Sommelier Secrets

By mthomas

Whenever I am eating or drinking out at a place that has a sommelier, or at least someone interested in wine, I always try to discuss their role with them. I sometimes explain my perspective as a psychologist and follow up this initial chat with a scheduled semi-structured interview as I am fascinated by the role and enjoy researching the psychological interaction that underpins it. I have not submitted my data to peer review journals yet but thought some initial observations might be of interest.

My questions include probes around how the person became involved, their qualifications and their aims in the role. However, the most interesting responses tend to result from questions about the challenges and opportunities linked to this work. Perhaps most fascinating are the reflections on their motivations and beliefs particularly when interacting with customers.

Most sommeliers seem to see themselves as benevolent in that their primary aim is to enhance the customer’s enjoyment. Many are passionate about this and one told me that the biggest challenge in his job is ‘not getting carried away with wines I like’. There is usually a recognition that people like different things and most sommeliers have a skill set that includes eliciting what people are looking for in terms of taste, and price point. They often find themselves having to balance their enthusiasm for certain wines with a generally conservative approach by consumers. Some wines are just too different for some tastes.

They all tend recognise the importance of interpersonal communication and one I spoke to recently has studied the area to optimise his interactions. Another had a degree in psychology and mentioned ‘mirroring’ to establish rapport as he felt people are often too insecure about wine to ask questions. He also acknowledged the importance of profit and that the role is, like most things in life, not simply altruistic. Wine is expensive in restaurants and the mark-up provides vital income. This can lead to a tension between customer service and the profit margins of the owners.

At the moment sommeliers are still noticing a new austerity that they associate with the ‘credit crunch’. One from a well known restaurant serving high rollers in the city told me that customers had reported being told to ‘have a lower profile’ when it comes to corporate entertaining. Champagne is less socially acceptable in such climates.

The best sommeliers seem to be chameleons who are flexible in their interactions with a diverse set of customers. They are a generally fascinating and informed group of people who are drawn to the role due to their passion for wine.

Unfortunately, I am unlikely to write-up this paper until I have made progress on my book for Wiley’s new ‘Psychology of …’ series but will include the data in it. It is an exciting project and my best wishes go out to my Publisher Andy and his wife who are expecting their first child imminently. Also a big Happy Birthday to my youngest son Saul who is 7 today.  He is a wonderful child who brings all of us great joy.

Happy Birthday Saul!