wine taste with byo?

[mongo_jones]

in this voluminous thread on the california forum i saw a mention of a taste of a wine that had been carried into the restaurant by the diners being offered to them upon uncorking. is this merely a formal extension of the protocol followed when you purchase from the restaurant's own wine-list? i mean, if you brought the wine yourself you can't really have them take it back can you?

[GordonCooks]

in this voluminous thread on the california forum i saw a mention of a taste of a wine that had been carried into the restaurant by the diners being offered to them upon uncorking. is this merely a formal extension of the protocol followed when you purchase from the restaurant's own wine-list? i mean, if you brought the wine yourself you can't really have them take it back can you?

WTF? I think I need a little clarity.

Edited January 20, 2004 by GordonCooks (log)

[Craig Camp]

in this voluminous thread on the california forum i saw a mention of a taste of a wine that had been carried into the restaurant by the diners being offered to them upon uncorking. is this merely a formal extension of the protocol followed when you purchase from the restaurant's own wine-list? i mean, if you brought the wine yourself you can't really have them take it back can you?

Not unless you're really a fast-talker.

I assume they were just being polite or following habit.

[Carolyn Tillie]

in this voluminous thread on the california forum i saw a mention of a taste of a wine that had been carried into the restaurant by the diners being offered to them upon uncorking. is this merely a formal extension of the protocol followed when you purchase from the restaurant's own wine-list? i mean, if you brought the wine yourself you can't really have them take it back can you?

WTF? I think I need a little clarity.

I'm glad I'm not the only one... I kept re-reading the post trying to figure out what the question or comment was.

Edited January 20, 2004 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

[tommy]

i'd prefer to try wine before it is poured into several glasses in front of my nose. no sense in more than 1 person getting mildew on their lips and tongue.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I think I get it...

You were referring to this paragraph:

A member of the staff then rolled over a beautiful black and chrome cart on which were our two bottles of wine. He asked which we would like to start with, and I said that although I assumed the Cos D'Estournel was the better bottle, we would like his help choosing. Cabrales suggested that he hear what we were having for our meal, but he didn’t seem to hear. He quickly agreed that the 1989 was the better choice of the two. I have a feeling that, given the many different tastes on the menu, they wouldn’t influence greatly the decision between the two wines. He opened the bottle and decanted a bit. He offered me the taste, which I should have refused. Being slightly dim, I forgot that I was in the early stages of a cold, and the wine just didn’t come across well to me. On the tongue, it felt flat and heavy, and it was sharp and somewhat biting on the back of the mouth. There was not much flavor otherwise. But Cabrales like it quite a bit, and what the hell do I know about wine?

If I guess correctly, you are wondering why a server would offer a taste of a wine brought in by a guest. No, it can't be returned (obviously), but it IS proper to offer a taste to assure that it is not corked.

One would never assume that even a BYO bottle is perfect and it would need to be tasted.

Am I on the right track?

[tommy]

Am I on the right track?

i think we'll see that that depends on who you ask.

[mongo_jones]

I think I get it...

You were referring to this paragraph:

A member of the staff then rolled over a beautiful black and chrome cart on which were our two bottles of wine. He asked which we would like to start with, and I said that although I assumed the Cos D'Estournel was the better bottle, we would like his help choosing. Cabrales suggested that he hear what we were having for our meal, but he didn’t seem to hear. He quickly agreed that the 1989 was the better choice of the two. I have a feeling that, given the many different tastes on the menu, they wouldn’t influence greatly the decision between the two wines. He opened the bottle and decanted a bit. He offered me the taste, which I should have refused. Being slightly dim, I forgot that I was in the early stages of a cold, and the wine just didn’t come across well to me. On the tongue, it felt flat and heavy, and it was sharp and somewhat biting on the back of the mouth. There was not much flavor otherwise. But Cabrales like it quite a bit, and what the hell do I know about wine?

If I guess correctly, you are wondering why a server would offer a taste of a wine brought in by a guest. No, it can't be returned (obviously), but it IS proper to offer a taste to assure that it is not corked.

One would never assume that even a BYO bottle is perfect and it would need to be tasted.

