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Why do you taste wine in a restaurant?

Tasting wine in a restaurant is a very delicate moment. It often generates embarrassment and tension. There are many reasons: you don’t know who should taste the wine; you are afraid not to perform the operation in the correct way or as suggested by the Etiquette; you think you are not up to the task or you don’t have clear ideas about the purpose of the tasting.

Tasting wine is the job of the restaurant’s sommelier. This is a professional figure who knows the wines that the restaurant offers. The customer should leave this task to the sommelier, without the need to personally make an additional test.

In addition to the sommelier, the tasting is also offered to the customer, although, we repeat, this is not necessary. If the restaurant does not have a sommelier, the tasting of the wine is made by the person who ordered it or by the person who is considered the most experienced. At home, however, if guests have been invited for lunch or dinner, the tasting is carried out by the host or by the most experienced person.

What we wrote is essential to answer the question that led us to write this article: why taste wine in a restaurant? What should I check at the initial tasting? Imagine the classic situation: you choose the bottle, the waiter brings it to the table and he pours a small amount of wine into your glass, you drink. In 99% of cases, you say "okay, thanks," and then the meal can begin.

But what do you evaluate while tasting wine? What do you want to check? The first instinctive answer is as follows: I verify that the wine is good and that I like it, otherwise I ask for the bottle change. The truth is different. Unlike what you might think, tasting wine in a restaurant is NOT used to evaluate if you like or do not like the wine, if you like its aromas, its flavors and its organoleptic characteristics, because these are only personal opinions. The wine is tasted to verify that it is in good condition, that it has no faults and that it has been properly stored. If you check that everything is ok you should confirm the choice of the bottle, if, instead, you notice some defects or faults (it rarely happens) you can ask for the change.

If you realize that the wine is in excellent condition, but you expected it to be richer on the nose and palate, more fruity, more structured etc. etc., in short if you expected something better from that bottle, you should not ask for a replacement. Being free of faults, it means that the wine has been well stored and served to the maximum of its potential. The restaurant has done its duty. In these cases, you should still drink the wine you have chosen. Maybe the next time you can choose another bottle.

A restaurant usually allows you to replace a faultless bottle that you don’t like. But as we said and explained, you would not be following the manual of good manners.