Christopher Hitchens launches vitriolic attack on sommeliers
May 29, 2008
By Oliver Styles
Author and journalist Christopher Hitchens has launched a scathing attack on restaurants and sommeliers, calling them 'barbaric', 'rude' and 'boors'.
Writing for online magazine The Slate, the British-born Hitchens attacked sommeliers who 'interrupt' dinner-table conversation and lean over diners to pour out the wine. The writer also drew a parallel with a waiter leaning over a guest to cut up his or her food.
'How did such a barbaric custom get itself established,' says Hitchens, 'and why on earth do we put up with it?'
In the article, entitled Wine Drinkers of the World, Unite, the columnist divided bad service in restaurants into two categories: keeping customers waiting and being too intrusive.
'The vile practice of butting in and pouring wine without being asked is the very height of the second kind of bad manners,' he says. 'Not only is it a breathtaking act of rudeness in itself, but it conveys a none-too-subtle and mercenary message: Hurry up and order another bottle.'
Hitchens, who lives in America, also attacked the practice for its wastefulness, with sommeliers sometimes pouring wine that some guests would not finish.
'Restaurants ought not to inflict waste and extravagance on their patrons for the sake of padding out the bill,' he says. 'This too, is a very extreme form of rudeness.'
According to Hitchens, the reason for the 'rudeness' diners endure is the, 'snobbery and insecurity that frequently accompany the wine business', as well as custom and habit.
'People somehow grant restaurants the right to push their customers around in this outrageous way,' he says.
Hitchens concludes by exhorting all diners to stop the sommelier before he pours.
'I am perfectly aware that there are many greater problems facing civilisation…but this is something that we can all change at a stroke,' he says.
Hitchens is no stranger to controversy. The writer, although once known for his left-wing views, has recently supported certain Conservative causes, including the war on Iraq.
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This man's opinions are absurd. Only an ignorant person would actually complain that a restaurant's service was "too good." If I'm paying large sums of money to be served a bottle of wine, I should never have to lift a finger to ensure that there is always the proper amount of wine in my glass. If I'm in a top restaurant, I'd rather loolk at my empty glass until the sommelier realises his oversight than fill it myself. I don't understand the argument that a waiter pouring wine encourages you to order another bottle. A bottle of wine contains (usually) 750ml, regardless of who pours it. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, like when a whole fish is presented to the diner, the waiter WILL cut up a customer's food for them. Fortunately, as long as diners like me insist on this high level of service, it will continue. For diners like the author of the article in question, there's always the local chipper - you won't have that problem there!
Dave, Co. Clare, Ireland
I am appalled by the accusations from this writer. If he doesn't like Fine Dining service, he should stay at Fast Food joints, where there is no service and you help yourself all the time. Patrons go to restaurants, because they want to be spoilt - they want that extra service. If a patron doesn't want anymore wine, they inform the waiter, and the waiter respects it. Maybe this writer should learn some restaurant etiquette.
Jeanine van der Poel , Gauteng, South Africa
I don't know where Mr Hitchens goes to lunch or dinner but some negative experiences can't be expression for all the categories. Professional Sommeliers are usually the real soul of the wine communication and sometimes someones may don't know the sacrifices that these people made to became professional...How many bad journalist are on the scene? Or, how many are good? Here in Pozzuoli we love to say, "every world is country", bad experience may happen.
Angelo Di Costanzo, Pozzuoli
Both of the previous posters to this article seem to have entirely missed the point that Hitchens is trying to make. While I agree that a 'Fine Dining' experience should include all the bells and whistles, at the same time an overly eager sommelier can turn a pleasant dining experience into one full of intrusions and interrupted conversations.
A sommelier can be likened to any other type of sales person, some are excellent at what they do, are knowledgeable on their product and know when to interact with their customers and when to back off, others are aggressive, ill informed and pushy.
I personally prefer the sommelier to pour just the first glass; regardless of the style and price of the restaurant, I find a sommelier hovering around my table waiting to pour my wine intrusive, claustrophobic and old fashioned. This issue is not about quality of food or service (comparing a high end eatery with a fast food restaurant is just silly) this issue is about proper training and the adaptation of a style to meet with the expectations and desires of your customer.
