tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post7180287859067260123..comments2024-03-22T00:35:12.415-07:00Comments on HoseMaster of Wine™: Actual Secrets of a SommelierRon Washam, HMWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-58255822168244211382012-03-05T17:48:23.067-08:002012-03-05T17:48:23.067-08:00Hose Master, you sound like Glenn Beck. You'r...Hose Master, you sound like Glenn Beck. You're spouting over-the-top gross generalizations, one after the other. Get some help.Patricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-67069202730510006082012-02-27T09:29:58.373-08:002012-02-27T09:29:58.373-08:00There are good sommeliers out there that are in th...There are good sommeliers out there that are in the business because they love wine and want to share that love with other people and aren't looking to rip people off. It's too bad you've never encountered one and apparently weren't that type when you were one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-68434590847862256642012-02-27T09:03:44.579-08:002012-02-27T09:03:44.579-08:00Marc,
Thanks for the show of support. As the job ...Marc,<br /><br />Thanks for the show of support. As the job of sommelier becomes more of an avocation, that can only spell bad news for wine consumers in restaurants. When I started as a somm in 1987, in the entire city of LA I think there were only 6 of us that did the job exclusively (that is, we weren't actually a dining room manager, we were sommeliers). We were vestigial organs even then. I have no idea how many there are now, since I live in Sonoma. But in SF, wow, there are more sommeliers than there are dentists--and I think I dread them more too.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-37666694919429860722012-02-27T08:46:05.778-08:002012-02-27T08:46:05.778-08:00As a supposed wine professional, a major wine buye...As a supposed wine professional, a major wine buyer for a large retail chain, a former sommelier at a very nice french bistro, a graduate of the advanced WSET program (and if I donate my kidney and sell my children to medical science to free up time and budget, I will enter the diploma program) and have seen the costs from vine to glass, I can say you are dead on correct. Wine lists, prices and supposed professionals are a joke. The margins at restaurants are disgusting and the growth of BYOBs and entertaining at home can be attributed to the greed. There was a time when it was reasonable, but I found before I left Hospitality for other parts of the business that they were covering food cost issues with liquor and those mark ups got worse and worse. People often ask me for a suggestion when I'm out, because I'm supposed to know, but what I often know is the real cost and I lose my appetite.Marc the Wine Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09049240586744368350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-22216414672544665302012-02-26T21:49:51.849-08:002012-02-26T21:49:51.849-08:00The top 10 lists were much better. Should have st...The top 10 lists were much better. Should have stoppe while you had a , oops, I mean, while you were still, a head.<br /><br />Man about wine, DRMan About Winehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06184906755226888130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-9791446188605536882012-02-22T09:02:59.185-08:002012-02-22T09:02:59.185-08:00Marcia,
Long ago I learned from Tom Wark that the...Marcia,<br /><br />Long ago I learned from Tom Wark that the way to get more hits was to have titles that would come up in Google searches, so when I finished this admittedly stupid post, I ripped off the title from Raj Parr. Seems to have worked. <br /><br />John,<br /><br />You're talking a different post altogether--you're thinking of the MW exams, most of which involve stirrups. I just may get to them in a later post. "Weak?" Yeah. You're right. Maybe it's time to walk away again.<br /><br />SubHumanWino,<br /><br />Sommeliers are used to being observed in the wild, sort of like Dian Fossey's mountain gorillas. They nonchalant it when observers are around, but once you're gone the mating rituals commence. Sadly, due to deforestation and the fact that the Chinese value their horns, sommeliers are quickly vanishing from the wild. Soon the only ones left will be in zoos, like New York and Las Vegas.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-35227790682077750212012-02-22T08:33:43.273-08:002012-02-22T08:33:43.273-08:00Wow! This is like reading a Karl Lagerfeld intervi...Wow! This is like reading a Karl Lagerfeld interview.....Mockingbirdhttp://mockingsommscriticsotherwineblogs.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-42291470487315703622012-02-21T19:15:57.477-08:002012-02-21T19:15:57.477-08:00i like to sit in a tree-stand at a Monday-morning,...i like to sit in a tree-stand at a Monday-morning, industry-only tasting group to observe sommeliers in their natural habitat. Taciturn, yet jejune.<br /><br />I make sure to bathe my hipster camouflage in a mixture of Vin Jaune and Gaulouises so they don't detect my presence with their hyper-sensitive nostrils.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11188665746443591632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-52531862721517891542012-02-21T17:56:23.397-08:002012-02-21T17:56:23.397-08:00I was so excited when the title of this post turne...I was so excited when the title of this post turned up on my eu-Googly machine! Here I thought Hose was going to take us even farther down the dark path, and tell us details of personal hygiene - like how he sprinkles Gruner Veltliner in his crunders before going on a big date. Or maybe one of those insider somm initiation rituals - like being made to play La Marseillaise using a Vinturi as an ass trumpet. But no - it's just "secrets of reading a wine list." Way to channel Raj Parr. Weak.John M. Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18343670865804216103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-92039367639835655892012-02-21T13:19:52.674-08:002012-02-21T13:19:52.674-08:00Loved the Dept. of Defense / Lockheed Martin bit. ...Loved the Dept. of Defense / Lockheed Martin bit. And what makes it so, so funny is it's absolutely true!<br /><br />Not so sure about the whole T-bone steak / by-the-glass thing though. Made me think about buying a whole cow to eat. Or drinking a whole vine instead of a bottle. I know, weird...<br /><br />If these are "Actual Secrets" will you be doing a piece on "Fake Secrets"? Perhaps something on the sommelier's ashtray, er, tastevin secrets?Marcia Macomberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07237764449953259939noreply@blogger.com