Why are we asked to taste wine before it's served?

Spoiler: It's not to see if you like it

Here’s one that perplexes a lot of people.

When a waiter or sommelier pours some wine into a glass to be tasted before pouring a whole glass for everyone at the table, they are asking you to check that the wine is not faulty or ’off’, i.e. that it is not corked and musty or oxidised and vinegary. It’s not just for you to see if you like it.

I’ve always thought this was seriously unfair as it’s hard for an untrained palate to get faults immediately, especially when under pressure like that - yet it happens almost everywhere you go. Even trained palates often struggle in this scenario! Twenty five years of tasting wine professionally and it’s not always clear to me either, especially when the cork taint is very subtle. That musty flavour can open up after time in the glass and this makes it awkward if you’ll all had a few swigs.

How to handle tasting wine for the table

If you have no idea what you’re looking for but you like what you taste, then to be honest just go for it! Corked or oxidised wine is not going to harm you. If you’re not sure though, you are well within your rights to say you think there might be a problem and the establishment should check it for you and you can have a discussion around it. If it is ‘out of condition’, as we say in the trade, they should open another bottle for you without quibbling. They will usually always be able to claim it back from their supplier too, so don’t worry about that side of it.

If you simply don’t like a wine however and it’s not faulty, there is no obligation for the establishment to change it BUT having said that, most do as they want to keep their customers happy. Just bear in mind that this will be entirely at the restaurant's discretion and not automatically expected.

If you want the answers to more wine FAQs, then why not take a look at my new bite-sized video wine course? You knew I’d say that, didn’t you :)