ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a detailed description of the work sommeliers do when they present, describe and communicate a wine. The serving process can be thought of as a public ceremony where the sensuous properties of a wine and a cultivated knowledge of it are exposed before the diners’ eyes. By teaching his/her customers how to appreciate a wine and how to talk about it, the sommelier aims to transform them from untrained drinkers into connoisseurs, able to discriminate self-confidently between ‘the noble and the ignoble in consumable goods’ (Veblen 1899: 190). In this way sommeliers actively participate in the social construction of prestige.
