If you are like me, you truly enjoy the experience of tasting the first pour from a newly uncorked bottle of wine at a restaurant. I didn’t always feel that way though. I remember I was on a date with a student chef. This was many years ago before my foray into the wine world. I was probably 20 years old at the time (the drinking age was 18). He was trying to impress me with his wine etiquette skills and ordered a bottle of wine at very nice restaurant. I didn’t think anything of it until the bottle came to the table…what happened after that was “totally embarrassing” to me. Granted I was a young woman who knew absolutely nothing about wine or the proper way to serve and/or taste it. All I knew was that I was sitting at a table in the middle of a nice restaurant watching in shock as my date swirled, sniffed, and gargled what seemed to be an expensive bottle of wine. What was he doing? I looked around feeling humiliated! But to my surprise, no one even cared, including the waiter! How could this be? My date wasn’t being shy about it and was (at least in my mind) really loud and making a scene.
After the ritual was over, I was schooled on the proper way to hold the glass, swirl the wine, and drink the wine to get the “full experience”. I don’t think it sunk in, but I do remember the wine was amazingly good.
Fast forward many years later as I have gone through wine training and tasted very many different wines over the years. I have learned to appreciate and even expect the wine ritual at my table. Some restaurants are more strict about it, and the etiquette is stringent, especially if it is a restaurant with a sommelier.
For this article, we’ll talk about the typical wine rituals that you will come across at very nice restaurants with servers that know a little something about wine presentation.
So, you and your date or some friends are at a very nice restaurant. You are a bit more dressed up tonight. You’ve forsaken your jeans, t-shirt, and sweater for a nice pair of pants or dress/skirt and pretty top/button down shirt. The stage is set…you are seated at the table and along comes the ample wine list. Reds, whites, rosés, sparkling. Since you are the most well versed in the selection of wine (what you like, what you are eating, what others seem to gravitate towards…), you narrow the list down. Then the server arrives and asks for your selection and the process begins…
Step 1: The server will return with the bottle that you have selected and present it to you. Check to make sure that indeed it is the wine you ordered. If it is the correct wine, nod in approval. If not, ask for the correct bottle…always be kind in doing this.
Step 2: The server will uncork the bottle and place the cork in front of you. This is so you can smell and inspect the cork for any signs of mold or damage. If it’s good, nod in approval. If it looks or smells suspicious, wait to taste the wine before making a judgment about it.
Step 3: If it’s a red wine, it may need aeration. Ask for a decanter if the server hasn’t brought one. If there isn’t one available, be sure to swirl the wine in your glass a few times prior to tasting it. This will “open” up the flavors in the glass.
Step 4: The server will pour you a small sampling of the wine. They will wait for your impression before pouring a full glass for your guest(s). Swirl the sample of wine in your glass. Sniff the wine. Taste the wine with a mouthful so that you can truly experience the full taste. If the wine is acceptable, nod in approval. If the wine doesn’t meet your approval, send it back for another bottle. Explain what the issue is to the server. You never want to serve your guest(s) faulty wine!
Step 5: The server will pour the approved wine for your guest(s) and then pour your wine. Relax and enjoy a beautiful wine!
As I think back on my first experience with this wine ritual, I have to laugh at myself. I was a young woman with not much experience under my belt. My date wasn’t “gargling” with wine, he was adding oxygen and aerating it. When I first learned about the proper ways to taste wine, it blew my mind! The memory of that first wine tasting came back so clear. I don’t know what ever happened to the chef student, but I have to thank him for introducing me to the “ritual”.
Cheers!
