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Wine Etiquette Tips for Drinking, Tasting and Serving Wine Serving Wine — Serve women and older guests first, then men and finally the host. Bread and Water — Between tastings, provide bottled water for guests that get thirsty and to cleanse the palette between wines. It is also recommended to have a pitcher of water to rinse out the wine glass between wine tastings and a container in which to pour the rinse water and unfinished wines. Mild crackers - unsalted and unflavored, or plain French bread (no garlic) is also good to offer guests before tasting a new wine. Cheese can be served, but only the mildest cheeses, such as a lightly salted mozzarella. The Wine Glass — Wine glasses should always be clean and spotless. The proper way to hold a wine glass is buy the stem or the base of the bowl to keep from warming the wine, keep fingerprints off the glass and also the beauty of the wine is visible. The amount of wine poured into a glass is roughly one-third to one-half full (about four ounces in an oversized glass) to allow for breathing room and for the wine to be swirled. At a wine tasting, since several wines will be served, you may want to pour less. Fragrances and Smells — Avoid any strong smells during wine tasting, such as room sprays, sented candles, wearing perfume and cologne, after-shave and strong sented hair spray or gels. They all can interfere with the smelling and tasting of the wines. Chewing gum and breath mints will also alter the taste of wine. Smoking is also not a good idea at a wine tasting, because it destorts the aroma and taste of the wine, even for those not smoking. Comments About Wines — It is a good idea for the host of a wine tasting party to provide a tasting guide sheet for each guest to write comments if they wish to remember wines that they liked or dissliked. However, at a wine tasting party and at a winery tasting room, it would be considered impolite to loudly announce your dislike of a wine. Negative comments should be kept to oneself or limited to writing a note on your wine tasting guide sheet. Tasting Etiquette — Generally wines are served from the lightest and dryest to the most full bodied and sweetest, such as, white wines are tasted first, followed by reds and then dessert wines. You do not have to taste every wine and if you wish to skip a wine, that is fine. You are also not required to finish the entire glass of wine and you may pour the unfinished portion into the provided container for disposing wine. If you ask for a second taste of a wine, it is good etiquette to buy a bottle of wine. If you are at a winery tasting room, the fee for tasting is often applied toward the purchase of a bottle of wine. It is always polite to buy a bottle of wine, especially at a small winery that has made an extra effort of hospitality for your tasting group, however it is not required. Restaurant Etiquette — When choosing wine for the table it is polite to ask the guests their preference. If the food orders are too varied and a bottle of wine is not suitable for all food types, ordering by the glass may be the best answer. After ordering wine, the waiter or sommelier will bring it to your table, still corked, and present it to the host of the group, so the label is visible. By viewing the label, the host can verify that it is indeed the wine that he ordered. The waiter then removes the cork and looks to see if it is dry, cracked or bad smelling; if it is fine, the waiter will place the cork on the table. The waiter will then pour a tasting amount of wine into the host's glass. The host should swirl the wine in the glass to airate the wine, then smell the wine and finally taste the wine. This tasting is just to make sure the wine is not spoiled. Wines that do not meet your taste expectations should not be sent back. After the host has approved the wine, the waiter will pour clockwise around the table, ladies first and the host's glass will be filled last. If you plan on bringing wine to a restaurant, first make sure that it is not on their menu. Generally wine is brought to a restaurant because it is unusual or special and is not served at the restaurant. It would be very impolite to bring a wine that they serve. It is a good idea to call ahead and also ask the restaurant if they have a corkage policy and if there is a fee. Some restaurants will apply the fee to the purchase of a bottle of wine, or possibly waive the fee. After the waiter or sommelier uncorkes the wine and pours the glasses, it is proper etiquette to offer him or her a taste of the wine only if you have brought the wine into the restaurant. |
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