The last sommelier standing — where are all S.F.’s wine pros? — sfchronicle.com
On a recent night at Nopa, in walked the suits and ties — in this case, a group of thirsty hopefuls fresh from sitting for the master sommelier exam. [...] we seem stuck in what might be called a generational rut. Sommeliers, like chefs or winemakers, have relied on apprenticeship to cultivate young talent. Traces of this lineage remain, like Haley Guild Moore of the Stock & Bones group, who worked for Green. [...] we’re still importing talent, like Delfina Restaurant Group wine director Sally Kim, who came north from Los Angeles. Perhaps San Francisco lacks a cadre of young, eager servers willing to endure grunt work and hard study. “I think there is a shortage of mentors,” says Yoon Ha, a master sommelier and the wine director at Benu. There has been endless talk about what’s supposedly a golden age for American wine professionals. (“The New Restaurant Stars,” gushed the Wall Street Journal not long ago.) But actually working in a restaurant is exactly what many sommeliers seem hesitant to do nowadays. In truth, much of their work can be dull: lifting cases, pulling corks, running inventory. More restaurants are choosing to save money by hiring outside wine consultants. For Eng, who was a constant presence in the restaurant, a big part of the job is delighting diners with what they don’t know: “Buy something that’s meaningful and delicious, and if everyone else decides it’s meaningful and delicious, move on.” [...] as best I can tell, San Francisco runs the risk of being spammed with rubber-stamp wine lists. Einbund, who is currently wine director at Frances, is despondent about too many lists in town “filled with potholes and pitfalls.” All that said, consider the wine program at Hanak’s latest project, Liholiho Yacht Club. [...] he strides the floor in plaid, lumbersexual style at his own St. Vincent, arguably the city’s essential wine bistro. (Quince, meantime, has adapted more low-key wine service in the post-Lynch years.) Veteran wine directors John Vuong (Ame) and Michael Ireland (Meadowood) teamed up to open a wine bar, Pivot, in the Richmond District. Newer neighborhood spots like Hillside Supper Club and Nico devised ambitious lists. [...] the bistro has become a vehicle for even the most ambitious chefs. When Benu’s Lee chose to expand, he did so with Monsieur Benjamin, which aims to be a bistro at least in name. [...] if a bistro can be a great place to drink wine, almost by definition it’s not natural habitat for a sommelier — too small, too casual. A decent wine program costs a lot of money — money that’s sitting on a shelf until a bottle is ordered. A combination of San Francisco’s high minimum wage and the lack of a tip credit has created a topsy-turvy scenario. In the course of an evening, his $160 pairing might encompass up to 12 drinks, mixing wine, beer and sake; the Knoll, for instance, goes with Lee’s combination of oyster, pork belly and kimchi. Alexander, who spent six years traveling the country selling wine, watched this aesthetic spread to restaurants like Nashville’s Rolf and Daughters. How do you finesse serious wine service in a tiny room? (Californios beverage director Charlotte Randolph faces a similar space crunch.) Commonwealth’s wine list is a case study in conciseness; her 75 selections range from Foreau’s snappy Vouvray Brut to Wind Gap Grenache. [...] crucially, Maniace has the humility — she worked her way up from being a hostess at New York’s Spotted Pig — that’s a sommelier’s best asset. [...] all those diners staring at wine apps don’t seem to want the help. When today’s deep-pocketed duogenarian diners turn the corner on 30, I’ll lay good money that wine — and sommeliers — will rebound. Newly opened Mourad has Alan Murray, a master sommelier who ran the extensive program at Masa’s. On any given night, you can find Alexander in cloth jacket and sneakers wandering the Progress floor, doing the San Francisco 2015 version of what a great floor captain always has: soft-selling wine choices, making small talk, greasing the wheels. [...] he’s confident enough that wine will win that he hired a second sommelier to help him on the floor — and yet another to work next door at State Bird Provisions, which desperately needed a wine program to match its national acclaim. A skilled sommelier or wine director does much more than pick appropriate bottles and serve them. Whether you want wine in a carafe or back in the bottle after being decanted, this helps to keep it from splashing or churning sediment — in part thanks to the curved neck.
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