6 bizarre things sommeliers experience
It’s always fun when sommeliers let the cat out of the bag about the funny and bizarre things they experience in their work. From remarkable guests to their own bloopers: these are the six most striking ones.
Erica Verweijen, sommelier Aan de Poel
“An arrogant Frenchman who wanted to do business with a group of Dutch people ordered a very expensive bottle of Lafite. He insisted on tasting the wine himself first. He thought the wine was good, so I poured it for the rest of the table. Everyone left it standing after one sip. Suddenly, he walked out the door while making a phone call, never to return, leaving his guests behind with that sky-high bill. Once everyone had left and I put my nose into one of the glasses, it turned out that the wine was heavily corked. Double bad luck for the poor man who had to pay the bill.”
Isabel van Bueren, sommelier HEMEL & AARDE
“One Saturday evening, I had four gentlemen at the table. They were already quite tipsy. They only ordered a main course and, with it, a bottle of Château Mouton Rothschild 2001, a very expensive Bordeaux wine. I repeated the wine order. “Yes, that one!” they said. I got the bottle, opened it and let them taste the wine first. “Approved, pour it.” I poured the first glass, and then one of the guests said, to my great surprise: “That one’s for you!” I poured the rest of the gentlemen a glass and, of course, toasted along as a thank-you!”
Randy Bouwer, sommelier Vigor
“I wanted to top up one of the finest (read: most expensive) red wines I have ever had the privilege of opening. But at that moment, the guest pulled his glass away, so at least two full sips ended up on the table beside the glass. I went even whiter than the tablecloth. The guest was also horrified, but fortunately took it well. A quick calculation showed that this blooper cost approximately 160 euros per spilled sip...”
Nabil Touires, sommelier Graham’s Kitchen
“A regular guest always brings his own exclusive wines. Once, he was deep in conversation, and I didn’t want to interrupt him, so I decided to taste the wine myself first. He always gave a 20-euro tip. At the end of this lunch, he went to settle the bill and gave me 15 euros: “Your tip is 5 euros less because you tasted my beautiful wines first,” he said. I found it very funny.”
Ruben Kwakman, sommelier Zarzo Eindhoven and wearesommos
“A sommelier pouring two wrong wines together. That’s truly very silly. But it happened to me. Fortunately, I was at a table with fellow sommeliers who were able to laugh about it.”
Charlotte Wagner, until recently sommelier at Moshik
“Very strange and also very endearing: a guest didn’t want the wine pairing, but did want to hear all my stories about the wines I wasn’t going to pour for him. It was very bizarre to explain a wine but not serve it; it went against my nature.”
Also read:
- Somm advice: your wine tastes a thousand times better in this
- Somm advice: drink this wine with your favorite Tony’s Chocolonely
- 7 sommelier secrets, part 1
