What does a wine sommelier do?

Date: October 13, 2010

Philippines Wine Shop Clark Wine Center is pleased to share with you articles, news and information about wine, wine events, wine tasting and other topics related to wine and the appreciation of wine.

Ordering wine in a fine dining establishment can be an intimidating experience, but it doesn’t have to be. A good sommelier enjoys working with diners as they choose the correct wine for the food they’ll be eating. Sommeliers must also be knowledgeable about beers, ales, ciders and even after-dinner cigars. The sommelier must be familiar with both the restaurant’s menu and the selection of wines he has available in the wine cellar. He has a hand in compiling the wine list or perhaps puts it together alone. The sommelier must maintain the list’s integrity while providing variety between good, lower-cost varieties and higher-priced vintages. Choosing a house wine is one of the most crucial duties of a sommelier. The house wine must complement the cooking style of the restaurant and is the wine most commonly ordered by customers.

A good sommelier can take the customer far beyond the basic rules of red wine with red meat, white wine with fish and into another realm of dining nirvana. He knows about every wine in the cellar and every dish on the menu and understands when to choose a wine that complements the food and when to select one that will provide a contrast. Even diners who are familiar with wines can benefit from the expertise of the sommelier. Sommeliers enjoy talking about wine and like to hear about wines their customers have tried.

After the sommelier and the diners have selected the wine pairings for each course, the sommelier orders the bottles from the cellar. If necessary, he decants the wine. Decanting means pouring the wine from the bottle into another container for serving. It is usually required for red wines that have been aged more than 10 years. Decanting oxygenates the wine, a process that’s necessary to bring the wine to its full robust flavor. The sommelier brings the wine with its appropriate glass to the table. He pours a small amount for the host to sniff, sip and approve, telling her what she should be looking for as she samples the wine. This is when the sommelier gets to use those descriptive phrases such as “fresh and crispy notes” and “the combined aromas of blueberries, oak and the spice box.” Sometimes the guest will invite the sommelier to have a taste. The sommelier will repeat the process of pouring and describing for each course.

Source: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/food-careers/how-to-become-a-sommelier1.htm

Clark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices.  Today, this wine shop in Clark Philippines offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world.  As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years.  Clark Wine Center is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

Wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Alsace, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Argentina etc. are well represented in this Clark Wine Shop.

Buy wine in Subic and Tarlac, Philippines at good wine shops and boutique wine stores that offer good selection of good vintage wines at all price points. Wine lovers in Philippines can find good wines from major wine regions around the world in wine shops in Manila and Pampanga. Among the good selections of fine vintage wines from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria and other parts of Europe. Rare vintage wines from Vega Sicilia, Biondi Santi, Sassicaia as well as the Ice wine from Germany can be found in good wine shops around Manila. This makes it easy and convenient for wine lovers to buy wine in Manila. If you are thinking of buying wines to give as gift in the Philippines, then contact Yats Wine Cellars now because they offer special vintage wines suitable as gift at all price points. Since most of these wines are not available in Manila, these wine gifts are excellent choices for corporate gifts as well as wine gifts for personal and social purposes.

For more information, email Wine@Yats-International.com or visit http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com