Any SOMMelier serious about her/his wine program, regardless of the wine list size and price range, develops extensive, helpful and to-the-point wine training manuals along with ongoing training and tasting sessions.

I have the fun and challenging task of overseeing wine programs ranging from Balthazar’s complex all-French wine list with over 500 bottles priced between $18 and $1300, to Pastis’ which is a concise 1-page wine list.

Balthazar has a SOMMelier on the floor most evenings because the wine list requires SOMMelier assistance. Conversely Balthazar’s Captains’ team is trained in all aspects of SOMMelier duties, and they seamlessly fill the role of SOMMelier when need be.

Pastis is a bistro style restaurant so it would be pretentious and superfluous to have sommelier service. Naturally I get weekly questions from waiters with questions about how they can be a better stand-in SOMMelier. Below are my standard responses to severs’ most commonly asked questions:

It’s BAD service if a guest orders a bottle of wine REGARDLESS OF PRICE and you don’t stop by their table at least a couple of times to offer to pour them more wine into their glasses. Ideally a host should never pour their own wine or their guests’, unless they specifically tell you they want to do self-serve, which is very infrequent. We know it’s often logistically impossible to be at the table the moment someone’s glass needs filling. But the more you can offer to keep a glass ¾ full, the more wine they’re likely to reorder. Even if a glass is half full, casually offer to keep filling it, and then fill ¾. Remember, the longer an empty wine bottle sits on the table the less likely another bottle or even a glass will get reordered. And if a partial bottle sits on the table, many customers are reluctant to ask their host to pour them more since they’re not paying for the wine. You can alleviate this awkwardness by being at the table as much as you possibly can to offer all guests at the table more wine. Never offer wine to an intoxicated guest, and get your Captain involved if you’re not sure what to do.

With reserve wines, you should have your eye on that table and make sure they never pour their own wine. Your tip increases beyond the usual each time someone orders a reserve wine simply because most regular New York City diners add tip to the cost of the bottle of wine. A table with a reserve wine should get the extra level of wine service, beyond the upgraded reserve glassware and potential decanting, by at least making sure their glasses are about 1/3 full. Remember reserve wine glasses are larger, so only pour about 1/3 full or maybe a little less.

ALWAYS PLACE THE CORK TO THE RIGHT OF THE HOST’S GLASS before you offer a taste. You need to present the cork—CHAMPAGNE INCLUDED—regardless of the bottle costing $25 or $525. Champagne is just a wine with bubbles and can get as easily corked as a white or red wine. Also, present a cork whether it’s made from natural cork or if it’s synthetic or plastic. If a customer makes a negative comment about the “fake cork”—it will happen; don’t sweat it and handle it with a casual, pleasant response—or questions the quality of the wine based on the style of the cork, you might say something like, “I completely understand. Our wine director mentioned that a lot of great wineries are using synthetic corks because the wine is less likely to go bad or to be corked.”

If someone orders a reserve bottle, remember to get reserve wine glasses to the table BEFORE you present the bottle. Reserve wine bottles under $90, just pre-set stem wine glasses that are at the stations on the floor. For all bottles above $90, use the large reserve wine glasses that are on the high shelf in the coffee station. Make sure they’re sparkling clean with no chips. With reserve wine glasses the more bulbous squattier ones are used for red Burgundy only (Nuits-St-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin and Corton Bressandes are the only wines you use these for). All other reserve wines above $90 whether the wine is red or white, you use the taller more tapered large reserve wine glass. Not sure, ask a Captain or Chris Goodhart to show you the difference.

If someone orders a non-reserve wine and requests “bigger glasses” or “special glassware” or “your nicer glasses”, set each guest with a reserve wine glass NO MATTER WHAT THE PRICE OF THE BOTTLE, no questions asked. A lot of wine lovers want to better appreciate the bottle they ordered, even if it’s inexpensive. They might ask for special glassware because they (and Chris the wine director is one of these wine geeks) find it easier to see the color of the wine and smell it in a bigger glass.

Anytime a table finishes a bottle of wine--no matter how inexpensive or expensive it is--immediately pick up the empty bottle and ask the host, “Would you like another bottle, or would you like to see the wine list?” If they say no, just take the empty and throw it away. If they say yes, still take away the empty bottle, and get a new one. Or get the wine list if they asked for it. If a guest appears intoxicated, let the Captain know, but do not offer another bottle or the wine list.

If a host re-orders a bottle of the same wine whether it’s reserve or even $25/bottle, you should immediately have a clean glass set for the host, present the bottle & cork AND OFFER A TASTE. It’s a huge mistake if you don’t offer to have the host taste the wine and then you pour the table a bottle of corked or bad wine that will taint their wine glasses that were used and maybe partially filled from the last good bottle. Sometimes a host will say she/he doesn’t need to taste the new bottle and to go ahead and pour it. For non-reserve wines, go ahead and pour. We realize Pastis is super busy and it’s hard to insist that the host tastes each repeat bottle unless they like the idea of it. (But if anyone at the table detects a flawed wine after you’ve poured, tell the person who detected it AND the host that you’ll be right back with a Captain. Don’t try to address their needs and/or complaints without a Captain.) If the host says she/he doesn’t want to taste a bottle and to just go ahead and pour, ask the host if you can have a Captain pour a tiny taste to make sure the wine isn’t corked. Then get the Captain right away to perform this task.

Sometimes a host might order a special reserve bottle and generously offer you, the server/bartender, a taste or a glass of the wine. If this happens, immediately thank the host and tell her/him you’ll be right back with a glass. Come back to the table with a regular stemware glass. Place it to the host’s right and then ask her/him, “Thank you again. I’d love to taste the wine. Would you like to pour?” If the host would rather you pour your own taste, thank her/him again and pour yourself a small taste, nothing more, unless the host insists you pour more for yourself. If the host isn’t engaged in conversation with other people, taste the wine there at the table, give a quick reaction, give thanks again, and then take away your glass.

If you have any questions, please ask anyone in the Wine Department, or a Captain.