Wine Service: Beginner
Wine Service: Beginner
Wine Service: Beginner
WINE SERVICE
Material contained in this document applies to Content contributed by Anne Drummond, Imperial Beverage
multiple course levels. Reference your
syllabus to determine specific areas of study.
As a server or bartender, proper wine service is a skill you’ll not do well without. From order to
presentation and follow up, there are particular steps that are important in the formal service of wine.
First, all bottled wines should be presented using these steps, regardless of the cost or perceived wine
knowledge of the guest in your establishment. All bottled wines being delivered to the table should be
treated with the respect due the wine maker, establishment, and of course, the person ordering the
selection.
When a glass or bottle of wine is ordered, repeat the order back to the guest. Be clear and succinct. Be
sure that you understand the varietal, brand, and vintage desired.
Using your wine key, remover the cork from the bottle. Remember, it is not about strength, but rather
leverage that allows the cork’s removal. If you have difficulty tableside, practice on by the glass poured
wine bottles at the bar, the next shift you work. The bartender will surely allow you to help, offering
additional practice.
Once the cork is removed, it is placed to the right of the host’s place setting. He or she may choose to
smell, keep, or leave the cork altogether.
BEGINNER WINE SERVICE
POURING THE WINE
Begin the wine’s dispersement with the host. Pour roughly one ounce into the host’s glass. Step back,
away from the table, and allow the host to swirl, smell, taste, and nod. If the wine is flawed, the host will
stop the service and the bottle should be replaced immediately, and the steps of service repeated. If the
host is pleased with the selection, he or she will indicate with a
nod, gesture, or verbal announcement, indicating that you may
pour for his or her guests.
Pour for each guest in turn, from the right side with the right
hand, beginning with the ladies and then the men, moving
clockwise around the table. The host’s glass is the last to be
filled, regardless of the host’s gender.
When pouring white wines, please fill the glass to just above half
full. For all reds, just below half. In the event that a second
bottle of different varietal, brand or vintage is ordered, deliver
new glasses as well.
Decanting a young wine is easy. With little or no sediment, you may simply pour the wine into the
decanter. Let it sit for about twenty minutes before serving, and the guest will notice a dramatic increase
in subtlety and complexity of the wine. It will keep evolving and improving over the course of several
hours.
Decanting older wines with sediment requires finesse. Because the wine is older, it has aged a great deal
on its own, so doesn’t need the artificial boost. You may even overexpose the wine to oxygen before
serving, so older wines should be decanted immediately before serving.
First, gather your tools. You will need a light source, often a short candle, the bottle of wine, and a cradle
or basket. Lay the bottle, label side up. In the cradle, and follow appropriate steps to open the bottle
without removing it from the cradle. With long necked bottles, this is quite simple, though deceiving. As
long as the bottle’s mouth remains above the level of liquid, a spill won’t occur. Next, after cleaning the
bottle’s neck with your service linen. Begin rotating the cradle slowly to pour the wine into the decanter.
Position the bottle so that the light source can be seen through the neck of the bottle, and you can slow or
stop pouring as sediment enters the neck.
The wine you’ve just decanted should be clean and relatively clear, with a beautiful bouquet and no
remaining sediment.
Occasionally, you’ll come across a young wine with sediment (well-made, California Zinfandels, for
example, often exhibit this trait). If this happens, follow the procedures for decanting older wines, but
also allow extra time for the wine to breathe and develop.
BEGINNER WINE SERVICE
OPENING SPARKLING WINES
Sparkling wines follow all the bottle service instructions. However, the physicality of opening a bottle of
sparkling wine or Champagne is somewhat different. Contrary to popular belief, the “POP” of the cork is
not the ultimate achievement. A novice measures the skill with the sound. A veteran server or
Champagne aficionado always prefers the sweet sound of air slowly escaping the bottle. Just as with a
perfect swan dive, the less vulgar splash or noise achieved, the better.
First, remove the foil and discard into your pocket or apron. Loosen the wire cage. Flipping down the
small wire ‘key’ that is pressed against the neck of the bottle, turn it until the cage is loosened. Remove
and discard the cage. Drape your service linen over the cork. Hold the cork steady through the linen, and
twist the bottom—the bottle—until the cork eases out. Keeping the bottle pointed in a safe direction
(away from yourself and others), grip the wine bottle and ease the twisting until the cork “pops”. To avoid
foamy overflow, pour only about an inch of wine into each flute glass first, wait a few seconds, then
continue the pour.
TEMPERATURE
Serving wines at the following temperatures will maximize bouquet and flavor, and enhance the wine
experience for the guest.
Though wine storage temperatures (53-57 degrees Fahrenheit) are important, it’s just as important to
take note of the temperature at which you enjoy your wine, its service temperature. White wines should
be chilled before drinking while red wines should be allowed to come up in temperature. Ideally, whites
should be between refrigerator temperature (40 degrees F) and storage temperature, and reds should be
somewhere between storage and room temperature.
GLASSWARE
Does the glass make a difference? You bet it does.
A wine glass may seem like just another drinking glass to some, but to others, it can make all the
difference. The shape of the glass affects the bouquet, color of the liquid, temperature, and even
effervescence. The glass also positions body parts, such as the fingers and tongue in correct spots to
best enjoy the particular varietal. According to Wine Cellar Secrets, wine glass maker Riedel has more
than 20 types of wine glasses to cover all possible varieties of the beverage.
Three main types of wine glasses exist. The best are roughly 8-10 inches tall and are made of thin glass.
A red wine glass features a spherical shape, intended to allow a swirling motion to best aerate for the
particular varietal. White wine glasses may be more narrow, but most importantly offer a shallower base.
Champagne flutes are narrow and straight, serving to direct the bubbles upward in a visually appealing
manner, as well as keep more carbon dioxide in the product to deter flattening.
Riedel Glassware offers the following interactive sight (www.wineglassguide.com), where the most
conducive glassware can be viewed by varietal selection. But overall, the following are the best glasses
for the largest contingent of grapes.