The view from behind the counter

I volunteered at the local wine festival, mainly out of curiosity to see what it would be like on the other side of the tasting room counter.

My partner and I were pouring two white wines, a pinot grigio and a sauvignon blanc. The number one question people asked was "Which one is sweeter?" Maybe it was because the festival is an all-you-can-taste event, but no one asked about appellation, how they were vinified, etc. I poured about 400 one ounce samples during a three-hour shift, and I think one person asked about the alcohol level. A few asked how much a bottle cost, or where to buy them, information that was not provided to us by the winery. Almost no one asked any questions at all, except to ask for the pinot grigio instead of the sauvignon blanc, at about a 3:1 ratio. People know what they like.

In fact, what was most striking, besides the utter lack of curiosity of the patrons, was how everyone assumed we worked for the winery. It was a reasonable assumption, given that we were standing underneath a sign that read "Cedar Mountain Winery," and pouring on their behalf. Nothing could be further from the truth, though I tried hard to do a good job as their representative. Volunteers received an hour of training, mostly about how to adhere to the liquor license and city ordinance, and no training whatsoever about the product. Most of the people I talked with volunteered because they thought it would be fun (it was) and because we got free entry to the festival, not to represent a specific winery. I did research on my own, as encouraged by the organization putting on the festival, so I would be able to intelligently answer potential questions (though nearly all those questions went unasked). I don't mean to single out Cedar Mountain, a winery whose ports are well worth a try if you're ever in the Livermore area, they are good people who have been around for a long time. I think if I ever ran a winery I would have trouble delegating and letting anyone else be my "brand ambassador."

My faith in humanity was bolstered by my experience, for sure. I interacted with hundreds of people, many of them buzzed, and only one person was less than civil. In fact, many people said please and thank you. The only irritating behavior was patrons asking, "Don't you have any red?" As a matter of fact, no, we don't, and it wasn't as if I chose the color of the wine myself, anyway. Please take a look at the bottles next time before you come up and ask stupid questions, and feel free to step five feet to your left or right to the adjacent table pouring a zin or merlot. Almost all of the time I found it easy to keep a pleasant expression and treat every customer like I was happy to see them, but the folks who blamed me for their predilections made it difficult. My liberal arts education had, to date, omitted any retail customer-facing employment, so it was fascinating to me.

Those of you who are behind the tasting bar, you have my respect. Just keeping enough wine open, at the correct temperature, and checked for soundness was enough to keep me busy (and buzzed, if I hadn't been spitting). Being pleasant and knowledgeable on top of that during a five or more hour shift takes an admirable level of energy and coordination, day in, day out. Thanks to you all.

Walt

Interesting story, Walt. As it happens, I have two Cedar Mountain Cabernets in my cellar (gifts from a former sales rep of the winery) that I've been meaning to open for a while now. Perhaps your experience will be the impetus to do so.

Mark Lipton

[James Roscoe]

I have poured wines both professionally and as a volunteer. It is hard work. I love the events when the knowledgeable people show up, but you always have to continue to serve the masses. The most frequently asked question is about sweetness. I always hope I have a decent Riesling or Pinot Gris with which to challenge the taste buds. It's been a few years. I need to do that again. Good work Walt!

Interesting, but also not surprising, to hear sweetness is still (along with colour) the major categorisation of wine in the wider world. It's moderately pleasing to hear of customers making a distinction between grapes (for good or bad). When I first started drinking wine it was red or white? Dry, Medium-Dry, Medium or Sweet. That defined all the customer needed to be told.

I share the surprise that a winery would surrender their brand to a volunteer stranger. Maybe a trusted importer or wine merchant would suffice if it wasn't possible to send someone from the winery. Whilst I'm not surprised by lack of questions about winemaking, I would have hoped for questions on potential food matches, longevity (perhaps unlikely for a PG and SB), or other such practical questions (like the alcohol level one).

Hopefully the punters did go away with a few ticks or smiley faces against the wines they liked. If so, then that itself makes the event a great success in empowering individuals to choose wine that suits them.

Thanks for the insight!

regards

Ian

Walt, I've done the same thing and had much the same experience. I do recall seeing a shirtless man drinking right out of the bottle while in line for another bottle of a sweet berry wine and at the same festival, two women got into a fight - one had a broken bottle and cause such harm to the other that a state medi-vac chopper was called in. I have not volunteered since.

Yup, Walt....I've done this a few times before. I've seen some of what you describe. Susan's a pro at that kind of job....too good, in fact.
She enjoys chatting up people so much that they start to stack up behind the table.
Most of the ones I've poured at have been fairly high-level events and the people pretty knowledgeable. Not a whole lot in the way of
boorish behavior. But I enjoy doing those kind of events. It's a good way to hit up the chicks. I usually wear my finest/well-pressed leasure suit; stick
a few punched cards in my pocket behind the vinyl pocket protector with five...count 'em...five different colored ball point pens, strap on my Post
slide rule to my belt, and wear my horn-rimmed/ClarkKent glasses. Works on the chicks every time. For the hotties, I'll sometimes give them a punched
card and ask them to write down their phone number...in EBCDIC and HexaDecimal. I figure if they can't speak EBCDIC, they're not worth hitting on.
You wouldn't believe what it did for sales last time I poured w/ DonnReisen for Ridge!!!!
Tom

I have poured wines both professionally and as a volunteer. It is hard work. I love the events when the knowledgeable people show up, but you always have to continue to serve the masses. The most frequently asked question is about sweetness. I always hope I have a decent Riesling or Pinot Gris with which to challenge the taste buds. It's been a few years. I need to do that again. Good work Walt!

Dear Mark, enjoy the cabs, they should be good but my guess is you will not find them particularly high QPR.
James, this is the sort of thing I would like to do every few years. More often and it would just be a job.

Dear Ian, I hope that I was able to give the customers what they wanted, and some of them did want knowledge.

Dear Jon, Maybe it's because it was $30 per person for 1 oz. at a time, but no one was slurring their words or having trouble standing. If I had seen what you saw, I might have come away with a different opinion.

Dear Tom, I figured you had tried out being a pourer at some point in your career. I would never be as good at it as an extrovert like Susan, though.

Walt

I have poured at various events but the classic question was when I was pouring Benziger Chardonnay.

"Would you care to try the Chardonnay?" I asked.
"Sure, which grape is it made from?" was the reply.

No, really, do you have any red? Well, why not? Isn't most wine red?

Having worked behind the tasting bar I have great respect for what bartenders have to put up with most every night.
Luckily, 99.9% of the ppl are great but you remember the other yahoos.