The procedure for serving and serving wine largely depends on the venue of the tasting, the professional level of preparation, the dishes and accessories used, the level and category of the drink and, of course, the event itself.
The order of serving wine at the table
In the case of private or informal banquets, the order of service is as follows:
– Madam;
– Men;
– Guests of honor (guests in places of honor).
In addition to these rules, official receptions and dinners may take place, where the sommelier must simply follow the rank and order officially established by the state. In these cases, the sommelier should not ask any of the guests to taste the wine, but taste it himself.
The sommelier serves the wine
It is absolutely necessary to serve the wine until the moment when the dish to which the wine is matched is introduced. When serving, the bottle is supported by the base (bottom) and so that the guest can see the label. Bottles of white and sparkling wine that have been kept in an ice bucket should be wiped with a napkin before you start pouring the wine.
Once a bottle of sparkling or white wine is finished, it is absolutely unacceptable to put it back in the bucket upside down. The napkin can remain folded on the bottle, but only so that the guest can always clearly see these labels.
Filling the glass directly depends on the type of drink, the volume of the glass, and the number of guests. During service, the bottle is placed on the service table so that the inscriptions on the label are visible. An empty bottle can be replaced with a new bottle only after the guest has agreed to it and given his permission.
White wine glasses should be removed immediately after serving red wine. It is absolutely necessary to ask permission if there is still any wine in the guest’s glass. Glasses for red wine are usually taken away before the coffee is served, leaving only the water dishes on the table. The serving of wine at the table must be subject to the general order of service in a certain progression and according to the type of menu chosen by the guest or guests. They usually start with serving sparkling and white wines, then move on to rosé and red wines, and then finish with sparkling, sweet, dessert, etc. The number of offered wines varies depending on the chosen dishes and the importance of the feast.
There are some general recommendations:
– Wines are offered according to the season, according to the budget and taste preferences. In summer, for example, it is better to consume white and pink wines, light and fresh. Full-bodied red wines are better suited to cooler weather;
– Wines are served according to their increasing strength;
– Serving young wines at the beginning, then aged wines;
– White wines are served before red wines. However, there may be exceptions here, as, for example, in the case of “pasito” (sweet) wines, other sweet wines served with desserts depending on their strength;
– Chilled wines are served before wines at room temperature. And here there are exceptions for sweet and sparkling sweet wines served chilled at the end of a meal;
– Each dish should be perfectly combined with its specially selected wine.
Rules: how wine is served
Controversial issues
Serving wine is a very delicate matter that requires the help of a sommelier who must be a professional and well versed in psychology. It is necessary to always give brief information about the drink, do not forget to praise the competent combination of wine and selected dishes. The main task is to create a pleasant atmosphere for tasting and pleasant (initial) impressions of the drink.
It is absolutely necessary to taste the wine in the presence of a guest or guests, and if any defect is found, as, for example, with a bottle in which the wine has acquired the aroma and aftertaste of the cork, one must apologize for having to leave the guest or guests and replace the bottle with another without the slightest hesitation .
A broken cork is not a sign of bad wine, the breaking of the wine cork is often the fault of the person opening the bottle. If the cork is broken, you should not be nervous, but it is necessary to remove part of the cork, ask the guest for forgiveness for the mistake made when opening the wine and delicately explain to the guest that the wine is evaluated by its aroma, taste and overall impression.
A lot depends on the temperature at which the drink is served. If the wine is served super-chilled, it is difficult to feel the aroma and taste, in warm wines alcohol will dominate the aroma and taste. If the wine does not have a defect, but the guest or group of guests still does not like it, or he (they) think that the wine has some defects, you can try to explain that this specific aroma or taste is characteristic of the wines of this grape variety , or appears as a result of aging the wine in new oak barrels, a certain year of harvest, that the wine needs some time to open in the glass, etc.
In general, and especially in the presence of other guests, it is better to give in to the guest’s opinion without any arguments and offer him other wine options. In the case of serving bottles of old or rare wines, it is necessary to inform the guest that they cannot be replaced. The question of such a replacement is decided by a person whose competence is to solve such a question, he determines whether the wine in the bottle really has real defects. Wine is a living product and its quality directly depends on storage, but sometimes defects occur.