Premier crews

Wine service in the modern restaurant is much more democratic than it was. Douglas Wregg reports on a story for our times.

Nigel Sutcliffe, general manager of the Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, recalls an experience in a posh restaurant several years ago, when he asked the sommelier whether an Australian Semillon was oaked or not. "I do not understand the question," came the magnificently disdainful reply.

This conjures that old stereotype of the haughty, sepulchral French sommelier administering a Michelin-style sacrament, and presiding over the holy leather-bound wine bible, with its list of imperious names at celestial prices. Traditional service was never a mutual transaction; rather, it was a formal declaration of a restaurant's policy on how the customer should eat, drink and behave.

Demythologised

Thankfully, things have changed. Wine has been demythologised and democratised by the media. Customers now have greater knowledge and higher expectations, and therefore expect to be engaged in the decision-making process. Service, meantime, has progressed towards a synthesis between professionalism and urbanity, a form of negotiation designed to relax the customer and elicit information rather than browbeat or bamboozle.

This new professional service appreciates the whims and needs of the individual customer. Every restaurant may have its particular approach, but the modern restaurant will recognise that wine service has less to do with pointless rituals and more with ensuring that the customer is comfortable and informed.

While customers are entitled to courtesy and efficiency, human traits such as honesty, passion and enthusiasm are equally important. The best service combines these qualities. "You need to be a psychologist, interact with the customers and allow them to give you the parameters," observes Jason McAuliffe from Chez Bruce in Wandsworth, London. "Some punters want a bit of cosseting; others prefer to be left alone."

First impressions are important. Having given the customer the list, Mark Maguire, owner of Chavignol restaurant, Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire, makes an interim visit to the table and asks whether he can make any recommendations. He explains: "It is important to leave the question open-ended. People can be offended if you parade knowledge, and are fearful of being shown up as ignorant."

Helen Everitt-Mathias, co-proprietor and front of house at Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, agrees. "Gauge the customer and then present the choices," she says, advocating a relaxed approach. "The modern restaurateur will look and listen and respond, all the time assessing the customer's needs."

Kate Thal, wine buyer for the Hartford Group, expands on this. She says: "The dining experience is enhanced by more thoughtful wine service, by someone bothering to find out exactly what you are in the mood for - a crisp, dry, elegant white or a rich, powerful red - and then being able to confidently suggest a few examples from the list which fulfil your criteria. This makes the whole experience that much better and, it goes without saying, much better value for money."

McAuliffe derides the pretension and pseudo-theatrics of wine service ("What are sommeliers going to do when all bottles are sealed by Stelvin closures?" he wonders, parenthetically). "Don't try to blind the customer with science either," he says. "Keep it real and keep it simple."

It certainly seems that the sommeliers and managers who sell wine most adeptly wear their knowledge lightly, and are equally as comfortable talking to the utter novice as to the seasoned wine-bibber.

Restaurants will always formulate their own approaches to the technical aspects of wine service, particularly with regard to removing the bottle from the table, topping up glasses and decanting wine. "As a rule, we take the bottle off the table unless the customer expresses a preference," says one restaurateur.

Excessive topping-up of glasses is universally criticised, but being vigilant about an empty glass is equally approved. "Service is about small touches, attention to detail and, above all, not forcing or hurrying," according to Maguire, while Sutcliffe's prescription is even simpler: "Good wine in good glasses, served without fuss."

And you should not undervalue the sensuous dimension of eating in a restaurant. Presentation is an important aspect of wine service - wine served at the appropriate temperature in appropriate glasses from beautiful decanters is the ideal. Serving a wine incorrectly is no different to cooking a meal badly.

Everitt-Mathias cites one of the chief examples of bad practice. "My bugbear is people trying to sell up the list for the sake of it," she says. "If you direct customers to a bargain, they're more likely to trust you." And also more likely to return, one would have thought.

Modern service also recognises equal rights for women. In crusty old establishments, wine lists still tend to be proffered to the man, who is also always given the wine to taste. This leads us to a further area of contention, namely the ceremony of the sommelier tasting the wine to ascertain that it is in serviceable condition. Matthew Bradford, of the Moving Image Restaurant Group, is strongly against it. "Since I'm paying for the wine, I can do what I like with it," he says. "It is presumptuous for a wine waiter to take something from my bottle even if it is supposedly for my benefit."

However, Nick Tarayan, general manager of Adam Street in London, is more exercised by prolonged unnecessary disputes with waiters who are unable - or refuse - to recognise a faulty wine. "This is avoidable if the staff are trained in the rudiments of wine service," he says.

Wine service is certainly "restaurant variable", since not every restaurant can afford a sommelier. Tarayan believes that sommeliers are not a luxury if you are charging top prices for wine, but, of course "that only applies to a select few restaurants". Given that the waiter is the point of sale, there is often little or no know-ledge of the product. Too many waiters are transient or unqualified, and sometimes are not even encouraged to take an active interest in food and wine.

Thal believes implicitly in systematic training. She organises compulsory courses for staff based on twice-weekly seminars and tasting sessions, which will eventually lead to Wine & Spirit Education Trust certificate qualifications. "Personally," she says, "I believe that all staff should be trained. Creating an environment where there is a widespread passion, interest and enthusiasm among the staff for what they are selling will enhance the experience for the customer. You don't get that as strongly when you have one or two very expert people and a host of minions who just carry plates."

Large restaurant groups such as Conran and Harvey Nichols also have an excellent training ethic. Not only does training empower the staff, it sends the signal to them that you take service seriously.

Perhaps the greatest recent change in the way restaurants operate is the recognition that the wine list is an instrument of service. A good list will convey information to the customer. Tarayan proposes the well-structured, annotated list as a "useful tool to facilitate selection and, incidentally, for training".

Maguire endorses this approach. "Some customers are frightened to death by a 200-bin list," he says. "I try to make the list accessible with wine notes, light-hearted rather than technical, and this helps to soften the impact and to narrow the choice for the customer, as well as to guide and educate."

The best lists will offer not simply variety but also identity, with due respect to the restaurant's style of cuisine. There is nothing more boring than a catalogue of brands or the usual grape variety suspects. A decent selection of wines by the glass is a necessary attractive feature for those not wishing to be tied to one wine throughout the meal.

Some restaurants, such as Chavignol, allow the customer to drink half-a-bottle of wine, for which they are charged half the price of the full bottle plus 10%. Such imaginative ideas enrich service immeasurably because they reflect what the customer wants and not what the restaurateur feels is the easiest option.

Ultimately, if restaurants are going to justify the service charge on top of their already sizeable mark-ups, then they must provide added value. As the irrepressible McAuliffe puts it: "Give the customers the ‘wowee' factor, that ‘something' they've never experienced before. And always remember that the product [wine] is intended to make everyone jolly. Let's not be too precious about it."

While this intuitive enthusiasm perfectly captures the essence of seamlessly convivial service, the majority of restaurants still need to inculcate into their staff the basics of wine knowledge and the crucial importance of interpreting the needs of their customers.

Tips for good wine service

• Have a clearly laid-out wine list containing relevant information.
• Always have someone working who knows the wine list intimately.
• Train other staff and encourage them to develop an interest in wine.
• Listen and respond to what the customer wants.
• Be able to recognise a faulty wine and act on what you find.
• Serve wines at the appropriate temperature.
• Have a decent range of wines by the glass.