the rules of sommelier

 For young sommeliers  looking to learn about wine are my principles. They are only personal. This article is the result of my previous experience and my foolishness. Like Confucius, wisdom is the result of experience, experience is the result of foolishness

Tools :

the winecellar

If in your new job , you don ' not have wine fridge to work : I advise you to leave this restaurant

, the owner does not like wine. A wine fridge is an evidence of the professionalism of the restaurant.

Your cellar must have air conditioning to provide a good service. When I worked in a burgundy for 1993, my client  refused " La Tâche " 1982. The wine wasn't good, I think was due to the cellar which  was not at the right temperature . In 1997 , when I worked for cellarmen in boulogne near to Paris . No store has never taken off. Because , the store was too hot ... Customers buying expensive wines stored in poor condition. These two examples are serious mismanagement . Never forgotten : the wine is money.

Decanter : In xich Lo, we have 8.

Glasses : for expensive wines do not hesitate to expensive glasses.

Wine packaging under nitrogen : it is for older vintages after  is an investment. If in the middle of the service in a rush you replace a bottle in bad conditions. Gas go out and it's expensive . For me, I 'm not a fan of this practice. You can left one week a  wine from organic farming and natural yeast .

The VacuVin: system with a pump that evacuates air from wine. wine from organic farming and vinified wiith natural yeasts can be opened for a week. I used VACUVIN for older vintages and classic wines.

Storage in fridges ;

always the same places , with names of wine on the fridge . Why not put the wines by region, cheap wines should be accecible (available). Expensive wines must be  in a wine fridge  closed . One mistake that is often non professional , put the new vintages before the old vintage  In a fridge of my last job, I found 15 bottles of wine with 5 different vintages of Ostertag (good winegrower from Alsace) .

The wine list :

My preference is to work with seventy references. Like that you can sell every  references, and you can change all the time your wine list. It is alive. 

This is not your money ,so you are responsible. You must know how do the coefficients,  In fact you are accountants.

My opinion for presentation of wine list, the best solution is to make two parts: white and red wines. Then the subparts with regions or countries. 

Prices 

I'm not a sommelier of money, my pleasure is not to sell the most expensive wine but people are happy with good value for money

When I worked at the Mediterranée restaurant in Paris , we sold Meursault Chassagnes between 70 and 90 euros for a ratio of 2.2, Cheap wine were between a ratio of 4 and 5  . One day a father and his son come to eat it was 8:30 p.m.  the restaurant was full,  I gave the last table near to the bar They sit and look at the list of wine. "Sir , for the Corton Charlemagne , there is an error, it is not 115 euros" «  Yes Mr. " "But 2004 is not good vintage «  « For me, you don't have good and bad vintage, but just bad or good winegrower" "Wine is not good then ? " «  No the wine is good; my boss want  to offer great wines at affordable prices " The Mr. took a bottle of Corton Charlemagne and the next day he returned , he took  again a second bottle. For the same wine in a star michelin of Paris, it was worth 165 euros . With this practice, you build customer loyalty.

For the wine list of a restaurant in Norway; it is important to have a good  wines on the wine list between  400 nok AND 600 nok wines . When you propose  wine at higher prices as 800 nok, It is important that this bottle is worth the price. 

I advise you to do ratios: 

- For bottle beetween 400 and 600; beetween 3.3 and 4

- Higher prices for bottle t 800 beetween 2.5 and 3

Sale: 

My rule:

 Never propose vintages when we do not know the quality of the wine. 

 Never propose expensive wines when we don't know.

 If you sell expensive wine, while the client did not want , the customer will be dissatisfied 

If you sell a classic wine, while the client wanted a spiritual wine, the customer will be disappointed 

If you sell a natural wine,  while the client wanted a classic wine, the customer will be dissatisfied

Stock management

Your wine should be in a wine cellar with a good temperature and good accessibility , you must control your inventory . My mother always told me , you should know what you have for a good management of stock. So a storage cellar by exemple : per country by color of wine  or region is essential. You should not look for what you want. You need to find quickly. The smartest storage cellar is like your wine list. This will make your monthly inventory fast . There are some years, I go for a long weekend of 4 days, at that time I was working in the restaurant la Mediterranée in Paris. I bought  Echezeaux , just before my holiday.  when i came back they were 4 bottles  missing Echezeaux

I have asked at mrs Jabouile the boss of this restaurant to give me the status of Echezeaux ’sale on the computer.

 I'll always remember this day and those eyes. " it is good Jean- Charles , and they were all sold this weekend . I saw in her eyes "  he knows his stock . In this restaurant, with this lady I learned to manage stock. stocks of expensive wine  were low , and I bought in small quantities several times. But the total by years of this kind of wine such as Meursault, Corton-Charlemagne or Chassagne were between  80 bottles and 120 bottles

Do you know many restaurants selling Chassagne Montrachet 120 in the year? No, not me either.

Then,It is important to order as little as possible in December to have a state of low stock for inventory.

In Norway , in my first initial inventory December restaurant lung stock status inventory was three times lower than the previous year. Norway to stock status and it is easier , you buy what you need , having agreements with importing wine.

When I ' arrives in a new place , I always look at the state of the stock of older vintages mostly white. If they are expensive , they are passed as  wine package (combinaison between food and wine)

 If they are dead, they must refer to your supervisor.

Having a healthy lifestyle: 

Alcoholism is our greatest enemy. I 'm trying to drink a glass of wine by a day. But I 'm forbid drinking  hard spirits which are often chemical for me. 

Sodas (coca cola etc….) standardize the taste and your memory.

You must eat fresh food and cooking to develop our tastes. When you cook, you must feel the food. 

I advise you not to smoke

Develop his taste: 

You make with friends  blind test with  infusions of verbena, lime and add organic jam and orange juice or lemon. 

Drink good tea, for me it is very similar  to the wine

My experiences

Knowledge Vitajuwel was a great turning point in my life. This tube consists of stone changes the water and wine , In Paris , water is not good,  this instrument revitalizes atoms and gives a taste  like a water from mountain. It is magical. For wine, vitajuwel is composed of rock crystal and amethyst. It also plays on the atoms of wine. If atoms have chemistry , chemistry will develop (you feel any advantage sulfur; yeasting the acidification ) . If the wine is natural , the wine opens .

I am accustomed to drinking water with vitajuwel , my palate is aware and does not miss any details.

 Jean-Charles Botte février 2014