Restaurant Rituals

One of the intimidating aspects of ordering a bottle of wine in a restaurant is the ritual surrounding the presentation and opening of the bottle. It is in fact not as big a deal as it appears. The ritual has only two purposes, ensuring the wine you ordered is the wine you got, and ensuring that the wine has not spoiled.

Ordering

Ask for the wine list. If you don’t see something you recognize as liking at a price you want to pay, ask the waiter for help. The waiter doesn’t know what you like, so you will have to say something like, “I’m looking for either a Merlot or soft Cabernet Sauvignon in the $15 to $20 range”. Or you might say “I’d like a crisp white wine under $20 that will go well with a Caesar salad”. With that kind of information the waiter should be able to make one or two suggestions. Make your selection either by name or by number. If in doubt, don’t be embarrassed to ask how to pronounce the name of the wine. Every wine you encounter offers a variety of learning opportunities, including how to pronounce the stuff on the label. The important thing is don’t be afraid to ask the waiter questions. He’s not going to embarass you, he wants to sell you a bottle of wine.

Presentation
The waiter presents the bottle. It is not uncommon for the waiter to have misunderstood your order and bring the wrong wine. Examine the label to verify the wine is what you selected. Check at least for the name of the maker, the variety and the vintage Pay particular attention to the vintage. Many restaurants do not routinely revise their wine lists and the vintage listed may not be the vintage on hand. Once you have verified the wine, just give a nod and say “that’s fine”.

Opening
The purpose of this part of the ritual is to look for signs that the cork may have allowed air to leak into the bottle. The waiter will open the bottle in front of you and hand you the cork. There is no need to smell it, that’s only done in the movies. Examine the condition of the cork. If it is crumbling air may have contaminated the wine. For red wine, also look for a thin streak of wine running from the bottom of the cork all the way to the top. This is the trail of the wine trying to escape. If wine has gotten out then air has gotten in. If either of these conditions has occurred point them out to the waiter and move on to tasting the wine.

Tasting
The purpose of tasting is not to determine whether or not you like the wine. The purpose of tasting is to verify that the wine has not spoiled. The waiter will pour a small amount into a glass. Hold the glass up by the stem and examine the wine. The wine should be clear and pristine in appearance. If it is cloudy or has a brownish or rust colored tinge it may be spoiled. Next, without swirling, put your nose in the glass and smell the wine. If the wine smells musty or like vinegar or burnt raisins it may be spoiled. Next, swirl the wine in the glass and smell it again looking for the same odors. Now taste the wine. Your purpose is to confirm what your nose has already told you, that the wine is or is not spoiled. If the wine tastes like vinegar, raisins or just nasty, tell the waiter that you think it is spoiled. He will then smell and taste the wine and if he concurs that the wine has spoiled he will replace it. In most cases even if he does not concur the wine will be replaced.

Serving
Even if you are not going to drink the wine immediately, ask the waiter to pour wine for everyone at the table. The wine needs to breath and it can do that best in a glass. The waiter should fill the glasses only to the point on the bowl where the glass begins to curve inward toward the mouth. The waiter should be attentive and return to your table to refill your glasses. If he does not, it is your job to keep your table’s glasses full.

History
It is interesting that much of the opening ritual originated to prevent dishonesty on the part of wine purveyors. Historically good wine was often expensive and it was not uncommon for innkeepers and other purveyors to attempt to serve cheap wine in the guise of expensive wine. The presentation of the bottle for inspection after ordering was to ensure another bottle of lesser value had not been substituted. Requiring the bottle be opened in front of you was to ensure the bottle ordered and examined was in fact the bottle opened. And the presentation of the cork was to ensure the label on the bottle was authentic. If the bottle was dishonestly labeled, the information on the cork, usually the maker, varietal and vintage, would not agree with that on the label.