The Tasting Tip To Remember When Ordering Wine At A Restaurant

Wine bars and fine-dining restaurants pride themselves on their extensive wine collections, employing sommeliers to help customers navigate the overwhelming choice. But sometimes even a sommelier's guidance can come up short. You still need to taste the bottle you ordered, and if you're less than satisfied, you may consider sending it back. We consulted a sommelier for expert ordering and tasting tips to consider before sending a bottle back. 

Scott Mattson, sommelier and co-owner of Denver's Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club talked to Tasting Table and shed light on factors that could affect your first sip of wine. He also suggested steps to ensure you're giving the wine you ordered the best chance. Mattson argues that the taste of wine can be tainted by pre-dinner drinks, saying, "Keep in mind if you taste a wine right after a sip of a martini or an old fashioned, you'll likely be perceiving things a bit oddly."

Consequently, he recommends not jumping to conclusions after the first sip, but instead going "back for a second or third taste." You could also take a swig of water to cleanse your palate before the next sip. Another issue Mattson mentions is if your wine seems too strong or "abrasive." In such cases, Mattson says to "ask the sommelier if the bottle will be better after a few minutes of breathing in a decanter." Decanting wine mellows its abrasiveness by aerating it, while those extra few minutes of waiting will let unappetizing sediments settle.

While sommeliers are masters of wine tasting and pairing, their main objective is to make sure you enjoy your wine-drinking experience. Any sommelier or wine expert worth their salt will humbly work with you to find the perfect wine for you, even if they don't get it right the first time. In our Tasting Table article on the only time you should return wine at a restaurant we offer guidelines on faults to look, smell, and taste for when trying a new bottle of wine, even going so far as to ask your sommelier to taste the wine themselves to appreciate such faults. However, Mattson doesn't think that finding a specific fault should be the only reason for returning a bottle. He says that it can be as simple as just not liking the way it tastes.

If decanting and a second or third tasting still don't meet your expectations, Mattson encourages you "to send something back that you really don't like." Of course, he does acknowledge that people can abuse their right to rejection. He thinks a respectable limit for sending back and undesirable wine is one bottle per night. Consequently, Mattson demands the same understanding from patrons: "If you've sent back two bottles, and are asking for a third, don't be offended if the server or sommelier gently steers you toward the by-the-glass list until they understand your palate more."