If you’ve ever spent your morning commute dreaming of starting your career afresh, this feature is for you. Every Monday we speak to someone from a different profession to find out what it’s really like. This week we chat to Joe Radford, sommelier at Michelin-starred restaurant Timberyard in Edinburgh.
Salary will vary… Depending on the level of the wine professional, probably around £30,000–£50,000. I know that the salary could easily rise to £66,000 before including Tronc shares in London, which consist of tips and service charges, as well as bonuses.
The industry definitely faces an issue where many individuals struggle with substance abuse or consume alcohol to numb their pain and avoid confronting other aspects of their lives. At least this was the situation for me. I’ve been working with wine for 15 years, but I’ve been in the wine business for more than six years. I talk about these issues very generously to people who have asked. Breaking the stigma associated with alcohol is important in the beverage business.
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Hospitality is finally catching up to other industries in terms of work-life balance… In the past, people working in restaurants and bars worked longer hours, longer days, and more days a week. Work-life balance has changed in the last five years. Most sommeliers are wine professionals in the 40-45 hour bracket, which is pretty standard.
I now work as a sober attendant… And I’m still able to create a wine list without drinking the wine myself. There are other sober sommeliers in this country and around the world, but many people don’t know about them, and there is still a misconception that you can’t do this job unless you drink. Many people are also struggling with alcohol abuse and don’t feel like they are in a position to talk about it, so hopefully sharing my story can help change that. So now, I taste and spit, and I’m pretty sure my palate has never been sharper.
Feeling the way the slopes align, watching the sun rise in the morning, or seeing firsthand the effect the mountains have on the vines—all of this deepens your understanding of a region and the wine it produces. You can’t get a fair idea of these things until you tour the vineyard or cellar or hear the winemaker tell the vineyard story and talk about their craft.
Perhaps Georgia is an underrated wine region or country that receives insufficient attention. I was lucky to visit last May, and it was a huge eye-opener, not just because of the wine culture, but also because it was the birthplace of wine, with records dating back thousands of years. The wines there are very unique and offer a glimpse of times past. It was a war-torn country right next to Europe, so you are influenced by war, spice routes, etc.
One trick to pairing wine with food is… See what’s near and dear from a wine perspective. By this I mean pairing food with wines from that region. Overall, wherever the dish originated or wherever the ingredients primarily came from is a good place to start looking for wines for pairing.
Overall, the more you are willing to spend, the better value you will usually get for the bottle you get… Margins are reduced, so those at the very south of the list (more commonly recognised) have the largest markups. It all depends on the quantity of bottles ordered – whether inexpensive or a crowd pleaser – these wines tend to have higher margins. Those with lower margins tend to move slower through the wine list. An economy operates, meaning that the more money you spend, the more opportunities you have to obtain better value.
Restaurants impose mark-ups on wine, but they also incur additional overhead costs that supermarkets do not have to manage. Purchasing wine is similar, but on top of that, restaurants have to take into account storage, sorting wines, printing wine lists, sorting bottles by age, service costs, glass cleaning, etc. You also have to consider how the wines are presented, venue rental, heating, lighting, and ambience. Over the years, restaurant owners have responded to customers by cost, so you can actually see what they’re making in terms of profit (which is often very little).
Three tips for navigating a wine list…
1) Connect with employees and ask for guidance;
2) Have a rough indication of budget in mind;
3) Don’t be afraid of the unknown – This allows you to find more intriguing options that are potentially even better value.
When dealing with difficult clients, I approach them with kindness. But also try to meet them at your level. Some people have certain likes and dislikes; it’s important to understand what these are and find something that fits.
The most classic flaw to look for when identifying off wines is… Cork stains, and this is usually quite obvious from the damp, wet, cardboard aroma. I always trust my first instinct; it’s the easiest way to tell if a wine is good to drink or not. If it doesn’t feel right to you right off the bat, it probably is faulty.
When asked to taste wine, the goal is to see if it’s faulty, not if you like it. Some restaurants act ridiculously when guests return wine they dislike, even if it isn’t defective. To avoid wasting money when a bottle is returned from the table, we sometimes take it back and incorporate it into a wine pairing or use it for team training. We usually try to cover the cost of the bottle with glass sales and move on.
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The biggest mistake people make when tasting wine is… They try to think about too many things at once, but if they like wine and it makes them feel good, then it’s the right wine for them. This is a lesson we’ve borrowed from the whisky industry – many people become quite stubborn about how people should drink things, very prescriptive with lots of rules. But at the end of the day, if you want your white wine with ice and you’ll enjoy it more that way, that’s fine.
You can get very simple hand pumps that help keep opened bottles fresh… And also tightly sealing cork stoppers. You can seal the wine with the latter, and it prolongs freshness and longevity. You can get more expensive versions of electric hand pumps, but a hand pump has a bigger impact, and some of them cost as little as £15.
The hardest part of the job is what diners have never seen; these tasks all occur behind the scenes. Service is the glamorous part, but in terms of organisation, we must consider various tasks such as managing cellar or storage space, keeping the wine list up to date, coordinating deliveries, verifying the correct vintage, ensuring the right bottles are discarded, classifying them accurately, and making sure they are stored properly. There is a lot to juggle.
In the supermarket… Try to find the humble Vin de France, Vino Bianco/Rosso. These wines may not come with the appellation written on the label, but you can often find exceptional value for money from emerging regions and producers who are avoiding the appellation-of-approval stamp requirement.
The only thing that is a little scary is the idea that acquiring knowledge about wine is a never-ending pursuit. No one can ever truly conquer the art of wine in this industry. Just when you think you’re coming to an end, there are new possibilities to come to your mind, new producers to meet, and new climate changes to consider. It seems a bit relentless, but it’s good fun.
