Resort Sommeliers ?

I had an interesting experience last night. At a group dinner, we had two bottles of wine ultimately for our table. The first was an excellent selection -- a somewhat well-aged Brunello and the second was a recommendation of the gentleman who introduced himself as the sommelier. We'll come back to that.

The list was quite expansive and quite expensive given the wines. But, for example, it's not often that you see an 07 Penfolds Grange on a resort list. But, the markups on these wines were just nuts.

Back to the sommelier. I had my suspiciones when he began opening the first bottle. He did do the foil cut somewhat properly and placed the removed foil in his pocket. So far, so good. But, then it was time for him to uncork the bottle. I noticed his light blue wine key. While that in and of itself is not a determining indicator, light blue is not usually the corkscrew of choice for experienced somms. He placed the bottle on the table and insterted the tip of the thread into the cork. On the table? Big faux pas. And, finally, after getting my approval on the wine (it was quite good), he served the other guests. He did not do entirely ladies first (faux pas) and he did not start with the oldest lady at the table (small faux pas). 

The second bottle was more interesting. While he did repeat all of his first bottle faux pas, there was yet another tell right after I approved the second bottle. He said, "It's a red blend and I really like red blends." 

Frequent readers will know that I posted a few weeks ago on red blends. The can be anything. But, somehow this gentleman who described himself as a sommelier thought that the concept of a red blend was a winner. He went on to eplain that this is because they are smooth. Well, do I have some news for him, while some red blends are smooth, some are far from it. Just ask my beaten up palate. 

When he came back to check on us, he remarked again about how much he likes red blends. Nice guy, and he tried hard, but sommelier? I don't think so.

I guess this is a Mexcian Riviera Resort Sommelier -- a new designation.