Karen Ellis
What a pity that some posters have insulted the writer of this article – disagree by all means, but surely do so in a civil manner.
I find some sommeliers and wine waiters too intrusive, but not all. Some have a real feeling for diners, others are simply selling wine. Certainly though there should be more care taken to see if the diner wants the glass refreshed. If a partially full glass is topped up, it becomes difficult to know what you've drunk, which can be a problem for drivers especially.
David, Poole, UK
A professional Sommelier should always make sure that the guests' glass should be at least a third full for the red and half full for the white. The guest should never have to look for the wine to be poured, this is good service. If the Guest would like the Sommelier not to pour the wine after the first glass, well then simply explain this to the Sommelier at the time. They are not mind readers and are just carrying out the job they were trained to do.
Aodhan, Clonmel, Ireland
Whilst the writer is a little over-enthusiastic in his unhappiness with Sommeliers, he does have a point. Many restaurants train their staff to repeatedly re-fill their client's glass(es) in order to "get to" the next bottle. If you don't like or need this service, merely insist that you will have control of the bottle and there should be no more problem - simple.
Thomas Holmes
Nice one! Again there is somebody who' knows' more then all of us. Of course we will always find example like those but there are a lot of Senior Sommeliers and Restaurant Manager who do train new people (and advice others who might be already longer in this trade)not to do provide a service like described .
I have served table where the host is pushing us to fill the glasses of his guest and gets upset if we don't, it's sometimes not our call. He complains that he does not like to be interrupted by the Sommelier but wants us to ask every time if we can fill up the glass. Yes sometimes we face the problem that people seat very closed to each other because of the small table size or they don't understand that we might need some space to serve, please tell me how can we, yes we might come very closed to the shoulder of another, there are cases where my arm is even then not long enough to reach the glass to refill. And people don't even realize that.
There will be always different view on a subject and we have people in this trade which might not be perfect, but we face on our site clients which sometimes might not be to our taste, still we try to make them happy.
Stop to apply what you have seen in some places to the rest of this trade, it's enough! Spend your time and write about subjects more important, investigate how much some of this Sommeliers gets paid for 14 to 16 hours work a day. (Maybe not in the US, but this is only a small part of this world)
Thomas Heimann, Proud to be a Sommelier
When he was a starving leftist railing against the bourgeoisie, Hitchens couldn't or wouldn't go near a restaurant with a wine list, let alone a sommelier. Now that he's gone over to the dark side, discovering the beauty of capitalism, fine dining and free meals, Hitchens has dedicated himself to liberating the world from the oppression of poor service. A wit? An intellectual? No, a chronic hypocrite regardless of the side of the fence he's on today.
Dan Friedman, NYC, USA
As a trained Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers, one of our very first service instructions was to stay out of the guest's way as much as possible. Now as an across the board service point, glasses are to be refilled when they get to the 1/3 point. This is because patrons do expect the extra service. Fine dining has certain expectations and for us not to meet them because a few people feel they are being pushed around is silly. Now if you want to pour your own wine, all you have to do is let the waiter/sommelier know and they would be happy to oblige. In the end, the most important thing to know is that guest requests are paramount and all reasonable ones are always be met. This isn't a control battle where diners are subject to the rule of restaurant owners. It's a business and without your support, failure is the result.
Now to insult the service industry and feebly trying to start a revolt for a few pushy waiters/sommeliers is grossly out of perspective. I have chosen this profession because I like to serve other people and give them a wonderful dining experience. To give oneself up to another in service and then be ridiculed by someone who has obviously never worked in the service industry is inappropriate. I suggest, Mr. Hutchins [sic], you redirect your pen to a waiter's book and take some orders and see how hard people, yeah with feelings, actually work in this industry!
Tommy Williams Jr, Sommelier
Ignore Him! "Author and journalist" Christopher Hitchens is obviously craving some attention and is trying to "shock-Jock" his way into the headlines. Perhaps he has a new book coming out that lacks substance and integrity? He's just desperate to create some kind of hype?
