Restaurant Etiquette

As with ordering and pairing wine, serving wine also has its own rules of etiquette. Keep in mind that the following refers to wine serving etiquette in a restaurant and that the main points of this ritual are to verify you received the bottle you ordered, and to make sure the wine is not spoiled. This is not a test to see how much you know about wine.  Relax, and enjoy:

• Once you order the wine, your server will bring the bottle you selected to your table.
• Before opening the bottle, your server will present it to you so that you can check the vintage and year printed on the wine label to make sure it is the wine you ordered.
• The server will then open the bottle of wine in front of you at the table.
• Once the bottle is opened, the server will present you with the cork. Look at it to make sure it is not cracked or dried out because that can indicate that the wine is spoiled.
• The server will then pour you a small amount of wine to taste.  Smell the sample to make sure that there is no strong aroma or offensive odor.  Specifically, if the wine smells like vinegar, send it back because the wine has oxidized and is spoiled.
• If the wine smells fine, taste it.  If you are trying a new wine and are not sure what it should taste like, ask the waiter. Keep in mind that it is only appropriate to send the wine back if it is spoiled. You can’t send wine back because you don’t like how it tastes.
• Once you approve the wine, the server will pour a glass for your guests and finish off with you.

Knowing these wine etiquette tips will help you impress your next date, client or dinner guest, making you look like a wine expert in the eyes of any guest.

When is it okay to send a bottle back (and how to do it politely)
Sending back a bottle of wine at a restaurant can seem intimidating or snooty, but the occasion to do so can come up. Have the confidence and voice your informed opinion if either a) you smell or taste the wine and sense cardboard or musty basement aromas or flavors. That means it’s faulty or “corked.” or b) if the sommelier or waiter chose the wine for you after you described what you were looking for and the actual wine doesn’t fit the description, send it back.

"This one's rubbish as well"

You can’t send it back if you just don’t “love” the wine you picked, unfortunately. A way to avoid this situation in the future is to order a glass or bottle that is sold “by-the-glass” and ask for a taste of it first.  The wait-staff should easily oblige you.

To politely send a bottle back, first ask the waitress to smell the wine herself and comment that you think it’s corked and mention the musty aromas. Or, ask her to try the wine herself either from the bottle at your table or, if you ordered it by the glass, the bottle from which it was originally poured. Communicate in an authoritative yet kind tone and you should quickly be accommodated.

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As we step forward into 2011, it seems months and months away before we can attend the annual outdoor wine events. Weather is often a deterrent from enjoying our outdoor activities and we tend to hide out in our warm home, drinking hot coffee and waiting for our Netflix deliveries. In a few weeks we will drive up to Chateau Ste. Michelle to pick up our wine selections from our VRC membership. It has been a while since we have visited and the bottles multiply rather quickly. It is always exciting taking advantage of the wine tasting and then traveling home with our bottles clanging together in the back seat. The holidays are now winding down and as I thought of the many events we will be attending in the new year, it occurred to me how much we are missing as we wait for the season to change.

 Winter

December and January in wine country are unique in that there are simply no crowds to contend with. If you’re looking to visit particularly popular wineries, and you want to avoid groups of tourists and crowded restaurants (not to mention crowded wine tours), these two winter months are ideal for you. There is a certain beauty to the vineyards during these months, as the trellises normally supporting live vines will be all but completely bare. It isn’t that the vines are “dead” — they are simply dormant. For proof that even the dormant winter months can be beautiful, schedule your trip to wine country in December or January — as an added bonus, you may often be the only visitor to certain wineries. This provides a unique opportunity to ask questions and broaden your knowledge of wine. It is also a great time to bring friends and family and share a more intimate setting.

In February, you may begin to see a few more wine enthusiasts popping up here and there. Vines will still be dormant, although the trellises will not appear as bare because of wildflowers just starting to pop up among the vines.

 Spring

In March and April, the tourist season will have truly begun. For one thing, the temperatures will have evened out, allowing for more time outdoors. Also, the wildflowers that can be found everywhere in the wine country are blooming while the vines in the vineyards are awakening and budding. Expect decent crowds when you visit the more touristy spots, though small wineries and out of the way locations will still be pretty bare.

