Ah, the sommelier. The congenial gentleman with receding hairline and silver cup. Out pours the mellifluous banter, silky as an '82 Bordeaux. With his accent of French guests fear him as the most urbane of savvy salesmen, always out for the upsell. Restaurant owners, too, are wary of his persuasive powers and the deep pockets needed to fund his deep cellars.

In reality, the modern sommelier may be one of the most misunderstood professionals. In contrast to the stereotype, today's successful sommelier is likely to be a woman, or even a thirty-something surfer with a few piercings. With the current economic climate, many are committed to offering their diners wines that are friendly to the wallet as well as the palate. And far from an employable indulgence, the right sommelier can actually add greatly to your bottom line. Indeed, the greatest fallacy regarding sommeliers may be that you don't need one.

The title of "sommelier" is essentially a self-appointed one. There are, however, a number of professional organizations dedicated to training and offering various accreditations in this growing field. The Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) offers Intermediate and Advanced Certificates as well as a WSET Diploma. Others include the CAFA Formation in Bordeaux (France), the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionel des Vins de Bordeaux), and also BIVB (Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne)

The Court of Master Sommeliers, with an American chapter established in 1977, offers three levels of courses including the Introductory Sommelier Course, Advanced Sommelier Course and Master Sommelier Diploma. They bestow only one title, Master Sommelier (MS), and currently have about 50 members with the venerable ranking. However, there are many professionals who by virtue of their natural talent and experience are fully capable despite a lack of formal education.

So what precisely is the job? In their most essential role the sommelier creates and maintains the wine list and then works the floor, relating that list to diners, assisting them in their wine selection and serving. But, as Andrew Green, wine director at The Village Pub, an upscale 85-seat restaurant in Woodside, California explains, "I consider myself the quarterback of the dining room. I'm here to step in and help a diner with their experience or help the servers tailor their experience, give them nudge in the right direction. We don't have a formal maitre 'd, so that's my domain as well. We have a large number of repeat customers and I'm there to make people happy."

While in Europe the dedicated floor sommelier is a fixture in even small establishments, American restaurants usually heap additional duties on the position. In addition to filling a breadbasket, clearing a table or firing a food order when necessary, the new, liberated sommelier may also be responsible for ongoing staff education.

Roger Dagorn, Master Sommelier, and maitre d'hotel at Chanterelle since 1993, illustrates another important dimension a sommelier can add to a restaurant's dining experiences. In addition to providing guests with sensational wine pairings, he plans and coordinates sell-out wine dinners which have made Chanterelle a destination. Chanterelle's owner Karen Waltuck says of Dagorn, "He is knowledgeable without a hint of pretension and approachable without being obsequious. We value Roger's professionalism, matched by his warm and gracious manner. He truly takes pleasure in any wine a customer orders from an obscure Shiraz from an up-and-coming winery in Australia to the most famed vintages of Chateau d'Yquem and absolutely everything in between."

Investing in a sommelier is an investment in your inventory. Michael Greenlee, sommelier at Gotham Bar & Grill in New York, points out that, "In a restaurant's total inventory, most goods are perishable or breakable; wine is neither and represents the only serious capital investment other than the physical structure of the restaurant. So, I also serve as a kind of investment manager for a big chunk of the owner's money!! I like to describe it as two jobs, my "9-5" financial job, managing the business of the beverage program, and the 'top Hat, P.T. Barnum' part of the job selling wine and creating experiences for our guests."

When it comes to hiring a sommelier for your establishment, size matters. "There is no hard and fast rule," says Tim Gaiser, MS and Education Chair for the Court of Master Sommeliers. "Most professionals working the floor receive a combination of salary and percentage of wine sales, so you just have to have the list to support the role." Less important, in the eyes of Green, is clientele. "I think almost any restaurant can benefit. I don't think sommeliers should be limited to fine dining. Middle-tier restaurants, should employ them as well. At the end of the day, if you're selling wine you need to have someone who is educated about wine and can educate the staff."

A dedicated sommelier can have a profound effect on your bottom line by enhancing beverage service. "I was talking to a restaurant in Vail last week and upon adding a sommelier position their average check went up $20," says Gaiser. He believes servers tend to do the "bare minimum" in terms of beverage service. And with typical server turnover many restaurants find themselves in a constant struggle to maintain minimum standards of service and sales. Imagine, with a single person dedicated to beverage service, you only have to say "Let's not forget to offer the mineral water and after dinner drinks," one time. As a sommelier at Druid's Glen Marriott Hotel Nicolas Deseaux single handily increased beverage sales by 15%.