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How to serve wine?
The professional wine service is a small ceremony, but one that is not particularly complicated and, moreover, very meaningful. It goes as follows:
- Present the sealed wine bottle so that the (front) label is clearly visible. (In a restaurant, the sommelier or waiter presents the bottle in this way to the person who ordered the wine, usually the host)
- Place the bottle in front of the guests so that the label is still visible.
- Open the bottle open:
- For bottles with a screw cap, unscrew it.
- For bottles with a glass stopper, remove the capsule (using a small knife if necessary) and push the glass stopper upwards with your thumb.
- For bottles with natural corks or plastic corks, cut off the capsule with a small knife (for white and rosé wines above, for red wines below the glass bead around the neck of the bottle). Insert the corkscrew in the middle of the cork and turn it straight in with gentle turns without piercing the cork. Pull the cork out forcefully but gently in one piece (as quietly as possible).
- Note: A Waiter's knife when opening a wine bottle, a waiter's knife has the great advantage that it combines all the tools (knife, corkscrew, bottle opener) in one tool and uses leverage to pull out the cork (in one or two stages, depending on the model), which makes the whole process easier and more elegant.
- For natural corks: smell the cork briefly and discreetly to detect any off-flavours, and also let the host/orderer smell the cork.
- After release: If necessary, clean any dirt from the bottle opening with a clean cloth.
- Pour a test sip into the glass for the host/orderer (making sure that the label is visible); drops can be avoided by giving the bottle a slight twist at the end. The host/orderer checks the appearance, smell and taste of the wine. (In a restaurant, if the host/orderer is in doubt about the impeccable quality of the wine, the sommelier or waiter can also check the smell and taste in a separate glass)
- For wine that needs a lot of air (this is decided by the host/orderer): Carefully transfer the wine from the bottle into a carafe; in the case of red wine, make sure that any deposit remains in the bottle (keyword: decanting).
- After release: Pour a quarter or a third of the glass to each guest (make sure that the label is visible when pouring) - ladies before gentlemen, highest-ranking guest first, host/orderer last. Drips can be avoided by turning the bottle a little at the end; especially with red wine, an additional drip protector is recommended (a napkin or a special ring around the neck of the bottle, a rolled metal foil in the neck of the bottle or a special pourer) to prevent stains.
- Pour white or rosé wine into a prepared Cooler place red wine on the table, ideally on a side table.
- The host, in a restaurant the sommelier or waiter, is responsible for refilling the glasses.