Late Spring through Summer

From May to the end of August is the serious tourist season for the wineries. Weekends will bring heavy crowds — not necessarily a bad thing. If you want to meet likeminded people and don’t mind waiting a bit for a table at your favorite winery restaurant, this warm (even hot) season can be quite the vacation spot. During this time, the vines are budding and showing grapes, and people’s minds turn to the coming harvest, talking about the recent weather, the amount of rain, and how they feel the new crop will turn out. This is the most “exciting” time to visit the wine country, and certainly the most crowded.

Fall

September through October is harvest time — a unique time to visit wine country if you’re a fan of viticulture. Depending on what part of the wine country you’re in, you could pull into a winery at its busiest, or maybe you’ve just missed the harvest but can still see the process finishing up. Grape harvest season begins about mid-August and ends about mid-October. The actual harvest time depends on the grape variety and location of the vineyard. Most vineyards offer tours and tastings year-round, but late summer to mid-fall is the best time to visit most wineries and experience a “taste” of the wine making process.

November in wine country is similar to December and January, except that wildflowers and vines are just starting to lose their vegetation. The beautiful golden colors of falling leaves make for a romantic getaway, and another great photo opportunity for wine country tourists. Crowds will have fallen off considerably, but so will wine production, so if that is what you want to see, you must arrive in wine country earlier in the year.

No matter when you decide to visit, wine country is a unique destination for wine lovers;  and for those of us who call ourselves wine enthusiasts, it is a kind of Mecca. Here’s hoping you visit wine country, no matter what month you decide to take your vacation. Just don’t forget to bring a camera (and designated driver).

Thanks for a fantastic 2010!

Jona and Joel
Big Fat Wine
http://bigfatwine.com/

Once you’ve realized that you have a passion for the wine lifestyle, it can be a bit confusing as to just where to begin! There is so much information out there and so many opinions!

All of us at Big Fat Wine want to suggest a few essentials to start your journey into the wonderful world of wine. These are only suggestions but they are from our own personal use and experience(s).

CORKSCREW- Purchase a reliable corkscrew. There are some expensive ones out there that you  may want to try but this one we found to be easy and it always works.

AERATOR- We can’t promise this will make a 20 dollar bottle of red wine taste like a 200 dollar bottle, but we have experienced some amazing affects from aeration. Try it! Some young wines need a little boost and this gadget will certainly do the trick.

FOIL CUTTER- A foil cutter comes in handy. Okay, a knife will work just as well but once you slice your finger open in front of your guests, you will definitely want one of these. They are inexpensive so if you try to use it on a screw-top (okay, I broke mine), it can be easily replaced.

TASTING GUIDE- There are multitudes of books out there we can suggest. This one is simple and easy to carry with you. It’s even waterproof! Included is a step by step method for tasting.

WINE COOLER- You can pick up a larger capacity cooler later on once you begin to start your wine cellar but a small cooler is a must.

STEMWARE- The style and quality of the wine glass is highly important. Read our post on selecting the right glass for the right wine. You only need a few to get you started and it is    an essential investment.

WINE- ……………Enjoy!

Official State Portal

Alaska is the largest state in the United States in terms of land area – if a map of Alaska were superimposed upon a map of the USA, Alaska would overlap Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado. The climate varies widely throughout the State and temperatures can range from 22ºC (72°F) in high summer to -28ºC (-19°F) in winter. Alaska has been thawing since the mid 1970s and the Columbia Glacier, big enough to dwarf the mountains through which it flows, is melting. It has retreated 8 miles, leaving a litter of floating ice behind it. The permanently frozen ground which covers most of Alaska is thawing for the first time for 125,000 years. If the thaw persists tens of millions of acres of forest will be turned into swamps. Vines could grow grapes in Alaska’s milder areas like Anchorage in the future. This cyclical “Global Warming” (if that doesn’t get me comments nothing will) may make Alaska the new Napa Valley (for a few centuries). There is good in everything!

