Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 8

Fined
&
SOMMELIER
REbEccA
ROSE PHILLIPS
EMbRAcES THE
cHALLENGE OF
Filtered
KEEPING HER WINE
bAR, VINTAGE WINE
+ EATS, AFLOAT
conventional business models or
try something totally new.
In March, 2020, Phillips had
to lay off her entire staff when
the initial shutdowns hit. When
she finally got the green light to
reopen in April, 2021, Phillips
knew that the only way the wine
bar could operate on reduced
sales was with a skeleton crew.
Her plan? She hired a team of
sommeliers, streamlined the kitchen,
and trained everyone to
work in both the front and the
back of the house. Today, everyone
on her crew is not only a sommelier,
but a dishwasher, a line
cook, and a toilet scrubber.
" My business partners said I
would never get a somm to do
dishes, " Phillips laughs. She not
only got one, but six. To encourage
them, she had to radically
change the tip structure so that,
no matter what position each
staff member worked, the pay
evened out. Today, the front-ofhouse
server makes the same as
the dishwasher.
For many restaurateurs struggling
through COVID times, staffing
has become a major dilemma,
and some are reconsidering the
role
of sommeliers.
Pre-pandemic,
San Francisco's Epic Steak
had a team of four sommeliers
The
Sommelier
Shift
As restaurants reopen across the country,
sommeliers adapt to the new normal
By ALISSA BICA
8
WINE & SPIR IT S Oc TO b ER 2021
" I
never thought I would
end up in the kitchen, "
Rebecca Rose Phillips says.
But on a humid August morning,
that's exactly where the certified
sommelier is, prepping taco meat
for that night's Taco Tuesday special.
As wine and beverage director
of Vintage Wine + Eats in Studio
City, California, this wasn't originally
part of her job, but she's still
smiling. Unusual? Perhaps. But it's
increasingly common as restaurants
decide whether to stick with
whose primary duty was to sell
wine; they received tips from the
servers on a daily basis. This practice
was eliminated when they
returned to work in June, 2020.
Today, the steakhouse runs
with a team of one, Grace Newport,
who primarily manages the
restaurant floor, selling wine only
when she can. She also runs the
team of bartenders, manages the
schedule, and trains the rest of
the staff. Without any alternative
compensation, Newport had to
take a pay cut to help the restaurant
survive.
Still, many restaurants have
held to something close to their
pre-pandemic model, At Otium,
in downtown Los Angeles, sommeliers
perform the same roles as
they always have. " I worked hard
to keep employees from doing
tasks or jobs other than those
for which they were hired, " beverage
director Andrew Pettingell
PHOTOS BY MADDIE CORDOBA

Wine & Spirits - October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2021

Contents
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - Cover1
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - Cover2
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 1
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 2
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 3
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 4
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 5
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - Contents
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 7
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 8
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 9
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 10
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 11
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 12
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 13
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 18
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 19
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 20
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 21
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 47
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 48
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 49
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 50
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 51
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 52
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 53
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 54
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 56
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 57
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 58
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 60
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 61
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 62
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 63
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 65
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 68
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 69
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 70
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 71
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 72
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 73
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 74
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 75
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 76
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 77
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 78
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 79
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 80
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 81
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 89
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 90
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 91
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 92
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 100
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Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 109
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 110
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 111
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 112
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - Cover3
Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - Cover4
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