The Etiquette Of Wine

Confused by the traditions associated with wine? We'll separate the fact from the fiction...
Holding up the bottle the waiter asked, "Shall I pour the wine or would you prefer to let it breathe for a while?" In many restaurants; such a question is an accepted part of the ritual. But let's stop and examine the rationale behind it.


Breathing means exposure to air, and all wine, except very old vintages that have become fragile, will benefit from a bit of air, becoming softer and more flavoursome. The easiest way to aerate wine is to have it poured into the waiting glasses. Obviously, more air can mix with the wine both during the act of pouring and when it rests in the glass than if it remains in the bottle. One can reasonably wonder at the nonsense of the question.

There is an etiquette of wine service that is admirable and sensible, even in these days of informality. There are also some traditions, once slavishly followed, that are either unnecessarily pretentious or downright incorrect. Any wine ritual that does not stand up to the test of logic deserves to be discarded.

When I worked in a leading Sydney hotel 25 years ago, red wine served in the restaurant came to the table in an attractive, wicker wine basket. It lay horizontally on the table, taking up too much space, and the wine sloshed to and fro as the waiter poured it into the glasses. Thus, if there were any sediment in the bottle, it was certain to find its way to the customer. The last glassful was often the consistency of soup - potage, not consomme.

Decanting is an option rarely offered in a restaurant, for there is no point in pulling a bottle from a wine rack and decanting it if the sediment hasn't been given a chance to settle. Before a wine is decanted, it should be stood upright for at least 24 hours, so that the sediment that isn't permanently stuck to the sides will slide to the bottom of the bottle. The wine then will be clear and ready for pouring off. If there is no sediment, it is unnecessary to decant the wine, except for the secondary purpose of aerating it.

Old and expensive wines should not be purchased in restaurants on impulse, as these wines need time and care to be readied for drinking. They cannot be at their best at an hour's notice. If you must drink fine wine in a restaurant, order it a few days before. The place for enjoying really great wines is at home. Need to compare the Nutritional values of food and drink? Use the Nutrition Comparison Calculator Tool.

Another ritual involves the waiter ceremoniously placing the cork beside you as you taste the wine in a restaurant. Why? I asked a number of waiters, and they offered the following reasons:

"Some customers like to smell or squeeze the cork so that they can make sure it is sound." 

“Diners like to read the name printed on the cork, to check its authenticity." 

"Customers expect it."

Surely, tasting the wine is a better way of Judging its condition than squeezing or smelling the cork? If the wine is "corked", or oxidised, it will become evident from the first sniff or taste. Experts tell me the fungus infection of cork that causes the rare, musty smell in a bottle of wine is usually not discernible by inspection of the cork. And if the experts can't tell by squeezing or smelling, why should I try? If I examined the cork of an oxidised wine I might find an indented fault line along which the demon air has entered the bottle. But it's the taste of the wine that is the primary consideration, not the appearance of the cork.

The second reason given for presenting the cork has its basis in the deceptions of all earlier age. In some of the world's grottier night spots, it has been known for incorrectly labelled wine to be served - but I'm sure those wicked waiters didn't offer the corks for inspection. If you are ever in a restaurant where you suspect the wine is not true to label, don't bother to read the cork. Leave immediately - don't wait to find out what they have done to the food!

I suppose some diners do expect to see the cork, just as they expect an already half-frozen bottle of wine to be plunged into an ostentatious silver bucket of messy ice and water, and to have their sparkling wine served in prawn cocktail glasses. If they want to see, feel or smell the cork, let them ask for it. As for me, if a cork is put in front of me, I quickly consign the ugly thing to the ashtray.
Once we had to learn our wine lore from books; now we have wine appreciation classes in all our capital cities.



About The Author:

Henry Hill is a writer for Wine & Food Magazine and NutritionComparison.org


Image Credit:
Uncalno