A basic wine service guide

The following article is a guideline for serving wine at a tableside in a food and beverage outlet for an upmarket hospitality establishment. It goes hand in hand with our blog on the basic principles of waiting tables in restaurants.

We hope you find this helpful whether you're an IHS student, a prospective student wishing to study hospitality, or you're giving your current food and beverage team some training on easy and simple service techniques. Make a simple start

Before you begin to offer a wine service to your guests, make sure that your glassware is correctly assembled and is clean and free from marks. Present the guest with the wine list and inform them of any wines you may not have in stock. Take the guests wine order and repeat the wine order back to the guest to ensure the correct order has been taken. Remove unwanted / unnecessary glasses from the table and place the correct wine glasses down on the table - a red wine glass for red wine, or a white wine glass for white wine, depending on the order. (A water glass is also common practise as many dinners enjoy water and wine with their meal.)

A quick note about wine glasses

With so many different types of wine glasses available, how do you know which wine glass to use? And, does it really matter?

Well experts widely confirm that different glasses affect the taste of wine simply because of their shape - wide rims, short stems etc can all change the way that the aroma of the wine reaches your nose, which is said to have an impact then on taste.

In fact, wine glasses can be designed to enhance the wine's best characteristics including temperature, aromas, and flavours. It can be debated of course, but for now, if you're choosing wine glasses to use in an F&B establishment, make sure you consult with your supplier on this issue. Here is an easy wine glass guide:

Serving wine like a pro

Present the bottle of wine to the guest. With your hand cupped under the bottle's "punt", or base, and the neck resting in your forearm with label facing out, present the bottle to the "host," or customer who ordered the bottle.

Announce the vintage, name, and varietal of the wine to the host and table at this time. Open the bottle of wine with a corkscrew and offer the cork to the guest. It is an old tradition which allows the customer to examine the cork or sniff the cork, to ensure the wine has not been damaged in any way. Some customers will decline, so simply set the cork on the edge of the table. There are different ways to do this procedure (some place the cork on a side plate, some attach the cork to the bottle using the cork wrapping, others just place the cork on the table and some discard the cork completely - it's a choice you need to decide best for your F&B outlet)

The host is poured a small amount to "taste" and, when the host has approved the wine, the guests at the table are served the wine first and then the Host's glass is filled last.

In a clockwise pattern, move around the table pouring for ladies first, as always. Then move around the table again pouring for the men.

To properly pour the wine, hold the bottle by the punt and gently tip the neck down to the glass. Do not overfill glasses: ⅔ for white wine and ½ for red is an acceptable industry average. Ice in wine is frowned upon, however popular this trend may be locally. Don't forget to top up

Refill guests glasses as required. Leave red wine on the table with the label facing outwards towards the dining room. Place white wine in an ice bucket near the table. When the bottle is empty, the Host is asked if they wish another bottle of the same wine or if they wish to see the wine list.