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05/19/0912:00 pm
Bits + Bites

How To Be a Better Diner, Part 6: Know When And How To Send Back Wine

Yes, you can send it back.
Pamela Palma (www.pamelapalma.com)

Welcome to our third guest blogger series written by Ella Lawrence, who works as both a freelance writer and a server at a popular restaurant in San Francisco. Lawrence has been published in Travel & Leisure, Time Out, and the San Francisco Chronicle and has her own blog, Restaurant Girl Speaks. This is part five of a six-part series in which she dishes out the tips on how to be a better diner, something about which she has a lot to say. Listen up.

What are the two legitimate reasons why you might send a wine back?

1. The wine is flawed. Wine is living and breathing. If there's something chemically wrong with it (being "corked" is the most common flaw, which can give the wine a musty or vinegary smell and taste, but wine can also have too much volatile acidity or bacteria that affects its flavor), the restaurant will send the bottle back to the producer, who wants to know what percentage of the wine they make is flawed. If you think your wine tastes off, ask to have someone check the bottle.

2. The wine is improperly described to you. A good waiter or sommelier will not (or should not) bull shit you on expensive wine. If you order a bottle and receive something that's nothing like what you expected, you can send it back. But it's your job to pay attention to the waiter or sommelier as they describe a wine to you. I've actually described a wine, brought it to the table and presented it, and after opening it and pouring it had the person who ordered it look up at me, startled, and say, "Wait, this is WHITE wine?" There are several steps during the wine-choosing process during which you can say, "Oh, sorry, that's not the wine I wanted," before the bottle is actually opened. If you weren't paying attention enough to know that the wine you ordered is white, that's not a good reason to send it back.

Don't be afraid to put your trust in someone at the restaurant. They've created a wine program specifically designed to pair with their cuisine, and allowing the sommelier (or a knowledgeable server) to help you really allows you to get the full experience of complementing flavors that the food and wine together will provide. The bottom line is that wine is meant to be enjoyed. If you're not enjoying the wine you ordered, you should ask to return it. Our job is to find a wine that matches your palate. If we haven't done that, we haven't done our job.

Looking for more wine etiquette? You'll find it right here.



By Ella Lawrence

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henry803 posted 12:11 PM Jul. 26th
Louis Vuitton has affirmed itself over the past decades as a world leading brand name in the fashion industry. If a Louis Vuitton handbags is a sign of fashion trends, it is also a symbol of social status and recognition. You can find full product details of the newest Louis Vuitton Agendas handbag release, the latest price information and louis vitton sale events, the most helpful shopping guild and buying tips. You may also share your experience and post your opinions by reviewing the items or joining the discussion with other LV fans. Now I had a Louis Vuitton Taiga Leather bag and what are you wait for?
henry803 posted 12:10 PM Jul. 26th
This has been a very enlightening series. I will feel much more at ease next time I host people at a fine restaurant especially about choosing the wine. Thank you Ella, Toetie
vaderhendrik posted 04:41 PM May. 26th
You only send back wine if it is spoiled. When they open a bottle that you ordered and let you try it, it is to make sure the wine isn't rotten. You don't just send back wine because you don't like it.
margaux posted 02:55 PM May. 21st
cushsf's picture
You should check the vintage date on the bottle. Many restaurants have various vintages of the same producer. The labels are usually identical and sometimes the date is hard to find. There is often a very large price difference between an outstanding vintage versus a mediocre one for a serious wine (And the restaurant knows that!!). And make sure the bottle is handled properly. If the wine has sediment and gets mixed, it needs 1 hour to sit still for the sediment to settle again. Ooops. If a red bottle is stored at a location high (in the dining room display maybe), it will probably be too warm. Room (chambre) temperature does not mean the temperature of the restaurant dining room (60 to 70??). It refers to the cellar temperature of (50 to 55 F). The best way to be sure is: Let the sommelier also tastes your wine. Your bottle maybe corky (and the majority of customers cannot detect cork unless in large concentration)and you think it is fine. You drink it and order a second bottle. The second one is not corky but will probably taste DIFFERENT than the first bottle. Send it back?? Yes but it is really your mistake. AND the third bottle will probably taste different also if not corked. Most patrons will take the bottle at this point. Now, you drank one corked bottle, one fine bottle, cannot figure the why of wine differences, and puzzled the sommelier who thinks the second bottle is fine and is being sent back?? What does he/she think of you?? oooooh.
cushsf posted 02:26 PM May. 19th