In a restaurant this evening, whilst having dinner with my father, a strange thing happened. My father wanted some wine but was humming and hawing about glass/carafe/bottle. After convincing him to order a bottle of wine because he could drink whatever he wanted and bring the rest home (I was driving and so limited to a quarter glass consumption level) we waited for the waitress to return. Return she did and so he ordered his choice of wine. A couple of minutes later she arrived at the table, bottle of wine in hand. Bottle of wine opened. She proceeded to pour a taste for my father. Then a quater glass for me, then she topped up my father’s glass and away she went. So, the ensuing conversation went like this:
Me: That was a bit strange.
My father: What was?
Me: the waitress. with the wine. she didn’t open it at the table.
my father: that’s true, i wasn’t really paying all that much attention to her.
me: don’t they normally open the bottle at the table?
my father: they do.
me: or, at the very least, don’t they bring it to the table, show you it and then go to the industrial bottle opener.
my father: normally, yes, they would present wine.
me: do they normally do that here? open it out of sight and arrive with the wine that might not even be what you ordered? it could be poured from a vat into the bottle with the right label.my father: no, i think, the last time we were here, it was opened at the table.
me: do you think it’s because she didn’t want to open it?
my father: could be.
me: that wine could have been anywhere. it could be a bottle of dregs, it could have been opened in the kitchen and a splash used for some dish.
my father: you’re right.
me: should we ask her. why she didn’t open it at the table. i’m curious. isn’t that bad wine etiquette? tom doorley would have a fit.
my father: yeah. we’ll ask her.
so later we asked her. she proceeded to list off previous establishments where she had worked where the wine was also never opened at the table. i told her i thought it unusual. at the very least, you are generally shown the bottle before it is opened. funny thing was, some of the previous establishments she worked in where this practice is apparently common place (the opening of the wine away from the table) i also worked in, in a previous lifetime and i never ever remember people opening wine before bringing it to the table. anyway, it niggled at me. this is a respectable restaurant, with a loyal clientele, and a very good reputation. to my mind though, they need to sort their wine etiquette out. maybe i’m pernickity about wine. if i order a glass of wine from a list of wines, i like to see the bottle and the wine being poured at the table. i like to see a bottle before it is opened. it’s stuff i have become used to.is it ok to just arrive with the bottle already open? i think not.
