Tasting with Comfort and Style

Are you one of those people that are uncomfortable when the waiter or sommelier approaches you to taste the bottle of wine you ordered at a restaurant? Or, are you one of those people that do what you see other people doing, but you do not really know why you are doing it? Well, let’s talk about tasting a bottle of wine in public, and let us see if we can make you more comfortable.

First of all, it is always acceptable to decline to taste the bottle of wine and just ask the waiter to pour away. But, there are a couple of things that you are looking for during the process so it is usually best to taste. Also, if you order more than one bottle of the same wine, you should taste them all.

If you are lucky enough to be buying a bottle of red wine that is more than 7-8 years old, you should ask the waiter to decant the wine first. Many reasons exist for decanting a wine, but the most important one is to remove sediment from an old wine. After being stored in the bottle for years, many red wines have sediment that collects on the side of the bottle, while it is not harmful, it is best to remove this before you pour so you will not be chewing as well as drinking your wine. (One important note after decanting an old wine: if you are not going to drink it right away, ask the waiter to cover the decanter so that the amount of air is limited. More on decanting in a future entry.)

Whether you decant or not, the next step is that the waiter will hand you the cork once it has been removed from the bottle. While it is interesting to look at the markings, crystals, and stains on the cork, you are really only looking for one piece of information here. Make sure that the cork is moist or wet at the end. This tells you if the wine has been stored correctly. A dry, crumbly cork will most always mean a bad bottle of wine.

Next, the waiter pours a small amount of wine into your glass. Please swirl the wine in the glass. To some people this looks pretentious, but it serves a definite purpose. It allows the wine to mix with air so that the aroma and the taste will open up. Just like shaking the dust off a jacket that you have not worn in a while, you need to shake out the wine with some oxygen.

Now, the fun part. Take a big sniff of your wine. While it is fun to start immediately describing the many aromas that you can smell, one smell in particular is the reason for taking this step: wet newspapers. If the wine smells like old, wet newspapers, then it has been affected by “cork taint.” This problem has a long technical name and explanation that is not important here, but it does mean that the wine is not worth drinking. If you smell this aroma, then do not taste the wine. Simply inform your wait staff and they will taste it for you to confirm your suspicion. Then they will go get you another bottle. Please do not worry because this happens very, very rarely, but be on the lookout.

Finally, you get to taste the wine. Take a small sip. Swirl it around in your mouth so that it comes in contact with all of your taste buds. Some people even gulp a little air while the wine is still in their mouth to heighten the taste. Then, swallow. If you taste vinegar or any sour taste, then the wine may be damaged. Again, ask your wait staff to taste the wine. If they agree, then they will bring you another bottle.

Otherwise, it is time to fully enjoy the wine. Give your waiter a firm nod of acceptance, and the wine will be shared with the table. You may also want to decant the wine at this point, but that is a story for a future entry.

I hope this helps make you more comfortable and educated the next time you taste a wine at your table.