Tom V wrote:[quote="Diane (Long Island)...I had an uncomfortable situation arise in a prominent Southampton restaurant when the manager confronted me because I originally accepted the wine...
...I have to make a point of calming down in the future, paying attention to the wine only, and trying to decide right then and there if it is good or bad. I must say I almost always have an inkling. Tom V[/quote]
Tom and Diane. I find the best way to evaluate flaws (and I read if from the experts, didn't figure it out, myself) is to smell it carefully without any advanced swirling or tasting. I'm sure you know, but you might forget once in a while, that swirling or disturbing the wine will set off aromatics which can disguise minor flaws. And it is fun to just smell and approve the wine without tasting it, because of the waiter's reaction it sometimes provokes. Apparently not too many people have accepted the experts' advice on this, so waiters don't see it a lot. I also love to smell the cork before even smelling the wine to see if it anticipates a problem. I usually, if not always, find TCA and other flaws on the cork prior to picking them up from the glass. (We're going out to dinner tonight; maybe I will approve the wine by just smelling the cork this time.) I know a lot of people say this is silly, but my experience supports cork analysis.
If you found a corked, expensive bottle of wine, you could challenge a disagreeing waiter to further analysis, maybe wagering double or nothing, since TCA does not disappear with airing or further deterioration of the wine from having been opened. It is really annoying when there is nobody in the restaurant who knows wine. I once got a clueless waiter to accept another patron's corroborating opinion, because he was regarded as a wine expert.
Covert