The drinking of wine is a celebration of life, tasty food and special company. Learning about wine should also be a pleasure! Let's chat about ordering wine in a restaurant. This need not be complex or intimidating, even if you are an amateur.
Whether sitting at a grand, full-service restaurant or your favorite bistro, a wine list should be available. It could be on the table or offered before or with the menu. If not, ask the waiter for the wine list. Without reference to format, certain info should be available on any good wine list. First, the complete name of the wine, this comprises the name of the wine, the winemaker and the vintage. If a wine is listed without the name of the producer or the vintage, ask the waiter.
Most American trattorias don't have sommeliers or wine stewards. In cafes nervous about their wine selection, service and sales, waiters are often taught to be in a position to suggest wines. If a sommelier is available, it is generally worth taking advantage of his/her services. Often when the services of a sommelier are available, the only real way to find out is to ask. The advantages of including a guru in your wine selection are:
- He/she will be able to orchestrate and enliven the whole meal.
- He/she have tasted the wines on the list more recently than you.
- He/she knows the way in which the menu choices you ordered are really being prepared.
Naturally, some sommeliers are rather more well informed than others. Do milk feedback, yet, the choice is truly yours!
Keep a considerable number of points under consideration when choosing a wine:
Allow yourself 1 or 2 minutes to review the wine list before discussing your choices. If you need ideas, give your waiter/sommelier something to work with. Do you have a region under consideration? Thinking all day of a Napa Valley Chardonnay? Interested in tasting a Syrah from Australia?
Consider the style of wine you would like. Do you and your guests wish to have a light body, a smooth finish, soft tannins or a heavier, aggressive wine? There is little wrong with saying you need something under $30.00 or pointing to a price on the list and saying "along these lines." If wines are suggested that aren't on the list, the waiter/sommelier should tell you the price and vintage; if they do not, ask.
When ordering more than 1 wine, discuss when they will be served. The best rough rule is to have them all brought-and even opened-as soon as you order. This way, you can see that the wines are what you ordered and you do not have to wait , should the waiter get too tied up for your next pour!
The waiter now opens the wine by removing the cork. Prior to this, the capsule is removed and the cork wiped as dust or mould could have adhered to the cork while the wine was waiting in the winery, for the capsule to be placed. Once the cork is removed, the method moves toward tasting. The waiter should present the cork to the individual that ordered the wine. Most people think they are supposed to sniff the cork. This isn't so! After all , a cork smells like cork! The point is to check the disposition of the cork. Is it damp? This is a great sign. A dry cork could indicate a storage problem, the bottle was upright and not stored on its side. If a cork is dried-out, air may have gotten in the bottle and oxidized the wine, thereby diminishing the standard of the wine.
Smelling and tasting are the next steps. The taster is searching for flaws that render the wine unsuitable. Taste once, then a second time, focusing on the taste. There are a few reasons to reject a bottle of wine. It may be "corky" and smell like mould: the result of a bad cork, not poor winemaking. A "maderized" wine has the unmistakable aroma of sweet Sherry or Madeira, therefore the term. This is mostly the result of poor storage or exposure to temperature. A taster might also spot sulphur in the nose or the flavor of a wine. Regularly this diminishes with a little bit of swirling; if it does not, it may make the wine unpleasant and worthy of rejection. Some diners have policies on refused wine, others handle every circumstance individually. It is really poor judgment for a restaurateur to put a shopper on the spot and challenge his/her taste. If the wine is pricey, say about $50.00, the restaurateur may come to your table for a taste of the wine. It doesn't take a professional wine drinker to detect these flaws with bottled wine. If the cork is dry or the taste is compromised, tell your waiter.
Whether sitting at a grand, full-service restaurant or your favorite bistro, a wine list should be available. It could be on the table or offered before or with the menu. If not, ask the waiter for the wine list. Without reference to format, certain info should be available on any good wine list. First, the complete name of the wine, this comprises the name of the wine, the winemaker and the vintage. If a wine is listed without the name of the producer or the vintage, ask the waiter.
Most American trattorias don't have sommeliers or wine stewards. In cafes nervous about their wine selection, service and sales, waiters are often taught to be in a position to suggest wines. If a sommelier is available, it is generally worth taking advantage of his/her services. Often when the services of a sommelier are available, the only real way to find out is to ask. The advantages of including a guru in your wine selection are:
- He/she will be able to orchestrate and enliven the whole meal.
- He/she have tasted the wines on the list more recently than you.
- He/she knows the way in which the menu choices you ordered are really being prepared.
Naturally, some sommeliers are rather more well informed than others. Do milk feedback, yet, the choice is truly yours!
Keep a considerable number of points under consideration when choosing a wine:
Allow yourself 1 or 2 minutes to review the wine list before discussing your choices. If you need ideas, give your waiter/sommelier something to work with. Do you have a region under consideration? Thinking all day of a Napa Valley Chardonnay? Interested in tasting a Syrah from Australia?
Consider the style of wine you would like. Do you and your guests wish to have a light body, a smooth finish, soft tannins or a heavier, aggressive wine? There is little wrong with saying you need something under $30.00 or pointing to a price on the list and saying "along these lines." If wines are suggested that aren't on the list, the waiter/sommelier should tell you the price and vintage; if they do not, ask.
When ordering more than 1 wine, discuss when they will be served. The best rough rule is to have them all brought-and even opened-as soon as you order. This way, you can see that the wines are what you ordered and you do not have to wait , should the waiter get too tied up for your next pour!
The waiter now opens the wine by removing the cork. Prior to this, the capsule is removed and the cork wiped as dust or mould could have adhered to the cork while the wine was waiting in the winery, for the capsule to be placed. Once the cork is removed, the method moves toward tasting. The waiter should present the cork to the individual that ordered the wine. Most people think they are supposed to sniff the cork. This isn't so! After all , a cork smells like cork! The point is to check the disposition of the cork. Is it damp? This is a great sign. A dry cork could indicate a storage problem, the bottle was upright and not stored on its side. If a cork is dried-out, air may have gotten in the bottle and oxidized the wine, thereby diminishing the standard of the wine.
Smelling and tasting are the next steps. The taster is searching for flaws that render the wine unsuitable. Taste once, then a second time, focusing on the taste. There are a few reasons to reject a bottle of wine. It may be "corky" and smell like mould: the result of a bad cork, not poor winemaking. A "maderized" wine has the unmistakable aroma of sweet Sherry or Madeira, therefore the term. This is mostly the result of poor storage or exposure to temperature. A taster might also spot sulphur in the nose or the flavor of a wine. Regularly this diminishes with a little bit of swirling; if it does not, it may make the wine unpleasant and worthy of rejection. Some diners have policies on refused wine, others handle every circumstance individually. It is really poor judgment for a restaurateur to put a shopper on the spot and challenge his/her taste. If the wine is pricey, say about $50.00, the restaurateur may come to your table for a taste of the wine. It doesn't take a professional wine drinker to detect these flaws with bottled wine. If the cork is dry or the taste is compromised, tell your waiter.
About the Author:
If you come to Copenhagen and need some good tips about good cafes please visit restauranter København and you can also read about kendte franske madretter
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