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+--- Thread: Need info about wine! (/thread-18805.html)
- CatMan1075 - 03-13-2003
I need to find out everything there is to know about wine. I just got hired at a restruaunt that has over 100 different wines.
If someone could help please post a message.
Thanks
- Innkeeper - 03-13-2003
Hi Catman and welcome to the Wine Board. I'm moving your post to the Novice thread where you will get more help.
- stevebody - 03-14-2003
Cat,
Whew! RUN to your local Barnes & Noble or Borders and buy a copy of "Wine For Dummies". It's fun to read, amazingly informative and covers most every type of wine and region you'll ever need to know about.
After that, RUN to a good local wine shop and strike up a friendship with the clerk the other clerks go to with questions. Be prepared to spend some small $$$ on bottles and try them with a good friend, talking about what you're tasting in the wine and comparing notes with "WFD".
Next, GO to any and all tastings listed in your local newspaper. They're usually always free and you'll get to try a whole lot of different stuff for FREE! Ask questions. Keep your ears open and your mouth shut. Wine is a huge subject. There is no shortcut. Experience and a good "guru" will do it but it's gonna take a while. At the restaurant, remember NEVER to BS anyone about wine. There are a lot of folks out there who know their wine and your little white lie will instantly reveal you as a fake. If you don't know something, just say, "Gee, I don't know the answer but I'll go ask." Your honesty will be refreshing.
Good Luck! Visit this forum with specific questions. The folks who participate here are sharp, knowledgeable, and non-judgemental.
- Thomas - 03-14-2003
It's obvious that your restaurant boss (owner/manager) isn't training you, so maybe you can persuade he/she to split the cost of your search for wine knowledge.
Amazes me that so many restaurant people have yet to figure out that wine is a major profit center, and that a little investment in staff training might actually help the restaurant.
- CatMan1075 - 03-14-2003
Hey Foodie, I haven't even started at the restaruant yet...training starts on wednesday, I just wanted to get a head start if that's okay with you........
- Drew - 03-14-2003
Amazing...once again some numbskull gets offended by a matter of fact, non attacking, response.
Drew
- CatMan1075 - 03-14-2003
Hey Drew was your response meant for me or that other guy.
- winoweenie - 03-14-2003
It was obviously meant for the person who ended their post with " IF that's OK with you ". So many times when we give advice to novices they act like we're the dummies instead of their very-own-selves. We read what you post, give advice on what is posted, and have no way of knowing what is omitted. If you had said in your original post you were starting a job, was going into a training program in the future, and wanted a leg up the answers would have probably been slightly different. When you're looking for help, coyness isn't a plus. WW
- Thomas - 03-15-2003
Tell me Catman, which part of my post was aimed at offending you?
Along with being amazed by restaurant owners and managers who do not provide enough staff training, I am always amazed by people who can't read properly and who jump to conclusions.
- winedope1 - 03-16-2003
Catman- these folks are very knowledgeable but they need help with what you really need to know. In other words, they need specifics on what you are asking. If you can do that, they are much more than willing to help, but they gotta know what you need.
- stevebody - 03-17-2003
As a restauranteur, let me second Foodie's comment about profit centers EMPHATICALLY. I train my waiters to think the literal truth: a GOOD bottle of wine sold to a table is the equivalent of adding another plate to the bill. The wine will almost always be two or more times as expensive as an entree. Revenues will go up, as will YOUR TIP, based upon the percentage of the check. Add a couple of bottles to the bill and you can worry a lot less about turning the table for the evening. And the second and successive bottles are a LOT easier to sell because everyone is feeling better after the first and usually open-minded enough to be willing to try something else.
I know you're nervous (hence the comment that raised hackles) but betraying nerves to your customers will be the absolute death of your career in food service. RELAX. It ain't brain surgery. Try the wines, find the ones you like, talk with your chef about what foods they work well with, and worry about selling those first. The wine experience will come if you just keep at it.
- CatMan1075 - 03-18-2003
Thank you Stevebody....we start training tomorrow and I'm just a bit worried b/c I know almost everything about beer, but my wine knowledge is not as good. They are very strict on their wine knowledge and I was just inquiring on how to obtain this information. Your post earlier was a good idea and I will go to the wine store and become buddies with someone who works there.
I have also been looking on the internet but some of the wines on our wine list I cannot find...I don't know if I am looking in the right places or not.
- culinart - 03-18-2003
Catman,
isnt there a wine course you can take at your community college. I am thinking of taking one this fall, it's once a week and iss less than 400 dollars. You can take it on your day off and the knowledge you get from it will pay off in your job! No one likes a waiter who doesnt know too much about wine and is trying to sway you into buying one of the most expensive bottles in the house, however, if that same bottle was recommended by a waiter who knows "his stuff" (wine language), the customer may be more willing. In the Food and Beverage Industry, especially service, and especially where you work in a fine dining environment or where the business has a impressive selection of international wines, if u dont know your wines...u wont get that much respect from the customers and most likely not much respect from your Manager.
The suggestion of going to your local wine shop and befriending the clerks and other workers there is a great idea. When they are not busy there, they are more than willing to answer all the questions u have regarding wine. Its a boring job stocking the wine shelves, I am sure they would welcome the idea of talking wine with their customer.
I went into my local LCBO , looking for steve body's italian wine and one of the clerks overheard me asking another clerk about it (whom had no idea about the wine i was looking for) and jumped in to offer assistance. We chatted for almost 30 mins, i asked a few questions, learned more than i anticipated and although i didint come out with the wine that i wanted...i got more educated from it. Now can u imagine going there 2-3 times a week getting a wine bottle, along with having several questions to ask, what can come out of it by the weeks end? =)
And I believe restaurants dont invest in staff training is because of the huge profits from their wine inventory. As it was said, some wines are 2.5 times more expensive than the restaurants entree. Great wines demand great food, which in turn brings in customers with great wallets. The restauarant is always going to make huge profits from wine, it is not their responsibility to train staff about wines in general, maybe about the wines they have in stock but if u dont know your basics, then that is the waiters responsibility and they must find a way to educate themselves or pay to learn more about it. They can make very good money, if they cant/wont invest a little of it then why should your manager do the same. It's a 2-way street i believe. In my honest opinion, I think the restaurant should endure 50% of the total cost and hire a wine consultant to teach all their staff members and if a waiter is already educated about wine and wants to upgrade his knowledge, the restaurant should cover 70-80% of total cost. If they stop thinking in greedy terms (restaurants), they will find the investment will pay off , not only with knowledgeable staff but with a staff that stays with you for years upon years! Wow, I sure said alot...sorry for that =D
Good luck catman.
culi
[This message has been edited by culinart (edited 03-18-2003).]
- Thomas - 03-18-2003
culinart, most of what you said in your last paragraph is right-on. To add, I believe that a restaurant that is either unwilling or that lacks the vision to properly train its wait staff in wine is one where the staff will likely not be happy in the end. That kind of short-sightedness usually finds its way into other parts of how the business operates.
The fact that wine is a major profit center demands that restaurants pay attention to how the staff presents the product.
- winedope1 - 03-18-2003
very true. I cannot stand going to a restaurant where the staff is obviously not informed about the wines being offered. It is like not being informed about any other item on the menu. It is, in fact worse because as Foodie said, a major portion of the profits come from the wines served. Regardless of that, an uninformed staff member makes the place look bad.
- CatMan1075 - 03-20-2003
I agree with the comments about how uninformed some servers are, so that is why I am trying to learn as much as I can on my own. We just started training yesterday and haven't even gotten to the wine tasting yet..like I said before I'm just trying to get a leg up.....thanks for the advice