Would you have the confidence to return a faulty wine in a restaurant? Faulty wine: it happens to everyone.
Recently, my wife and I set out across London to try an Italian restaurant which had always received favourable reviews. Although not naturally inclined to believe the hype, we were certainly very excited.
As we were showed to our table and took the menu, sneaky glances at food on other tables showed some visually beautiful plates. My heart and stomach wanted to try everything.
So far, hype fulfilled. We chose glasses of the unusual and hard to find ‘Bollicine Rosé’ NV made by Serafini & Vidotto near Treviso to accompany the exceptional starters. When our mains arrived we plumped for a carafe of an equally hard to find Italian red.
The awkward moment
Unfortunately, the wine was corked. I tasted again to make sure, part hoping that I was mistaken, but the drying, wet cardboard, mouth-puckering finish confirmed our fears.
We were about to have that awkward conversation with the waiter.
‘I’m afraid this wine is corked; would you mind tasting it?’
The waiter, looking somewhat put out, took the carafe away and came back saying; ‘the wine is not corked, it’s just the style – it’s an organic wine’.
Slightly in shock, and to the relief of my wife, I held back from explaining organic winemaking.
I repeated that the wine was corked, which was again met with resistance, but at least the waiter said he would change it for another bottle – to his credit.
Keen to move on, we accepted the second bottle of the same wine. It was in perfect condition, and a country mile from the first.
Still a little incensed, I politely suggested that the establishment try the first carafe against this new bottle to taste the variation. The staff declined.
Would you have the confidence to send a wine back?
For remainder of the meal we discussed whether our food and wine-loving friends outside of the industry would have the confidence to fight their corner and return a faulty product? It’s no wonder many people find wine service in restaurants daunting.
What is corked wine?
Common misconceptions:
- Cork floating in the wine
- Oxidised
- Not fruity and what you expected
Corked, is the contamination of the wine by the chemical compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole or TCA, which is found on the cork, and very rarely the screw cap. This gives the wine the aromas or wet newspaper, cardboard, damp cloth or wet dog. The true aromas of the wine are masked or diminished. For example, a naturally fruit driven wine will suddenly have lack of fruit aromas. On the palate, the wine feels drier with pronounced tannin and a mouth puckering finish. Altogether, quite unpleasant.
Related Reads
- Cork taint in wine ‘suppresses’ sense of smell
- A million cases a year cork tainted
- Common wine ‘flaws’ and wine faults – a guide
Don’t feel guilty
Do not feel guilty when sending a back wine; the restaurant is not incurring the cost of the bottle as their suppliers will usually change it. The restaurant will only have the hassle of processing a replacement. Wine producers will want you to taste their wines in the best possible condition.
When it next happens to you, which is will, have the confidence to talk to your waiter and send the wine back. Trust your palate – you are paying for what you are drinking. The waiter is there to help and should want to make your experience a pleasurable one. Banish that guilt, you are ultimately making wine better for everyone.
Common wine ‘flaws’ and wine faults – a guide
Like Marmite, we might have to agree to disagree when it comes to our own tolerance for faults in wine.
