Have you ever been impressed by the wine service in a fancy restaurant, but not sure exactly what the sommelier is doing that made you felt "nice"? Have you ever wondered what's the best way to serve wine at the fancy dinner party that you are hosting? In this post I'd like to share a few tips on how to serve wine like a professional.
Setting: assume that you are hosting a fancy dinner party and your guest of honor brought a beautiful bottle of 2012 left-bank Bordeaux. You have a party of 6 with both men and women.
Preparation: ideally you would have a clean white towel folded and draped on your left arm (you are right-handed), and a corkscrew in your pocket. You can skip the towel - not a big deal at home. Wine glasses are already set on the table on the guests' right. 2 coasters on the table (one for the cork, another for the bottle - no big deal if don't have them).
Temperature: I generally don't like splitting hairs with serving temperature. I prefer 55-60 F for red wines and a tad colder (50-55 F) for whites. If you don't have a temperature controlled cellar, chill the red a little bit in the fridge (~30min) before serving.
Presentation: hold the body of the bottle in your left hand and the neck in your right hand, label facing the guests, and present the vintage, appellation, and winemaker to your guests. Key here is label facing guests.
Opening the bottle: cut the foil from under the lips (clean cut), wipe the top with your towel (to get rid of mold if any), remove the cork using your preferred method, then wipe the top again (to get rid of cork dust). Put the cork on a coaster on the table.
Test pour: this is your guest's bottle... so you can skip it if you want. Or you can pour a little bit in your own glass, smell it (key here: don't drink it), and say, "ah that's beautiful!" Don't test pour for any of your guests.
Pouring: start with your guest of honor, then the ladies, then the gentlemen, in a clockwise order. For a party larger than 8 or if space is limited, it's okay to just pour clockwise. Always pour from one's right side (if seating area permits). Pour for yourself in the last place. After each pour, wipe the top of the bottle with your towel.
Finish: put the bottle on a coaster on the table. Enjoy the lovely bottle with your lovely guests.
In a fancy restaurant, the wine service is almost like a ceremony and can get quite detailed. However, the key components are roughly the same as outlined above (except that the sommelier will present to and test pour for you). Next time you order a bottle of wine at a nice restaurant, you'd notice those details that the sommelier performs for you!
Thanks for sharing! I was curious after this to look up any articles written about how to taste wine at a restaurant. I always think of the ritual as so uncomfortable - me basically trying to play it cool so I look like I have at least some idea of what I'm doing. I've gotten to the point where, depending on the price point of the bottle I order, I just say pour and skip the tasting all together. What I will do, however, is double check the label. I've seen too many "mistakes" when the waiter brings out the wrong bottle or the wrong vintage in an attempt to coerce you into a much more expensive bottle. This especially happens at dinner meetings when the orderer is distracted by conversation or wants to avoid an awkward moment in front of coworkers or clients.
ReplyDeleteHere's a quick tasting 101:
http://www.decanter.com/learn/taste-wine-in-the-restaurant-364949/
Thanks for sharing this Eric, super helpful! I am curious as to what you learned in the service portion of your sommelier training about gender dynamics. It sounds like the norm is to pour for women before men, do you think this will continue into the future or is more of an outdated practice? I've had so many management dinners where I was the most junior person but they danced around the table to ensure I was served first and, personally, I found it uncomfortable. Just curious if the powers that be are thinking about evolving this!
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