Am I on the right track?

i didn't realize that i'd asked such a complicated question--but since i seem to have confused more than one person i must have. yes, you're on the right track. and i get it: it makes sense to get a taste from even a bottle you've carried in yourself. what do you do if the expensive bottle you brought in is corked? go back and throw it through the shop window of the place you bought it from?

mongo "classy" jones

[Carolyn Tillie]

i didn't realize that i'd asked such a complicated question--but since i seem to have confused more than one person i must have. yes, you're on the right track. and i get it: it makes sense to get a taste from even a bottle you've carried in yourself. what do you do if the expensive bottle you brought in is corked? go back and throw it through the shop window of the place you bought it from?

mongo "classy" jones

It has happened to me... I generally ask the Sommelier to taste it as well to confirm my corked suspicions and then possibly recommend a replacement from their list...

If my bottle is from a known supplier source, I will keep it and return it (wineries really like to know about corkage as it helps them in the future).

[Brad Ballinger]

A bit more to add.

Unless I'm at a table where we've all brought our own wine, I usually let the server go through the ritual. If the wine is corked, I'll then put the cork back and return the bottle to the retailer. Then I will order a replacement from the list.

Last Thursday, I was at a dinner of six of us who brought our own. One person had a corked Batard-Montrachet. The things is we opened our own wine and poured everyone a portion before anyone tried it. Fortunately, he was still able to get a full replacement bottle, even missing that much wine. But we all also had to thoroughly clean our glasses to accept the next wine.

[Craig Camp]

In the situation Brad describes - a table full of wine nuts - it is almost sure that if you announce the Batard is corked that everyone will want to verify that for themselves and discuss it for awhile anyway so you might as well pour it out to the whole group to start with.

In a less analytical situation you would certainly want to verify the wine is good before exposing everyone to those nasty aromas and flavors and forcing the server to exchange all the glasses.

[Brad Ballinger]

In the situation Brad describes - a table full of wine nuts - it is almost sure that if you announce the Batard is corked that everyone will want to verify that for themselves and discuss it for awhile anyway

Yeah, you may have a point. I was at another one of these things a couple of months back with about 15 people. Typically, the wine is not tasted by any single person prior. So flaws are usually not detected until the bottle has been passed around. At this event two months ago, there was a 1995 Ridge York Creek Zin that was corked. I believe everyone had a pour, and some may have already tasted it. I took one whiff, proclaimed it corked, and dumped it. A couple people who know my sensitivity to TCA followed suit. But some who didn't really know me had to convince themselves.

[tommy]

In the situation Brad describes - a table full of wine nuts - it is almost sure that if you announce the Batard is corked that everyone will want to verify that for themselves and discuss it for awhile anyway so you might as well pour it out to the whole group to start with.

do you mean the server might as well pour to the whole group to start with before it's tasted? if so, how does the server know that the table is filled with this particular type of wine nut who apparently has to taste corked wine every change he gets?

[Craig Camp]

In the situation Brad describes - a table full of wine nuts - it is almost sure that if you announce the Batard is corked that everyone will want to verify that for themselves and discuss it for awhile anyway so you might as well pour it out to the whole group to start with.

do you mean the server might as well pour to the whole group to start with before it's tasted? if so, how does the server know that the table is filled with this particular type of wine nut who apparently has to taste corked wine every change he gets?

You tell them. If I am there to taste wine I want to make my own decisions and to learn from the process. If it is a social event that is another thing.

[Brad Ballinger]

Tommy,

The wine geek BYO crowd is hard to miss. Typically, they (we) just end up pouring the wine without the server's involvement. If it is a smaller gathering, then the server will typically go through the whole tasting ritual. In that latter case, though, I may still advise the server that I prefer to pour.

I think a restaurant needs to be sure, however, that the server/management has some control over the table. They don't want anyone getting juiced and then deal with a dram shop claim/lawsuit.

[Scott]

This is so easy, but it relates to good service and manners.

A byo charges you for the stemware, service, and potential lost revenue I guess.

what normally happens at a good restaurant, where they take the bottle, open, perhaps decant, and ALWAYS offer you a taste. After all that is correct service, and the likelihood of a corked wine is not reduced. If it's corked you wouldn't want to serve it.

I have never seen much difference to this in a good restaurant, and I think it poor if they just go pouring .

Of course at your local place, where they charge next to nothing and it's all informal I would expect the bottle to be plonked down in the middle of the table.