Waitstaff "over pouring" of wine

[jeffperez62]

A pet peeve of mine is when the waiter/waitress opens the wine, gives the first sip to the "wine host" and then upon approval of the wine, they almost fill the glass to the top! Why does this happen so often!? What happened to staff training?!

Another one is when they hover around the table and every time you take a sip they re-pour. I usually (and politely) say : Oh, thats OK, we like to pour our own wine. This usually does the trick. What do you do?

[adegiulio]

A pet peeve of mine is when the waiter/waitress opens the wine, gives the first sip to the "wine host" and then upon approval of the wine, they almost fill the glass to the top! Why does this happen so often!? What happened to staff training?!

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That's never happened to me. The part where they continually top up glasses everytime they pass isn't that big of a deal. I think it is just a way of silently interacting with the table. I think the idea that servers try to make their tables drink faster so that they get another bottle is an urban myth...but that is just one mans opinion. One man who goes out and drink wine a lot...

[iheartoffal]

As a waiter myself, I try not to refill unless they're down to maybe two sips. Sometimes I'll go over and top off a glass if it will give me a chance to get a closer look at the table and see what needs to be done, check their progress, ask questions, etc. It really depends on the people at the table, too. Some people seem to like it when you top them off every other nanosecond, and some would rather just pour their own wine. I prefer the latter, because they tend to be more into the dining experience than the former--just something I've noticed.

[culinary bear]

I think the idea that servers try to make their tables drink faster so that they get another bottle is an urban myth...

No urban myth, I can assure you.

[NulloModo]

If you are buying by the bottle I could see how this is annoying, but if you are paying by the glass, how is getting more wine for your money a bad thing?

[Behemoth]

For one thing, a wine glass is more likely to tip over when it is more than 1/3 full. And cause a lot more damage.

[culinary bear]

You have to leave room for the wine to develop bouquet in the glass. The vast majority of places I know sell by the bottle (in which case you're open to the pratice of topping up to get you to buy another one) or by the glass (topping up? what topping up?)

[derricks]

This is a big annoyance of mine, mostly for practical reasons. I don't even think about swirling my wine in a glass; I pick up the glass, I swirl, I sniff. Doesn't matter if it's my first glass or my fifth, or even if there's wine or water in the glass. Try doing that with a full glass of wine.

But it's easy enough to see how overpouring causes you to go through a bottle faster, and even without a restaurant background, I'd have a hard time believing it's an urban legend.

I usually try and stop waiters from overpouring from the bottle (and they will, even if you motion to stop), but I can't think of any way to successfully convince a restaurant that my "wine by the glass" should be served in two portions.

[culinary bear]

Interestingly, wine sold 'by the glass' in the UK must be sold in measures of 125ml, 175ml, or multiples thereof, which realistically means 125ml, 175ml or 250ml.

[Really Nice!]

A pet peeve of mine is when the waiter/waitress opens the wine... they almost fill the glass to the top!

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Boy, this bugs me to no end. If I'm in a restaurant I'm not familiar with, or in a place that conducts such a practice, I usually put my hand close to the glass to give a signal to stop while they are pouring. When the glass gets close to empty, and the server is near, I'll grab my glass and shake my head no if they indicate that they want to fill it.

[Brad Ballinger]

I deal with this in a couple of ways. Before the server pours, I will say, "a little less than half-full please." When the server comes to top off the glass, I will say, "thanks, but I'd like to pour my own wine." Of course, if I'm in a place where the server knows proper wine service, this isn't an issue. Unfortunately that isn't very often.

If it's wine by the glass, that's a tougher issue. I have asked for a second empty glass and split the wine myself.

[adegiulio]

But it's easy enough to see how overpouring causes you to go through a bottle faster, and even without a restaurant background, I'd have a hard time believing it's an urban legend.

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Yeah, and there are a whole bunch of clueless restaurant goers that, upon realizing that their bottle of wine is empty, immediately order another. Sometimes my wife and I get force fed wine and order another and another and another. Lets give ourselves some credit and admit that the practice of quickly pouring wine doesn't work on us. I mean, a bottle of wine is no small investment , either in sobriety or expense. I find it hard to believe that we are all out there panicking that our bottle is empty and ordering another.

I hate to be the anti-cynic here, but maybe, just maybe, the waiter is there just to see how things are going and, not wanting to interrupt or look stupid doing nothing, pours a little splash of wine into our glass. After all, just because he is putting it in your glass doesn't mean he is pouring it down your throat.

But that's just one mans opinion. One man who doesn't mind having his wine topped up. (Since I haven't ever experienced the waiter-who-fills-the-glass-to-the-top thing, I can't complain about that, but I can see how that would be annoying)

[mikeycook]

I deal with this in a couple of ways.  Before the server pours, I will say, "a little less than half-full please."  When the server comes to top off the glass, I will say, "thanks, but I'd like to pour my own wine."  Of course, if I'm in a place where the server knows proper wine service, this isn't an issue.  Unfortunately that isn't very often.

If it's wine by the glass, that's a tougher issue.  I have asked for a second empty glass and split the wine myself.

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I have heard restauranteurs say the reason they fill wines by the glass to the top is because a lot of customers complain if they don't (think they're getting cheated.)

The best solution I have seen is at Otto in NYC, where the "glass" of wine comes in a small (150ml) carafe. The customer (or server) can then pour an appropriate portion into the wine glass.

[SparrowsFall]

"Nous voudrions remplir nos verres nous memes."

The worst response I've received to this, ever, was at Charlie Trotter's. I won't bother to describe in detail--just incredibly snooty attitude. Some wait staff get into a real snit because they feel that you're not allowing them to provide "proper service."

Proper service would seem to me to involve acceding to customers' reasonable requests.

Steve