized being self-taught about wine and knowing more than any other waiter on the floor isn't good enough anymore. There is a legitimate body of knowledge a sommelier should reasonably be expected to possess."

These days, sommeliers are much less likely to be intimidating. Says Stone, "Thanks to the Court saying, 'Don't be a snob, be informative, help people find good matches for their taste, the menu and their budget,' there's a new generation of sommeliers."

"We really try to instill the idea that becoming a master sommelier is not a rite of godhood," says Fred Dame, worldwide president of the Court of Master Sommeliers. "The sommelier's primary responsibility is still to help someone have an incredible dining experience."

More and more restaurants are energetically finding ways to help customers decipher wine lists — at the best places and less expensive ones as well.

"Whether it's through good sommeliers or their wait staffs, restaurants have to provide more than minimal knowledge because the public demands it," says Stone. "Now, people are drinking pinot grigio, chardonnay, even riesling regularly. They're more diverse in their tastes, too. They've got it now, they know some good wines and they're ready to try other things. But they still need a little guidance."