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| The Course |
| Choosing wine in a restaurant |
Refusing wine in a restaurant
The rule should be that the bottle you choose is shown to you
(so that you can check that it is the right type and year), uncorked in your presence,
the cork is sniffed and the wine is served to the person who ordered it so that
they can taste it and approve it.
Do not be nervous, check the label and do
not hesitate to say so if it is not what you ordered. Do not consider the tasting
as a mere formality.
Check the colour and the bouquet, Take a little sip and
take notice of any faults. If there are obvious faults then say so calmly but
without a lack of respect for the producer and for the person who has served you.
Ask for bottles with obvious faults to be replaced. The clearest fault is when
the wine is corked, but wines with obvious oxidation or other marked faults can
be politely refused.
Clearly the wine should be refused when it is first tried
and it is up to you to do so politely and manage to explain why reasonably.
If the wine is sound but you simply do not like it, mention this without being
arrogant or pretentious, even if the wine was suggested to you by the wine waiter.
If you do not think that the wine has been served at the proper temperature, say
so, but beware of tricks for cooling the bottle (the freezer should be avoided;
an ice-bucket containing water and ice is better), whilst if the wine is too cold
you can ask for it to be poured into a jug (it should never be placed over direct
heat, such as a heater, stove or fireplace; if the wine gets too hot it is irremediably
spoiled).
So far we have taken the part of the people who serve you. But what
if, as occasionally happens, the person you have to deal with is arrogant and
rude? If you can, keep calm, do not spoil the evening and cross that restaurant
off your list.
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