The SOMM Journal

April / May 2017

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24 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } APRIL/MAY 2017 Dear Good Somm Bad Somm, I had a table of diners the other night and the host kept ordering big, big bottles of Bordeaux and Screaming Eagle at nearly $3,000 each. By the end of dinner, the host was clearly intoxicated but still continued to order more. What do you do when someone ordering very expensive wine is over-served? Sincerely, When to Say When Dear When to Say When, Although it may seem like a gray area to you, it should be very black and white. Should your guests be over-served and be involved in an alcohol-related accident, you, as the sommelier, are liable for being negligent to your customer and over-serving them. In a legal context, it is considered reckless if you know that your guest is visibly intoxicated but choose to serve them anyway. And in this case, you can be sued under the "dram shop" law. In some states, if a licensed establishment chooses to serve a guest despite clear evidence that they are intoxicated, the law can hold you accountable for injury or accident that may arise as a result. Once you see your guest showing physical signs of intoxication, you should just stop serving alcohol to them. It's better to be safe than sorry. Sincerely, Good Somm Dear When to Say When, You know, for the most part if someone is acting like a jerk in the dining room, I'm the first one to cut him or her off. If a guest is being obnoxious or loud, or disruptive to the other diners, I'm the first one to say, "Let's dial it back a bit here." However . . . due to the fact that mine is a commission-based job, it can get complicated. I do have a very short list of intoxication signs or "red flags" that may get a guy cut off even if he is ordering $3,000 bottles of Bordeaux or Screaming Eagle in my restaurant. Here is that short list of things: Did you miss it? You did! Because there is no list! Because there is virtually nothing one can do to make me cut a guy off if he just ordered another $3,000 bottle of wine. He could stand up in the middle of the dinning room, drunk as a skunk, and scream about the Illuminati conspiracy, melting ice caps, rigged NBA finals . . . Who cares??? I am getting that revenue for my wine program. Maybe if I walked up to the guest and asked, "Are you enjoying your Screaming Eagle?" and the guy opened his mouth to answer and a giant wave of red wine and regurgitated red meat and vegetables from dinner came projecting out of his gut onto the center of his dining table I would consider cutting him off. But even then I would pause. I guess nothing short of a guy crapping his pants would warrant a cut off. But even in that case I might discretely escort the gentleman to the rest room, clean him up, wrap him in a chef 's apron and drag his naked ass back to the dining room for a glass of d'Yquem with dessert (then pay for his cab ride home). Yours Truly, Bad Somm Dear Good Somm Bad Somm, What's in your glass right now? Sincerely, Fellow Wine Lover Dear Fellow Wine Lover, Great question! I am indeed a wine lover. It's a lifelong passion, and it's something that I can never stop thinking about. And really, what's in my glass is whatever is open at the moment. There's nothing like the purity of a beautiful Burgundy, which feels exactly like the ten - sion between two passionate lovers, or a great Rioja, which reminds me one magical night in Madrid! I love Bordeaux, Champagne and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. There is nothing like a Gewürztraminer, which is like being handed a huge bouquet of flowers. Wines are very much like a passport and time machine to my world—you can really become transported to another place and time! It's those brief moments where my best memories lie. Sincerely, Good Somm Dear Fellow Wine Lover, Due to a recent issue with law enforcement, I'm actually not drinking right now. I am currently sipping a warm tea made from mushrooms and calming herbs. Yours Truly, Bad Somm Thank you again for the thoughtful questions. Hope you enjoyed our answers, and with any luck you are receiving the help you truly need. Follow us at @goodsommbadsomm on social media and/or visit our page www.goodsommbadsomm.com

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