What do you think of these restaurant wine-ritual tips?

[Robin Garr]

What do you think of this article? I like it as a brief guide and reassurance to non-geeks who feel nervous about going through the restaurant wine “ritual.” I agree with a lot of it, but strongly disagree with his last point, that it’s okay to send the (opened) wine back if you taste it and decide you don’t like it after all.

How to Approve Wine in a Restaurant

http://www.thesavory.com/drink/how-appr ... urant.html

Well, if it isn't a bad bottle, yes, I think you should man up. On the other side, sometimes you'll be discussing what you want and the waiter or sommelier will offer you a taste to help you choose. Usually that's from an open bottle, but it's happened that a bottle has been opened for me (choice A, say) and I have opted for choice B.

Totally with you. Good article, up to the sending back a sound wine because you don't like it. I think as John said you should man (or woman) up. The exception being if you explained what you wanted and the somm made a suggestion that is way off ("I want a lean minerally Chardonnay" "have you ever tried Kistler?"). But if you chose it, it's yours.

nothing new here..I wd say that if I picked the wine, unless the bottle is off, I wd accept it..If the somm selected the wine, I wd feel free to say, I don't like it and turn it down..

nothing new here..I wd say that if I picked the wine, unless the bottle is off, I wd accept it..If the somm selected the wine, I wd feel free to say, I don't like it and turn it down..

I add my agreement to that.

However, I am a bit puzzled about "DO NOT SMELL THE CORK". Is that because it is thought to look impolite in a restaurant? I know that some people, including the late and regretted Rogov, thought it useless to smell the cork but I don't agree. I always do at home and it can give a first warning of a corked bottle. In French restaurants, the sommelier often smells the cork.

All this talk about sending bottles back makes me wonder about what is in the by the glass rack!

However, I am a bit puzzled about "DO NOT SMELL THE CORK". Is that because it is thought to look impolite in a restaurant? I know that some people, including the late and regretted Rogov, thought it useless to smell the cork but I don't agree. I always do at home and it can give a first warning of a corked bottle. In French restaurants, the sommelier often smells the cork.

No. Smelling the cork is crazy talk. It will smell like a cork. Smell the wine instead -- if it smells like a cork send it back. If you ever see a waiter smelling a cork ask him or her what the hell he or she is doing.

Back in my wine days, if the cork was offered by the somm. or waitstaff. I'd eagerly accept it, place in my mouth for about 10 seconds, remove it and then declare if the wine was fit for consumption or not. The looks on their face was worth the price of admission.

The reason for presentation of the cork is too confirm the namr/vintage matches label.
Smelling cork does not tell corked wine ... Its used by some supercillious waiters to 'assure' diners to forestall complaints of corkiness.

Only valid reason -- repeat only valid reason - to reject a wine you do not like that is not faulty is if you told the sommelier your tastes and he chose the wine.

Article acknowledges this in saying you can't taste thru the list till you find one you like. So if you can't do this for 50 wines, how many can you? 20, 10, 5? No, obviously, none

[Robin Garr]

Smelling cork does not tell corked wine ...

Well ... I might re-state that a bit. If the wine is TCA-tainted, chances are that smelling the cork would likely reveal that. But you're going to smell the wine anyway, and that will tell all, so sniffing the cork isn't so much useless as redundant. And, as you note, looks a bit supercilious.