The Wine Dance: A Ballet with your Sommelier

It happens all the time: your order a bottle of wine at a fine restaurant. The Sommelier arrives and places the cork in front of you. He then shows you the label. Then they pour a little wine in your glass and look at you.

What are you supposed to do?

Having dinner is so easy at home. All you do is open a bottle of wine and serve it to your friends.

But on many Ciclismo Classico trips in Italy and France, ordering wine is a ballet. Our guides and the restaurant sommelier work together in ordering, confirming and testing the wine the group is to have with dinner.

What is actually going on there?

Here is an inside look at the dance between the wine experts. This post may also help you in understanding the steps you need to take when the sommelier needs you to make the next move.

DISCUSSION

Remember your sommelier is there to help you. Use them to your advantage. Maybe you have a preference for full-bodied reds? Someone in your group likes demi-sec? The person in charge of the restaurant’s cellar knows what is good and what is great.

The sommelier has a good idea of how the food is prepared and what will pair well with the flavors you’ll be eating. Be sure to voice how much you are looking to spend.

When you’ve come to an agreement, make a mental note of the varietal, vineyard, color and year. That will be handy in the next step.

PRESENTATION

In fancy restaurants, the wine is always presented with the label facing up. It is presented to the left of whoever ordered the wine.

This is when the above elements of varietal, vineyard, color and year are crucial. Sommeliers are people too. They make mistakes. There is nothing more embarrassing at the beginning of an evening than having the house opening a bottle of white when you ordered a red (it’s happened before).

These mistakes happen because sometimes the glass is tinted to protect the white wine and the labels may be the same. Double check the year and the vineyard. If there was no need to double check, they wouldn’t present the wine to you in the first place.

OPENING

A talented sommelier will open the bottle without having the corkscrew pierce the bottom of the cork. When the corkscrew perforates the cork, cork residue and dust fall onto the wine, ruining what could have been a very expensive bottle.

Typically they smell the cork, set it on a bit of foil and slide it over to whoever ordered the wine. They are looking for a moldy odor, similar to wet paper. This disagreeable smell does not come from the wine, but from the wood of the cork. When your wine is “corked” it is contaminated by a chemical compound found in the wood.

If your wine is corked, don’t drink it and get a new bottle.

TASTING

The wine is served to the person who ordered it from their right. Only a small amount of wine is first put into the glass to taste and check its quality.

At this moment, you should look at the wine in the glass. Is it clear? Does it have unwanted residue or particles in it? How is the color? Is it a clear white or a dark, brick-red? These color hues can give you an idea of how the wine may taste.

Bring the glass up to your nose without spinning the wine around. This is called the first nose: the static bouquet of the wine. What do you smell? Now spin the wine around in the glass: this is the second nose. Those odors (as well as secondary and tertiary perfumes) should release. Everything should be in balance, with some notes heavier than other but everything in harmony.

Then taste. Is there anything off about the wine? Does it have a pleasant finish?

If you are happy with everything, make a nod (and a smile!) to the sommelier who will begin serving the wine to your group.

SERVING

Usually, the person who ordered the wine will be the last one served a full glass at the table. The label must always be visible as the staff serves the wine to the party. During proper wine service, women will be served before men, in descending order of age. Then the men will be served in the same order. When all other glasses are filled, the sommelier will come back to the person who ordered the wine and fills their glass.

Now you’re ready to use your new-found skill son Ciclismo Classico’s Food & Wine Tours. Check them out!