There are wineries in all 50 United States, but no official vineyards in the state of Alaska, but that doesn’t stop the people from enjoying the grape. There are reportedly 11 licensed wineries operate in the state but I only found 3, typically using a grape concentrate with Alaska berries. Many say they are experiencing strong sales. From salmonberry wine to honey-based meads and yes, onions! read Alaska Wine Wins Hearts

Alaska Wineries

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We all have our own personal cultural experiences that are constantly changing with everything we do throughout our lives. Whether you travel, immerse yourself in different cultures, learn a new language or venture out in your own hometown, these life-grown additions season our intellect and provide a new taste on life.

As you evolve in your adventures as a wine lover, it becomes plainly evident that wine brings its own cultural enlightenments. This can be found in the ritual of drinking wine, the people you meet, the craft of the winemakers and the rich historical aspects it brings to us in each and every glass. Even with a minor appreciation for wine, one can’t help but visualize strolling through a lush vineyard in Burgundy or sitting on a hillside, overlooking a Tuscan sunset, sipping on flavorful Chianti.

Personal enjoyment of wine varies with every bottle. When we drink wine, our taste buds are stimulated by multitudes of flavors and the alcohol brings a calming effect to our brain. Taste involves four major components:  sweetness, saltiness, acidity and bitterness. The acidity and sweetness in wine are the two factors that balance together to produce a pleasant sensation on our sense of taste. We taste the acidity with the middle of the tongue and the sweetness with the tip of the tongue.

Wines with too much acidity taste harsh, those with not enough acidity taste boring and their flavor does not linger in the mouth long after tasting.  Bitterness is caused by the tannins in the wine.  Tannins are natural compounds that are found in grape skins, seeds, and stems. Additionally, during the aging process oak barrels infuse tannin into the juice. Too much tannin makes the wine too bitter to enjoy. The right amount of tannins bring together all of the different flavors and presents itself in one luscious package.  The multitudes of fruit flavors in wine contribute to the sweetness we taste.  Try detecting different fruit characteristics, such as berries, plums, apples, pears…It’s like an orchestrated taste explosion that melds with our many senses. Appearance or sight is important as well. The colors and shades are always amazingly different, even amongst the same varietals and vintages.  Our sense of smell picks up on the fragrances. It is highly complex as we pay attention to what we’re drinking.

There is much to learn about wine, and we find that the more we immerse ourselves in absorbing the vast amount of information on wine, the more enriched our lives are becoming. As we develop our senses in enjoying wine, we are also enriching and experiencing the many layers of life as well.

I don’t think General Electric would appreciate a “Wine Brings Good Things to Life” motto, but its meaning is ever so true. For us at Big Fat Wine [BFW], bringing the lifestyle of wine into fruition is our vision quest. Not for just our own personal enjoyment, but for the rest of you that have chosen to take the entire wine experience to another level.

I gather extreme satisfaction in leaving a gratuity for services properly rendered (accent on properly rendered).  I am a “tipper” at heart. If it is good service, tip good.  If the service was exceptional, tip great! If the service was poor, hit the door! In those cases, I am so stressed out it is better to just depart and leave the experience behind you. Sometimes, my opinionated better half reaches out to the manager or owner of the establishment to discuss the poor service experience which often results in a reduction in our bill.  That’s always helpful but it’s not a cure all. Quite often, we don’t go back.

Tipping is discretionary, but let me share my simple methodology;

1. Okay to mediocre service:                                   10 %
2. Good service (did what was expected):         10% – 20%
3. Exceptional!                                                              20% +

I have this desire to show how much I really appreciate great services. So many people go to a “job” and perform the bare minimum. Some go all out to make you feel important. Some go the extra mile to ensure you have the greatest experience possible. Whether they are simply driven or looking for a good gratuity, it simply does not matter. Determining what their incentive is in providing great service is not the issue here. Reward it!

With that said, it is something of a faux pas to tip the pourer at a wine tasting. Tipping is definitely not expected in any tasting room, and you may very well receive some strange looks if you try to. *Sidenote* Wine tasting rooms are not the same as wine bars. If you are at a wine bar that is connected to a restaurant, or where you pay by the glass as opposed to a flat tasting fee, tipping is very much appropriate in that case. If in doubt, you can ask! What’s the harm?

