Great Wine Made Simple - Andrea Immer [114]
Waiter’s tip: From here, simply pour the host’s taste for approval and then pour the wine as you would in normal bottle service, wiping the decanter mouth after each pour as you would a wine bottle. I usually keep the bottle and the decanter together during service, because although you are not serving from the bottle, people still like to enjoy the label. For the same reason, I do not leave a napkin with the bottle or decanter. It just gets in the way.
Wine Problems
When it comes to opening and serving wine, stuff happens. Here are the main problems, and what to do about them.
Broken corks. Everyone breaks corks from time to time, so don’t sweat it. Prevent it if you can by using a good corkscrew (avoid the wing kind), and ensuring that you screw the augur into the full length of the cork. When a piece of cork does remain, I simply use my corkscrew again, gently, to get the rest out. My trick is to point the augur in at an angle, rather than straight down, to avoid pushing the fragment into the bottle. Then I press the cork against the neck of the bottle as I lift it, to keep it from slipping down. The Ah-So also works well, used as I described above, but wield it with a light touch so you don’t push the cork in.
Pushed-in corks. You have two choices. Either you can chalk it up to experience and of course you can still serve the wine if you are at home (this won’t fly in a restaurant setting). Alternatively, buy a Cork Retriever. They are inexpensive and easy to use. It consists of three long wires on a handle, with a slide that opens and closes the wires like a claw. You insert the wires, and lower the slide until they grasp the cork and flip it to vertical position. Lift, and out comes the cork. These are a must for restaurants.
Waiter’s tip: If you push a cork in or break it in front of a customer, remember that they won’t sweat it if you don’t. Apologize graciously and tell them you’ll have the problem solved quickly, then do it. I have said things like, “I’m sorry. This cork is a bit difficult. I’m just going to step away and solve this, and I will be right back with your wine.” Then go perform the necessary surgery as described above. It’s best to do this away from the table. When you return, smile and thank them for waiting. The key here is speed. If you are gracious and efficient, people will be patient with the problem.
Bad Wine
The term bad refers not to wine that isn’t to your taste but to wine that is flawed or spoiled. Here are the two main forms of wine spoilage:
Oxidized wine. A wine that is prematurely oxidized loses its fresh fruit character, and begins to smell and taste flat and dull, or reminiscent of dried fruit (usually dried apples in the case of white wine, and prunes for reds). But even before you taste an oxidized wine, you will probably notice that the wine’s color is browner than is typical for the wine style, or that it lacks its usual brilliant shimmer. A faulty cork seal or warm storage conditions are usually the causes of oxidation. To see what oxidation is like, leave a few ounces of your everyday house white and red on the kitchen counter. Check the color, scent, and taste every couple of days, and you will see progressive oxidation.
“Corked” wine or corky wine. This does not mean little bits of cork are floating in the glass, which is not a flaw—you can simply fish them out with a spoon. A wine with a musty smell of wet newspaper or wet cardboard that overpowers the fruit character is “corked,” or is described as smelling “corky.” The cause is a cork tainted by trace amounts of a chemical that, though not dangerous, can leech into the wine and cause this smell. In my experience, about