If you actually read up on the wines, you’d know more about them than 95% of the “wine consultants” I’ve had recommend wines to me. 
What happens when a customer asks if you’ve tasted the wine you just recommended?
The only good answer I can think of is, “No, but from what you’ve told me you’ve liked in the past, this sounds like it would be right up your alley.”
The alternatives are not so good:
- “No, but this winery has a great reputation, from what I read.”
- “No, but my manager [distributor’s rep] said it was great.”
- “No, but the Wine Spectator gave it 97 points.”
- “No, but James Molesworth said it had delightful hints of singed alder.”
- “No, but I really liked the current release 10 years ago.”
- “No. I don’t drink the shit you buy.”
- “No but what difference would it make to you?”
- “No but it’s red. That means it’s good.”
- “No. F off!”
And finally
- “No but James Suckling threw a whopping 97 points on this baby and it’s going to fly out of here so grab a few cases while we still have them!!!”
Instead of drinking you could taste and spit … a good alternative …
Otherwise, I would have problems with you as a consultant
(just like with a catholic priest giving marriage recs … 
)
Ah, so true…so true.
I agree with this for the most part, but Angelo Dundee was never a boxer and Frank Martin got his team to the Final Four and never played ball. Mark Few never played past high school.
Not a good fit at all for the job, I am afraid. Any more than Christies is going to hire an art appraiser who has been blind for the last nine years.
Rick, I’m assuming that you wouldn’t want to taste and spit. If that’s the case, I think you could sell wine in a retail setting, but you could never be very good at it. I say that as someone who has worked wine retail for 10+ years. I get asked quite frequently if I’ve tried a wine that I just recommended. In most cases, if I hadn’t, I would lose the customer’s trust. My advice would be not to pursue this.
Tim has been out of the wine business for many years. In an interview I saw, he said he stopped tasting and spitting a while back too. Really, doing that would be a TERRIBLE idea for someone recovering from alcoholism.
The whole concept of a wine consultant recommending a specific wine without tasting it beforehand is rather absurd.
I am a long time customer of K&L.
I lived 10 minutes from the place.
I frequented the place a lot and got to know the people who worked there.
From tasting with these people and talking up various wines, I got to know who had similar palates.
For instance, the late Jim Barr knew what I liked in a wine and when he tasted one with that profile he would recommend it to me.
He was usually spot on.
How could he suggest a specific wine that would fit my taste without sampling it?
TTT
I tend to agree with this. Dancing with the devil daily.
Considering what gets sold in the art markets these days, I’m not sure that’s an accurate assessment.
Bruce
Serious question: what’s the difference between a “wine consultant” and a salesperson in a wine retail location?
Bruce
I think people can do anything they put their mind to. Certainly there will be obstacles and you would need to create methods to work around those. Fundamentally, people who are successful in the wine business get there through not only passion but hard work. I imagine the person making the offer is aware of your not being involved in tasting and still wants you on board. Bring something in the way of a skill that few others possess and you can be part of a viable team.
Probably not so much
30%
Simple answer. Start drinking again.
Wow. Really? Such bad taste
I don’t think it’s in bad taste to suggest the OP start drinking again. Is he an alcoholic? Maybe he quit to save money, or lose weight. Either way, if you have a problem with alcohol, maybe you shouldn’t get into the alcohol business. To suggest that it’s in bad taste to suggest to a guy that he should start drinking again, when he posts about getting back in the game is silly. I can’t believe the OP’s question is a serious one.
Exactly. If he quit drinking for health/addiction reasons I apologize. But I didn’t take this seriously, hence my post.
Mostly true. The first time I ever had Sherry it was served to me blind. I was handed a glass of wine and was simply told, “Try this.” I correctly called Sherry, despite never having smelled it or tasted it previously.
An exception that proves the rule.