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!
