W L W L INTERVIEW gaining experience working alongside other sommeliers or people involved in the wine trade is invaluable . The best training can often be training on the job ; so finding someone that can train you up on the job is equally as important . Obviously I can talk about my path to becoming a sommelier – a hospitality degree , invaluable work experience in a Michelin starred restaurant and I also had passed my WSET level 1 , 2 and 3 exams before I became the head sommelier at The Art School . But it doesn ’ t have to be this route . The more you do , the more you learn , the more passionate you are – the easier your journey will be . Doesn ’ t matter how you achieve this ; as long as you do .
What are the qualities that you believe make a good sommelier ? Firstly you have to possess an in depth knowledge about both the world of wine and , importantly , about all the wines on your wine list ( and then retain and put that knowledge to use ). Secondly you have to be open minded about customers , their choices and your recommendations to them ( appreciating that everyone ’ s pallet is different ). Thirdly attention to detail , in relation to everything you do , is vital . Fourthly you must build a rapport with individual diners , which will differ from diner to diner ( and never be pushy ). Fifthly , and finally , you must have the confidence to be able to share your own experiences , about different wines , with others . Never be afraid to do so .
What is the biggest faux pas you ’ ve ever made as a sommelier ? This isn ’ t a difficult one ! A while back I was attempting to serve a very well dressed lady with a glass of champagne at the dinner table in our restaurant . I was carrying the glass , full of champagne , to the table when I lost my balance and fell . Sadly none of the champagne stayed in the glass . Even worse was the fact that every last drop of it landed on the poor lady – hair , head , clothes ; the lot ! In my defence , I was heavily pregnant and it was one of my last shifts before going off on maternity leave . Balance was an issue ! Fortunately we managed , after the initial shock , to part on good terms ( with the dry cleaning bill and a heavily discounted dinner all sorted !).
Have you ever served anyone famous and , if so , who and what ? A few . The one that springs to mind was the actress Anna Friel . She came to dine in the restaurant with Sean Bean ’ s wife ( who was , sadly , minus her husband ). They both chose our tasting menu . With it they had our wine flight . Both said they were overwhelmed by the experience .
What would you say is the hardest food and wine match ? With a wine it has to be matching an orange wine with food - a style of white wine where the skin is left on the grape during production , producing tannins and leaving an often spicier and fuller white wine . Fortunately this is not an issue I have to deal with at the Art School due to the absence of such wines on our list . Were we to have any – it would be a hard match .
As to food , there is no food that , on its own , cannot be matched to a wine . There is always a match , there are often many matches , for all foods . The difficulty can sometimes come when you have a plate full of different foods , sauces , purees , accompaniments etc . and , therefore , a plate full of different flavours . So , for example , I have recently served our ‘ Fillet of Halibut with shaved fennel & crab salad , heritage tomatoes , smoked aubergine puree and an Oloroso sherry vinaigrette ’ with our Oliver Zeter , Sauvignon Fume Blanc from Pfalz in Germany ( 2017 ). The dish has so many flavours that you have to find something that will sit happily with all of them . This wine was able to do exactly that . It ’ s all about balance and opening your mind to choices that aren ’ t necessarily mainstream or obvious . Nothing is impossible . There is always a match out there somewhere .
What is the most annoying customer habit ? Adding lemonade to red wine . Criminal and outrageous in equal measure ! And , yes , it does happen .
What is the best wine you have ever drunk ? And why ? This year I had the opportunity to taste the 1990 vintage of Chateau Talbot ( from the Saint Julien appellation in Bordeaux ). It was wonderful . Despite its age it was fresh , pure and full of blackcurrant . To me it was heaven in a glass . This surpassed the previous best wine I had ever drunk which was the wonderful 1961 Chateau Musar from the Lebanon . I drank this blind a couple of years ago . It too was amazing – garnet in colour , light , yet fruity and so smooth . Sadly this has now been pushed into second place – but wonderful all the same .
What are you buying for your own personal consumption at the moment ? I am a very seasonal person when it comes to buying wine . As we are currently in the middle of the summer I am buying whites and roses . I can give mention , here , to two current favourites of mine . Firstly Lyme Bay ’ s ‘ Shoreline ’ from Devon ( a blend of bacchus , seyval blanc and pinot blanc ). It has great length and a great finish . The nose reminds me of a New Zealand sauvignon blanc ( tropical and aromatic ). The palette is dry , but with refreshing citrus and floral tones . Lovely – and very quaffable . The second is Aldi ’ s organic prosecco . It has great creaminess , giving it body and a complexity that you don ’ t always find in a prosecco .
If a customer complains that a wine is ‘ corked ’ or has a wine fault what do you do ( and if you don ’ t agree with them what do you do )? The first thing I do is to take the wine away and taste it myself . If the wine does have a wine fault the customer is immediately given the opportunity of a new bottle of the same wine or a bottle of something different . Conversely , if the wine does not , in my view , contain a fault then I would always explore and explain what the issue might be . A recent example here involved some diners that had visited us before and had ordered a bottle of English sparkling wine from our wine list . On returning to dine again they ordered the same wine , but this time maintained that it didn ’ t taste right . I took it away , but there was nothing wrong with it . The issue was that it was a different vintage of the same wine and tasted slightly different from the one they had previously consumed . This was explained – but with the caveat that I would be more than happy to open another bottle of the same wine , or that they could choose something entirely different from the wine list . This is always the bottom line – if the customer maintains there is something wrong with the wine and maintains that stance , despite any attempt by me to explain why the wine tastes as it does and that there is no fault with it , then they always get the opportunity of a fresh or different bottle . The other golden rule is that if a customer does not like a wine that I have personally recommended to them – they get that choice too . At the end of the day I want to ensure that everyone enjoys their dining experience with us . It should never be ruined by an issue over a bottle of wine !
How would you describe the wine list at The Art School ? Traditional in terms of the wines on offer ; but interspersed with some fabulous unusual wines and characters too . It is an exciting wine list that covers the wine world extremely well .
So there we are ! An interesting insight into the life of , into the career of and into the experiences of a sommelier . And for those of you who may be interested in learning a little bit more about wine , or perhaps in even becoming a sommelier yourself , Sarah herself offers the WSET Level 1 and Level 2 Awards in Wine . She runs the relevant courses from the Art School Restaurant in Liverpool . If you are interested , visit www . theartschoolrestaurant . co . uk ( and look under wine ) for more details of what is on offer in this regard .
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