Talking to customers about wine.

How much does someone need to know about wine to be an effective retailer? You could certainly argue that selling and merchandising are skills that transcend the product itself--that if you can sell lettuce or shoelaces, you can sell wine. And in the short term, that might even be true. More than once, for example, I've bought an unfamiliar bottle of wine just because the salesperson was enthusiastic about that wine and did a good job of selling it to me. (Sometimes, I disliked the wine, but I never regretted trying it.)

Long term, however, wine demands product knowledge. Without it, who could possibly keep straight all the types of wines, the vintages, regions, grapes and styles? How could someone stock shelves, let alone make informed buying and pricing decisions?

The more involved in wine someone is, in fact, the more that person needs to know. Wine requires not just knowledge but a real depth of knowledge--because knowing just a little information can do more harm than good.

I remember once hearing a salesperson tell a customer that of the two Chardonnays he was considering, the one that was barrel-fermented would be oakier than the one that was just barrel-aged. His limited knowledge caused him to mislead the customer. And we've all been in situations in which apparently knowledgeable wine professionals spout off factoids about yeast strains or soil types that are just meaningless obstructions to any actual communication about the wine in question.

Wine is one of those information-laden fields in which it's easy for people to sound as if they know their way around if they use jargon and technical language. They might even impress others with their apparent expertise. But when the whole point is to service the consumer--give him or her an enjoyable wine via a pleasant exchange that encourages the customer to shop again--the ego rewards of impressing others can be counterproductive. Better to lack knowledge than to use a bit of it to create the impression, in customers' minds, that wine is complicated and tricky.

The happy medium is to have enough knowledge to be comfortable in talking about wine in a straightforward manner. It sounds illogical, but the more someone knows about wine, the more he realizes how much he doesn't know, and that realization can enable him to communicate better with his customers. My own epiphany along these lines came in 1995 when Ed McCarthy and I wrote Wine For Dummies, a book that required us to be completely down to earth in explaining wine; if we hadn't had several decades of learning and experience between us at that time, I realized, we could never have gotten beyond our own knowledge enough to simplify such a complex subject.

The best way to build wine knowledge is to read about wine as much as possible and attend wine classes. It takes time, but it's the surest route to serving the consumer well. In the meantime, here are some tips that can take you in the right direction, both in learning and in speaking with customers.

* When learning from others, consider the source; for example, some well-meaning salespeople will share information with you that seems to be valid but in fact is true mainly for the brand(s) they represent.

* Taste in the company of those whose palate you respect.

* In your mind, separate fine wines from inexpensive "beverage" wines, and apply different standards to them. If a customer says he likes to drink a $5.99 Chardonnay on ice, what's the harm?

* Bear in mind that varietal wines are no better and no worse than regional wines or blended wines.

* Don't forget that a high score from a critic does not mean that every customer will enjoy that wine.

* Never lose sight of the fact that taste is personal and personal taste is indisputable.

* Remember that wine is such a vast field, no one can be expected to know everything.

Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW, is president of International Wine Center, a NYC school where wine professionals can earn the internationally-recognized credentials of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET[R]). She is also executive director of WSET programs for the U.S. She can be contacted at [e-mail].