The bottom line is, if I simply wanted to have a glass of wine, I can stay at home and pour it myself. The reason for going out is the enjoyment of the entire experience. Being catered to is pleasurable, and most of the time, is worth the additional costs. Like a perfectly cooked fine cut of meat, so is the red carpet treatment. Is there anything wrong with wanting to be served and being expected to pay for the opportunity to being served? I think not.

Your opinions are welcome. Those of us that belong to the “recognition of hard work club” are open to suggestions. We may not change our methods but we are willing to listen!

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Saturday evening, we ventured out for someplace new. We arrived in Tacoma at CORK a wine bar! We just barely missed the live music but upon entering, we found the atmosphere pleasant and very inviting. Lots of tables spread out around the floor and since there were not alot of patrons present, we had a good selection of seating.

We ordered the First Class Flight for each of us. Three tastes galore and we enjoyed this so much. Since we are red through and through, we were ready for some swirling, smelling and slurping! Maybe I need new glasses, or subconsciously wanted to be different, but I mistakenly ordered the Root One Sauvignon Blanc with my two reds. This was not a bad mistake though! This turned out to be the best wine we ordered  that evening! The Root One Sauvignon Blanc jumped out with plenty of aroma. Apricots hit our noses right away, together with mandarin oranges and vanilla. This wine went terrific with the meat and cheese plate we ordered and made everything taste scrumptious! Especially the French Brie! We couldn’t get enough. If you have one white set aside for those warm summer days, make it this one!

The service was exceptional and everyone was very helpful. We will definitely be back. We can’t wait to bring friends and family to enjoy the comfortable surroundings. Hopefully we can enjoy the Pear, blue cheese, rosemary, and olive oil Flatbread, which they unfortunately were out of that night.

CORK is located at 3012 6th Avenue in Tacoma and parking on either side of the street isn’t much of a problem. Just plan to stay a few hours!

If you like what we are doing here click to vote for BigFatWine!

Grocery Shopping Just Got Fun!

In the state of Washington, a new license endorsement is available for grocery stores who want to offer beer and wine tasting in their stores. The new law was effective June 10, 2010. Like any other law, there is some state control;

Tasting Conditions

Tastings must be conducted under the following conditions:

• Samples must be 2 ounces or less, up to a total of 4 ounces per customer during any one visit to the premises;
• The licensee must have food available for the tasting participants;
• Customers must remain in the service area while consuming samples; and
• The service area and facilities must be located within the licensee’s fully enclosed retail area. The retail area must be of a size and design so that the licensee can observe and control persons in the area to ensure that persons under 21 years of age and apparently intoxicated persons do not possess or consume alcohol. SSB 6329 – Fact Sheet SSB 6329 – Additional Requirements

The following requirements also apply:

• Employees of licensees whose duties include serving during tasting activities must hold a class 12 alcohol server permit;
• Wineries and breweries may provide personal services such as pouring at a grocery store holding a beer and wine tasting endorsement. The cost of sampling may not be borne, directly or indirectly, by the brewery or winery; and
• A licensee may advertise tasting events only within the store, on a store website, in store newsletters and flyers, and via e-mail and mail to customers who have requested notice of events.

Washingtonians, this will be a new and unique experience. I think a lot of people are intimidated by the fancy wine bars. This will give people the opportunity to get a few tastes in as they frantically fill their carts with groceries. Just like the wine bars, you’re more willing to try a new wine if you get to taste it first. For us  Seattle rain people, it will be strangely unique but I really think it will be successful and draw a lot of attention. Wine sales will spruce up and (fingers crossed) and hopefully it will add more of a varied selection of good wines. Maybe, just maybe, the shelves will be a little more organized. It isn’t difficult at present to figure out. The less expensive wines are on the bottom shelf, and the more spendy bottles on the top shelf. The problem is that the California reds are often combined with the imports, under a huge sign that says “Australia”. Organization is the key. For us that know exactly what we are looking for, we want to quickly grab and go. There can be at least some element of class. After all, it is wine, not the canned vegetables section!

The mere fact that there is a tasting limit, keeps me from coming home late after running to the store for laundry soap. Of course it also provides a great reason for smelling like alcohol even if you did stop off at the wine bar! (Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…)

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