It's been bugging me...a mini rant

So something's been bugging me and I guess this is sort of just catharsis.

A few weeks back, while in Las Vegas with a group of friends from across the country, we dined at Tom Colicchio's CraftSteak. Since my wine knowledge runs deeper than anyone else in our group it was put on me to order a bottle of wine.

Now, it should be said that this wine list is impressive, great bottlings by amazing producers, from every great wine region of the world. Of course, this being Las Vegas the prices were reaching the absurd. Given that most of the group of 5 really wouldn't want to spend the $200-$300 or so which a majority of the list was priced at, I had narrowed my selections down to two bottles in the $120 per bottle range. One an Alexander Valley Cabernet, the other a South African Cabernet.

Now that I have found a few selesctions to meet my friends budget, it was time to talk to the sommelier to make sure the wines were of the style that I was looking for. I explained to the young (maybe 25 years old, maybe) man who approached the table that I was NOT interested in the typical, over-extracted, high alchohol, jam bomb that is so common in wines today. I wanted a balanced wine. One that's neither too lean, nor too fruity. Something with good acid and tannins, but not overpowering ones. I'd also like to keep my cost in the $120- $140 per bottle range.

So, after some discussion about my selections and a few others I ended up choosing one of his reccomendations, a 2004 Napa Cabernet. The main reasons I chose this specific wine is because of his description of the balance, particularly when it came to the fruit not being over extracted.

He arrived at the table with the bottle and presented it to me. The producer and vintage were correct. Here's where I made a mistake. Not ever having had this wine before, I completely put my trust in this man. I should have inspected the lable of what was really an unknown wine (to me at least) more closely. He opened the wine, presented me the cork, which looked fine, and poured the wine for me to taste. I swirled for a second and put my nose into the glass. It became immediately apparent that there was nothing wrong with the nose of this wine, but the aroma was really fruit forward. OK, maybe the taste will show more balance. Sadly it did not. This wine was pretty much exactly what I told this guy I didn't want, a super extracted jam bomb. The only thing was, I selected it and there was nothing at all wrong with the bottle. I've always been of the belief that simply not liking a wine is no reason to return it, if there is nothing technichally wrong with it.

I nodded, said it was fine and that was that. Once the young sommelier left the table I lifted the bottle and looked for the alcohol percentage which clocked in at a hearty 14.8.

I really feel like he was just trying to clear a wine out on me. Like I'd been sold the bag off goods. Kind of angry really.

So what would you have done? I'm curious. Like I said, ultimately I made the choice so I decided to live with it, but this guy obviously either wasn't listening to what I said, didn't care what I was saying, or sold me a wine which he had no knowledge of. In any of the above cases I, as the customer, felt let down.

The good new is, my friends were happy with the wine.

I ended up choosing one of his recommendations

Your request for help seem rather clear and his fruit bomb recommendation was wrong for you but ultimately, clearly right for the group...

Tough place.... I'd give my pour to someone else and order a beer.... The Real question is why were you not at Lotus of Siam?

I would have felt well within my rights to state that the wine was exactly what I was not looking for, and either select the wine I originally thought would be best before the incorrect recommendation or suggest that perhaps the sommelier would like to recommend another with this new data point freshly in mind. I wouldn't have given a second thought to the first bottle, which would likely be sold by the glass and still make a tidy profit for the restaurant.

Since your group enjoyed the wine, I probably would have said nothing. But, given the specific cirucmstances of the recommendation, I think you would have been completely justified in politely sending it back and asking for another recommendation/bottle.

=R=

I would have either said nothing because I didn't want my friends to feel uncomfortable or said something to the sommelier, though perhaps added that we were happy to keep the bottle. It really depends on who you are with. In some cases, it would be worse to make your friends feel uncomfortable than to just drink the wine. But, if that isn't an issue, there isn't anything wrong with letting the sommelier know. Obviously it doesn't have to be a confrontational situation. It could still be a nice bottle, yet exactly what you were asking to avoid.

You could also take comfort that I think Tom C. would want you to speak up.

I agree w/ not sending the wine back when there is technically nothing wrong with it. I would have surely said something though, and it could have been done off to the side if you felt uncomfortable in front of your friends. This way you let him know that his recomendation was way off, and while not expecting to have the bottle taken back it is in the restaurant's hands. I would think they would have at least offered an app or desert on the house at minimum.

Jeff

When a sommelier makes a recommendation and that recommendation is contrary to what you asked for upon opening the wine then you should send it back. By the way, age isn't necessarily a good test of how knowledgeable a sommelier is. I know a bunch who are under 30 and will knock your socks off, but the dedication that requires is intense.

JLenart wrote:I explained to the young (maybe 25 years old, maybe) man who approached the table that I was NOT interested in the typical, over-extracted, high alchohol, jam bomb that is so common in wines today. I wanted a balanced wine. One that's neither too lean, nor too fruity. Something with good acid and tannins, but not overpowering ones.

