living like lulu

The Importance of Wine Service

I am a bit of a snob when it comes to restaurants, but not in the ways that you would think.  I could care less about the reviews, the stars given, the hotness of the chef.  I don’t give a hoot about who eats there or how they are dressed.  I do however care about wine service (and service in general, but that's a whole other story).  I don’t mean that the server has to be in a tuxedo or Armani suit.  I don’t need or even want formal dining service.  It makes me uptight.  I admit I put my elbows on the table, so I do like things a bit more casual.  But casual does not mean that service should be compromised.

I recently moved to Portland, Oregon.  And let me just say that service is a mixed bag out here.  And that is being kind.  Of all the places I have dined at, only two places properly served the wine (and one of those places – a wine bar no less, gave me a wine list after asking for it twice, and then the server disappeared for twenty minutes while I was wineless – criminal!!).  Most restaurants have opened the bottle, poured out my glass, then the glass of my companion, actually stuck the cork BACK in the bottle, and left.  Serving wine doesn’t need to be a snooty procedure, but come on, there has to be some civility to it.  Never, never, never put the cork back in the bottle.

You want your wine to breathe.  Sure, oxygen is not wine's best friend as O2 is the culprit behind a wine being corked (most of the time), but once you are drinking the wine, after it has been aged or whatnot for the correct amount of time, oxygen brings out nuances and flavors in wine that you might not taste right away.  That is why most wines are decanted – to aerate the wine.  That means letting oxygen get to the wine faster, for all you newbies.

Furthermore, there are a couple of other things wrong with the wine service I described above.  Always pour a taste for the host or whoever ordered the wine.  My boyfriend is a sommelier, so I usually let him order the wine.  So he should be served the taste.  Then you serve the females at the table, clockwise is preferred, but who really cares about that.  Then the gentlemen are served.  But even that girls-then-boys thing is a bit old-fashioned, and I don't care about that.  I'm also young, so if it's older people at the table, I would stick to the ladies first rule.  The host is served last.  The server should then place the bottle on the table, usually centered or close to the host, but not in anyone's way.  Seriously, how hard is that?

So please, if you are a server, or know someone who is, pass this on to him or her – know how to serve wine.  It's not hard.  It would do you/him/her good to learn how to serve wine properly.  I am a recovering server, and trust me, your tip will definitely be in the higher range if you at least act as though you know what you are doing when it comes to wine service.  As a bonus, many times, the host will offer you some, if he/she thinks that you are not a complete idiot and would appreciate the wine.