Top Of The Table

Christopher De Voss

Nov. 15, 2001

Here are a few more general knowledge pointers on wine to help you in your salesmanship towards the product. Nothing too involved, but hopefully it will help answer any questions asked of you by the guests.

The taste of the wine will vary depending on season, region, grape, soil, barrel, and year. A 1997 Opus One may or may not be better tasting than 1998 Opus One, depending on those factors.

Tannin comes from the skins of the grapes. It's actually the preservative that helps the wine improve with age. It also tends to be what you taste when the wine gives off a bitter flavor.

The cork should be felt, not smelt. If the cork falls apart to the touch or is moldy or dry, the wine is most likely bad. If you want to know how to open the bottle of wine correctly, check out the "Tips For Better Tips" section of the web site.

Not all wines should be aged. In fact most wines should be drunk within a year of bottling.

When someone asks about the vintage of a wine that refers to the year the grapes were harvested.

Some of the most popular countries that produce wine are France, Italy, USA, Germany, and Spain. Other countries produce wine also, but generally these five produce a good grape and growing climate.

When someone is swirling their wine glass, they are actually allowing oxygen to enter the wine. This is purely for a smell factor. Wine experts consider the smell of the wine to be as important, if not more important than the taste.

If your restaurant does not have wine stewards, make sure to press management into letting you try the different wines they stock. Especially if there is a label that you always carry. You cannot sell effectively what you do not know, and the selling of wine is good for the restaurant's pocket as well as yours. You always want the "I don't know" factor to be minimal at the table. That should come from the guests, not you. Some people refuse to tip on the bottle of wine; there is nothing you can do about it. Most people will, so it's important to sharpen your skills. Also if there is a wine on the menu you do not like, the same rule applies as with food; say why you don't like it. It's ok not to sell something. Everybody has different tastes; just make you give a valid reason why you don't like the particular item.

"It's too corky."
"I prefer sweet wines myself."
"It's too strong/weak."
"It has a very strong after taste."

Most of all make it fun and don't be afraid of it. A lot of people pretend to know everything about wine, but they are just as lost as the next guy. Just look at the guy sniffing the cork.