Thirsty Matt, Newburyport, MA, USA
Discarding the adjectives Mr. Hitchers used to describe some restaurants and sommeliers, you can clearly see some good points that he made ......and you are all smart enough to find them.
M. Chavez
Christopher Hitchens rouses from his alcoholic stupor just in time to jump on the last wagon of the restaurant-wine-service-is-oh-so-bad train. Yes, wine service can be suboptimal and rushed. But Hitchens is a misanthrope pining for attention. Next, he'll bitch and moan about restaurant conversations being so loud that he cannot hear the ice cubes clinking in his ever present glass of whisky.
He Said & She Said, L.A. CA, USA
Christopher Hitchens' relationship with alcohol is very well established. As are his feelings about being attacked as an excessive drinker. Perhaps he should examine his own barbaric and boorish relationship with alcohol before attacking those in the industry that have chosen a career in highlighting a drink that is inextricably linked to human history, art, and philosophy. Stick to beer Mr. Hitchens. It suits you better.
Pier-Andrée Penttilä, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I can't believe most of the replies don't agree with Hutchins. To be fawned over and petted by over attentive sommeliers and waiters surely only appeals to show ponies and extroverts who need to be seen. Quality Fine Dining should be non intrusive and waiters and suchlike should be treated like children were supposed to be treated,ie, to be seen and not heard and to speak only when spoken to.
John, Bendbrook Wines, Australia
At last someone spoke the truth. The snobism in the restaurants is an act of terrorism in order not to critisize the wine, the food and the prices.
A. Fotiadis, Athens, Greece
As a Professional Sommelier in New York City, I find these accusations a bit ridiculous. If I encountered this type of behavior, I simply would not return to that restaurant. Maybe Mr. Hitchens is intimidated. It is unfair to group all Sommeliers into this category. Having a Sommelier available is a added service of no cost to the consumer. If you have no need for the Sommelier you should inform your waiter and then you will have no problem. The problem just might be communication! Trained Sommeliers know how to read their tables and do what ever possible to enhance the dining experience. Its hard for me to believe that Mr. Hitchens has had that many problems in restaurants. A guest should never have to pour there own wine unless they were at a lower end restaurant or request to. As far as 'snobbery and insecurity that frequently accompany the wine business', that is a pretty bold statement! That might be how it was fifteen years ago, but the next generation of Sommeliers are very knowledgeable, passionate, and humble. Its about passion and love of wine now! For myself as a Sommelier, if I can get a guest excited about a wine that is new to them, I have done my job! They are happy and I have done what I love to do.
Erica Oldenski, New York City, USA
Hitchens is right. There are some sommeliers who think it is part of their duty to stop by your table every so often and top up the glasses. Why do they assume this is luxury and good service? Does not each individual know how much they want to drink, and is not each capable of pouring their own wine? Are all diners the equivalent of Louis XIV?
VT, St Julians, Malta
As someone mentioned earlier in this post, all that is required is to ask the waiter or sommelier not to pour for the table and the controversy is ended. Calling waiters children (Bendbrook Wines will probably be impossible to find on a winelist after that comment) and tyrants is indicative of the general hardship that a good waiter or sommelier faces every single night of work. It is impossible to make everyone happy with one style of service, which is why good waitstaff will give different service to each table.
But as any waiter or somm will tell you, there's always a crank that will never be happy, no matter what. I still love Christopher Hitchens, though. Even if he is that one crank in my restaurant.
JSW Wiles, Alexandria VA
Maybe he shouldn't order wine then or tell the sommelier that the table doesn't want to be disturbed. By all accounts he seems to be rather uneducated and Barbaric himself as he doesn't seem too able to communicate to people.
Dom
Christopher is absolutely correct on this matter and well done him for saying so. When I'm having dinner with a man I want that man to notice when my glass is empty and offer more wine and I don't want an over zealous waiter to take away the opportunity for me to find that out. Also, in a group, I don't want alcohol pressed on me or poured for me without asking by staff, they've delivered the food and drink, are they going to feed me too?
Philipa
As with all things the question is 'balance'. There is a fine line between good service and intrusiveness and one instantly feels this fine line as, hopefully, does the sommelier. The defintion of sophistication is raising the eyebrows rather than raising the roof.
