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Restaurant wine service

Edited by Darryl Beeson

Wine is very important to fine dining. Here is how it all unfolds from a diner’s stand point. In many restaurants the wine service will be simpler than the formal service described below but the concepts are still the same.
 
After being seated the wine list will be presented, usually by the server, but it may be given by the greeter or sommelier. You are more likely to find a sommelier in a finer restaurant, especially in Europe. A sommelier, simply, is a wine waiter. He/She will have extra knowledge about the wine selection, wine service, and food pairings. It is very possible that the sommelier will have had some level of control in selecting the wines that are on the wine list. If a restaurant has a sommelier, that person will work specifically with guest regarding wine. A sommelier's attire will usually be different than the other servers. In restaurants without a sommelier, the server will handle both the food and wine selections.

Once the wine(s) have been selected, if bin numbers are not used on the list, the host can point to the wine on the list to identify a selection. Because some wine names are so similar and because wines of different vintages can vary in quality and value, it is traditional for the sommelier or server to bring the bottle to the wine host. This provides an opportunity to verify that the bottle is indeed the wine that was wanted before the cork is removed. If everything matches up, a nod indicates to the server that the wine is correct. The most common error will be an incorrect vintage or wines of the correct variety of grape but from the wrong winery. These are usually just innocent errors caused by mistakes in communication or vintage changes that were not updated on the wine list.

Once the bottle has been approved, the waiter will remove the cork with a corkscrew. It is acceptable for the bottle to be placed on the table for stability, or a more accomplished waiter may hold the bottle in the air. In either instance, the server is usually standing to the right, just behind the wine host. Once the cork is removed, it will be placed just to the right of the wine host for inspection. It is very common for a little mold to develop on a cork just under the capsule. It does not affect the wine in the bottle. The wine host may look to see if there is a stain that runs the entire length of the cork on one side (especially visible with red wines). This can indicate that the seal of the cork was faulty and that wine was able to leak out and air able to leak in. It could indicate that the wine was stored at too high a temperature or stood upright for too long at some point in its life. The wine may be bad or still good. The knowing consumer inspects the wine more closely when tasting.

The server will pour a small portion for the wine host. This is an opportunity for the bottle to be approved or rejected for cause. It is possible for a wine to be “corked,” oxidized, or have some other flaw that would make it unsuitable. These conditions rarely occur with most wines but can increase in older or poorly stored wines. If the wine host should detect one of these conditions, the server is informed and the bottle rejected. It will be removed and either replaced with another bottle of the same wine or a different wine could be suggested by the server. Depending on the wine and the point in the meal, the wine will should be poured (possibly decanted) placed on the table or set in an ice bucket. Red wines that are old and likely to have sediment should be decanted by the waiter or sommelier. Red wines that are not fully mature or are 'closed' will benefit from exposure to oxygen. This is known as letting a wine 'breath' and can be accomplished by decanting. A “big” red wine that is scheduled to accompany the main course might be opened and poured during the appetizer or salad course while the guests are possibly enjoying a white wine or cocktails

When it is time to pour the wine, proper etiquette is for the server to pour the wine for the ladies first, clockwise from the wine host, then the men in the same clockwise manner with the wine host last. For a large table (eight or more guests at a table), the server may pour around the table clockwise from the wine host to all guests regardless of gender. If the number of guests is greater than six or seven people, the server may suggest to the host that another bottle is in order. Whatever the decision of the host, the waiter should ensure that all guests receive a nearly equal amount even if it means that each receives a less than normal pour. Only a very poor server will run out of wine before making it around the table.

Darryl Beeson travels the world looking for great wine values. In the past, he has been wine steward or cellar master for The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Voltaire, and The Adolphus Hotel. Not one for stuffiness or secret handshakes relative to wine, this Texan might now be described as a "ki-yi-yippee sommelier, sommelier." Beeson reports on wine, spirits, food and travel for numerous publications.

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