One thing not mentioned is that maybe, to the sommelier's palate, that 14.8% alcohol wine WAS balanced...in which case he met your requirements.

You were in a tough position. I suppose that in the future, you could tell the sommelier the traits in a wine that make it balanced to YOU, then let the sommelier find something that meets your requirements -- and inform you if (s)he has nothing that does. In that case, if (s)he brought out something that didn't meet your requirements, shame on them, and the restuarant eats the cost of the bottle if it's opened prior to your inspection.

Thanks for all the replies. As many of you have mentioned returning the bottle would most definately made my friends uncomfortable.

As someone mentioned, perhaps I should have mentioned, in a non confrontational way, my problem to the sommelier away from the table. I guess my friends' feelings about the wine kept me from doing so.

One of my pet peeves about restaurants, particularly those with such an extensive wine program, is wine service that is lacking. Uneducated advise is amoung the areas that lack (Improper glassware, inaccurate vintages printed on the wine list, and wines served at the wrong temperature are some others).

Also his age really wasn't an issue, and why I posted it the way I did is beyond me. Clearly a 25 year old can make an excellent sommelier.
Like I said in my OP, maybe this was all just catharsis but I really appreciate all of your input.

Mark, thanks for your input, and sure palates vary, I can appreciate that, but I think the highlighted portion of my original quote describes quite well what I think of as balanced. Perhaps I need to communicate this more clearly in similiar situations in the future. But I definately don't have any desire to get into a wine geekish technichal description of a iwn while enjoying a nice dinner with friends. Can you just imagine it?: "I'd like a wine that was harvested no higher than 23 brix, with an alchohol content below 14%..." and so on...

Even if you chalk this up to "palates differ" or "interpretation of balance differ", it would still use useful to the sommelier to know that his recommendation was - for whatever reason - not what you had in mind.

JLenart wrote:One that's neither too lean, nor too fruity. Something with good acid and tannins, but not overpowering ones.

Mark, thanks for your input, and sure palates vary, I can appreciate that, but I think the highlighted portion of my original quote describes quite well what I think of as balanced. Perhaps I need to communicate this more clearly in similiar situations in the future. But I definately don't have any desire to get into a wine geekish technichal description of a iwn while enjoying a nice dinner with friends. Can you just imagine it?: "I'd like a wine that was harvested no higher than 23 brix, with an alchohol content below 14%..." and so on...

Yes, but...perhaps the sommelier chose a wine that he felt was "neither too lean, nor too fruity. Something with good acid and tannins, but not overpowering ones". This is the issue with requesting a style of wine using subjective terms.

As much as going the geek route is offputting to you, telling the sommelier that you prefer wines under 14% alcohol, and giving them examples of wines that TO YOU aren't too lean or fruity, with good acidity and tannins, but not overpowering tannins, would be an immense help to the sommelier...

So you're saying it was my fault I got a wine that was different from what I wanted?

No, he's saying that it's entirely possible that the sommelier was perfectly knowledgeable about wine in general, and knew this particular wine spectacularly, and that he believed that it met all of the criteria you set forth. This is possible because the criteria you set forth were all subjective. If you'd requested something with less than 14% alcohol, or said "similar to X, Y & Z" after your subjective description, you might have been on better footing because palates can vary drastically.

Out of curiosity, outside of dessert wine when has a wine approaching 15% ever been balanced?

jpschust wrote:Out of curiosity, outside of dessert wine when has a wine approaching 15% ever been balanced?

First off, a "balanced wine" is a totally subjective concept....

For me, I've had plenty of CnP's that I felt were in balance and happened to have ETOH levels around or over 15%
Not my day to day preference (I hate to stagger away from the dinner table...) but IMHO balanced... YMMV

Most of the sweet wines I've had have way less then 15% ETOH, some do not even qualify as "wine" the alcohol is too low...

You must be talking about port and other fortified wines?

I agree, returning the bottle would have taken a group of friends enjoying themselves into a possibly uncomfortable situation that could kill the mood. However, the only way a restaurant can improve itself is to be made aware of problems it might want to address. Listening skills are more difficult to teach than one might think. I would email the restaurant a polite rendition of why this incident bothered you. All good companies want feedback, even if it is not to their liking, so they can improve. If the boss, or someone in management cares about the company, you will get an email back telling you how they are addressing the issue, and thanking you.

[quote="jpschust"]Out of curiosity, outside of dessert wine when has a wine approaching 15% ever been balanced?[/quote]

Dessert wine is generally low in alcohol as there is quite a bit of residual sugar which has not been fermented. German TBA's often weigh in around 7% (or less). I've had quite a few high alcohol zins that didn't seem terribly unbalanced (although I have a strong dislike for Turley).

While I would generally never return a bottle that I ordered unless it was "defective", I have returned a wine that was suggested by the sommelier as a replacement for a bottle that they were out of once. I wanted a Ridge Lytton Springs Zin and I got something that was unbalanced, jammy, undrinkable and completely the opposite of the Ridge.

Someday I will learn to use the quote feature.