Handling the Wine Presentation Ritual

4 of 9 in Series: The Essentials of Pairing Wine with Food

In many restaurants, the wine presentation ritual occurs with solemnity and ceremony. The hushed tones of the waiter and the ritualized performance of the wine presentation can make you want to smile or laugh. Actually, though, there’s some logic behind the wine presentation ritual.

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The waiter or sommelier presents the bottle to you for inspection.

This step ensures that the bottle presented is the bottle you ordered. Check the label carefully. Feel the bottle with your hand, if you like, to determine whether its temperature seems to be correct. If you’re satisfied, nod your approval to the server.

The server removes the cork and places it in front of you.

With this step, you determine (by smelling and visually inspecting the cork), whether the cork is in good condition, and whether the cork seems to be the legitimate cork for that bottle of wine. If the cork does raise your suspicions, you should wait to smell or taste the wine itself before deciding whether to reject the bottle.

If your wine needs decanting, the server decants it.

Some red wines need aeration before you consume them. An open decanter can be used for this purpose, allowing the wine to breathe. After aerating and sampling the wine, you may decide to let it breathe some more.

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The server pours a small amount of wine into your glass and waits.

At this point, you’re expected to take a sniff of the wine, perhaps a little sip, and then either nod your approval to the waiter or murmur, “It’s fine.” If something is wrong with the wine, describe the issue to the server. Be sympathetic to the fact that you’re causing more work for him, but don’t be overly apologetic. Let him smell or taste the wine himself if he would like.

If you accept the wine, the waiter pours the wine into your guests’ glasses and then finally into yours.

Now you’re allowed to relax and enjoy the wine!

Depending on whether the sommelier agrees that it’s a bad bottle or whether he believes that you don’t understand the wine, he may bring you another bottle of the same, or he may bring you the wine list so that you can select a different wine. Either way, the ritual begins again from the top.