In 2013, a trio of well-used dictionaries—Merriam Webster, Google and Macmillan Dictionary—expanded the definition of “literally” (formerly, “actually”) to include the more colloquial usage of the term (“figuratively”). Grammarians, predictably perhaps, took to the internet en masse to mourn the loss of a perch on which to scold those who used the word incorrectly. That same year, the echo chamber of the internet also lit up with news that Los Angeles restaurant Ray’s and Stark Bar
had hired a water “sommelier” for its 45-page water menu. And then, a
cascade of sommeliers followed in 2014: a whiskey sommelier, a mustard
sommelier, a stateside course for becoming an olive oil sommelier.
What had been a title formerly reserved for “a waiter in a restaurant
who has charge of wines and their service,” (Merriam-Webster, 2015)
seemingly had slipped in popular usage to come to mean “expert” or
“connoisseur.” Add in a debate over the efficacy of the sommelier
certification programs, which some argue have been co-opted by wine
hobbyists looking to learn more about the topic, and the definition of
the word has become anything but clear.
All of which is to say, language evolves. But in the case of the
sommelier, what does this adaptation by non-wine fields mean? It proves
especially curious at a time when a new generation of restaurant
professionals seem to be distancing themselves from the stereotypical
suited-up, overly formal sommelier archetype.
The claim that the term should only belong to wine servers is in
itself, a fairly modern conception. The word “sommelier” has
etymological roots in either middle French, where “soumelier” was an
official who transported supplies, or further back, from Latin’s
“sagma,” meaning “packsaddle.”
Whatever duties a sommelier might actually perform in a restaurant in
addition to wine service—making a tea list, choosing the water or
helping with cigars, which is apparently still a thing—the title is
still primarily linked to the wine world. We don’t need to say, “wine
sommelier”; it is understood. So when other sectors of the food and
beverage industry start adopting the word, and adopting it to mean
“expert” rather than “server,” it’s worth asking: What is meant to be
achieved?
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