EZ Rock and Heather Kingston “ordering in a restaurant”
Ordering in a Restaurant
Restaurants are showing increased attention to wine lists. Offering a decent selection of wines will increase the enjoyment for the customer and keep them coming back. Here are a few things you should know about wines in a restaurant.
Wines by the glass are a terrific idea if the wine has not been open for a long time. I worked in a brew pub where the jug of house red was kept under the bar for an indefinite amount of time. I would be honest and tell people it was not good wine. Not every server would know the difference and you will find yourself with a glass of sour juice. Therefore, if you are in a dining establishment where wine is not the key beverage being served, ask the wait staff. ‘How long has the bottle been open and if it is more than one day would you open a new bottle?” I ask this in pub style places and places with limited wine selections. Wine only lasts in the bottle of a couple of days before losing its health.
Wine by the bottle is the way to go if you will be lingering over a meal. One bottle of wine provides five glasses of wine, so it is easy to go through wine with a crowd. The cost of wine in restaurants is always a bone of contention. Sometimes the mark up is outrageous. If you know how much the wine costs in the store, it sometimes rankles to pay 150% more. Usually the mark up is approximately 100% and that is fair since you are being served. Restaurants need to create revenue and wine can be a good way to do just that.
Many restaurants are offering ‘corkage’. This is when you bring you own bottle and the staff will open it, providing stemware and ice bucket if necessary. The corkage in many places will be approximately $10.00 per bottle. It will increase in higher end dining. Please call ahead to determine if the restaurant does corkage and what the cost is.
It is wonderful when restaurants have good stemware. I love a large tulip shaped glass with the wine on the side in a small carafe. The carafe shows me I have the correct amount ordered and the stemware allows me to swirl and smell the wine for increased sensory enjoyment. Those little golf ball shaped wine glasses are not very good.
If you have not finished your glass of wine, put the cork in and take it home. Put in it the back of the vehicle, preferably in the trunk, so you do not give the perception of drinking and driving.
Wine with food is how all Europeans enjoy a meal. We should also! Enjoy!
Drink responsibly. Do not drink and drive.
For more information go to www.alsaweb.ca or www.hlkwine.com
Heather Kingston is an International Sommelier Guild, Certified Sommelier working in Edmonton as an educator for the ISG and the Alberta Liquor Store Association.