Of course, this criticism doesn't only apply to sommeliers, waiters can equally be intrusive and, equally hopefully, the solution will lie with organisations such as Michelin who will simply mark this down as poor service.
But such a comment cannot pass without noting that there a rather less fine line between the differing expectations of customers.
Philip Styles, St.Gaudent, France
Have you ever tried serving wine while seated? It's not easy and most often leads to messy results. This is esp. true if the wine is white and in a bucket of ice standing next to the table. The guest (perhaps Mr Hitchens) would have to turn around, extend himself, wrap a soggy towel around the bottle and then liberally drench the whole table with water while trying to serve everyone.
Serving wine is akin to bringing food from the kitchen and not to "cutting guests' food". Maybe we should all get up, go into the kitchen and bring our own food to the table. While we're at it why not cook it ourselves? No, I have a better idea: let's all go to Slate and write a stupid article...
Constantine Stergides, Athens, Greece
Hitchens's attack would be better founded if he had experienced not an exces de zele, but the sophomoric antics of some sommeliers. At one Washington eatery, Kinkead's, thought to be one of the best in the city, I was once reprimanded by a waiter for asking, as the third course arrived, the whereabouts of the wine that had been ordered for the first course! The resulting gastric flush of course ruined what was left of the meal. I asked for the sommelier, and was told that the offender was the sommelier! There was no recourse but to leave the restaurant, paying of course for the privilege.
William S. Shepard, Wine Editor, Bonjour Paris
Mr. Hitchens obviously comes from a different planet than the rest of us. The whole concept of dining out at a public restaurant implies consent to service. If a component of that service includes a professional Sommelier then you are one lucky patron. Not only does that Sommelier know the wines on their list better than you do Mr. Hitchens (guaranteed and obvious from your attitude so resplendid in your scathing and bombastic prose,) he or she also knows that in the vast majority of places you are not allowed, by law, to take that partially-finished bottle of wine home with you. If you and your guests are nearing the end of your course for which the wine was chosen (or if a single bottle was chosen for the entire meal) and you do not feel like finishing it, by all means, feel free to donate the remainder to the kitchen - they will love you for it. It is, as people hired to serve you, a server and a Sommeliers' obligation to ensure that you and your guests are pampered and well taken care of. That is what we are hired to do. That is what people dine out for at restaurants - SERVICE!
Now we've all been in situations where the service at an establishment is terrible. I have been subject to many inappropriate service techniques over the years and as a certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, I can say that yes - there are problems with over-eager restaurateurs who are obviously doing everything they can to up-sell the table. Servers or Sommeliers who work under these owners with job-imposed parameters often do not do a very good job at reading the table - over-filling glasses in an attempt to force feed that second bottle sale at the table, not listening to budgetary or dietary concerns when making suggestions, and other issues, are irresponsible. In Mr. Hitchens case however I would be proud to do everything in my power to upsell this dupe, or slip and dump a glass of wine in his arrogant lap - especially if it was a rare and expensive bottle. We Sommeliers are a proud, hard-working group of enthusiastic food and beverage professionals - if you don't like it - stop eating at our establishments. Maybe a self-service all-you can eat buffet would be a better choice for Mr. Hitchens - then he could get all the Ambrosia salad and Gallo Hearty Burgundy he wants, at his own pace. Better yet Mr. Hitchens - why don't you stay home; the service is obviously better there.
Laurence W. Davidson
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This man's opinions are absurd. Only an ignorant person would actually complain that a restaurant's service was "too good." If I'm paying large sums of money to be served a bottle of wine, I should never have to lift a finger to ensure that there is always the proper amount of wine in my glass. If I'm in a top restaurant, I'd rather loolk at my empty glass until the sommelier realises his oversight than fill it myself. I don't understand the argument that a waiter pouring wine encourages you to order another bottle. A bottle of wine contains (usually) 750ml, regardless of who pours it. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, like when a whole fish is presented to the diner, the waiter WILL cut up a customer's food for them. Fortunately, as long as diners like me insist on this high level of service, it will continue. For diners like the author of the article in question, there's always the local chipper - you won't have that problem there!
