restaurant wine & spirits service: the basics

Wine and Spirits Servicethe basics

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Acknowledgments

This short guide to wine and spirits ser-

vice is specific to Cuistot. While the

guidelines here are correct generally,

there will be instances where this guide

is simply ‘our way’.

This guide is dedicated to the members

of the service team at Cuistot who have

accepted the incumbent sommelier’s

short-comings with good grace and

given him the time learn on the job.

He is better for all their input.

(c) Cuistot 2016

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Preface

The importance of alcohol sales to

any restaurant cannot be overstated.

Typically, sales across wines and spir-

its account for 30% - 35% of the total

revenue of the business. The gross prof-

it from these alcohol sales should not

be less than 65%, and should aim to be

more in line with 70% - 75%. As a con-

sequence, it is essential to have both

a well developed wine and spirits pro-

gram, and an educated team to max-

imize those sales.

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What is a ‘wine program’? In everything we make choices. Choices about what to leave in and by extension

what to leave out. A wine program is all about choices. There are three main influ-

ences on how a wine list and wine program are built:

What is a ‘wine program’?

One: What the guests know and like. This is very important; overridingly so, and it is worth pulling apart. What the guests

know depends on where they are from, their income bracket, their age, and general

tastes. It can mean having branded wine or it can mean having the great producers,

or vineyards represented. What the guests like is equally important. They may like

Pinot Noirs above all else, or Chardonnays that have a prominent oak influence. The

list/program should reflect that.

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Two: Price of the bottles. This is hugely important. If the list is full of

wines that are priced too cheaply, profit

is lost and, more intangibly, the profile of

the list is diminished. Conversely, if the wine

selection is too expensive, guests will trade

down or out of wine, especially by the

bottle. Again, the bottom line suffers.

Three: A point of view. This is the hardest to define and is a

combination of the wine director’s

preferences, the style and type of restaurant,

and product availability.

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Wine at CuistotCuistot has been at the top of the restaurant scene in

the Coachella Valley for almost 30 years. Over that

time, the wine and spirits offering has grown to

include the following:

• 35 wines available by the glass,

including champagnes and $100+

bottles by the glass served using a

‘Coravin’ to maintain freshness;

• 25 different sparkling wines

and champagnes;

• Over 550 wines from

across the globe with

specializations in

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France

and

California;

• A comprehensive dessert and

fortified wine offering;

• A comprehensive spirits and cocktail program

including fine Scotch whiskies, Cognacs and other spirits,

aperitifs and digestifs.

Lately, this program has expanded to include the ‘by the glass’ wines by the

carafe which is responding to a consumer need to have less than a bottle for the

table but more than a glass per person.

In all, the wine and spirits offering at Cuistot is good, covering most styles of wine

and delivering those at almost every budget.

ServiceThe most important interaction in the restaurant is that between guest and server.

The server is, at that point, the ‘face’ of the restaurant, providing information, offering

advice, and serving wine -- the food being served by the Busser. As a consequence

of the importance of this position, the server must be ‘fluent’ in wine and spirits

service.

Wine ServiceMost wine service is a combination of common sense, safety, and

consistency. The following pages cover the very basics

of wine and spirits service as applied to Cuistot.

Opening a bottle of wine

To open a bottle of wine, hold the wine

key so that your thumb is on one side of the

bottle neck and the knife of the wine key positioned

opposite, under the ‘bump’ on the neck of the bottle. This

blade positioning is very important. A slip, or lapse in attention

while engaged in removing the foil can result in a nasty cut

on the thumb. Twist the bottle and removed the foil. Insert

the corkscrew, twist and, depending on the design of

the wine key, lever out the cork as smoothly and

quietly as possible. Try to avoid a ‘pop’ as

the cork exits the bottle.

Wines by the bottleWine service should follow a

very simple order. The guest orders

the wine - either in consultation with the

server or sommelier, or from consulting the list;

the wine bottle is brought unopened to the table and

presented to the ordering guest; upon confirmation that

the wine brought is correct as ordered, the server should open

the wine, pour a sample for the guest to try, and receive confirmation

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that the wine is good. Upon receipt of

said confirmation, the server should

pour to the person seated to the left of

the taster, moving round the table and

finishing by topping up the sample pour.

DecantersAt Cuistot, it is policy to decant ALL

red wines unless the guest specifically

requests otherwise. This is for three

reasons:

• It allows oxygenation of the wine

removing any reduced aromas and

allowing the fruit aromas and flavors

to show at their best;

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• There may be sediment in the wine that

will be disturbed and thrown into the wine

through repeated glass pours. While not

harmful, sediment does not taste pleasant,

does not look good, and generally spoils

the enjoyment of a wine;

• Appearance in a restaurant is very

important, both to the immediate guest but

also to the other diners. This ‘theatre’ at the

table makes guests aware that wine is being

served and, not knowing that it is policy to

decant all wine, will assume that the wine

being decanted is ‘special’.

Returning to the process of serving, the server

should decant the wine PRIOR to offering it

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to the ordering guest. Pour then for all

remaining guests. See below for detailed

instructions on how to decant wine at

Cuistot.

How to decant wineThere are two ways to decant wine and

which one you choose depends on the

wine.

Fine wine decantingHaving made sure to agitate the wine

as little as possible moving it from the

wine room to the table, stand the wine

upright on the table, and remove the

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cork. For right handed servers, hold the

decanter at an angle in your left hand. In

your right, pick up the bottle and pour in

one motion, the wine into the decanter.

Do this as smoothly as possible, making

sure NEVER to get the glug of air moving

back into the bottle. This process should

be done while holding the bottle - not

the decanter - over a candle such that

you can see through the liquid and see

when any sediment reaches the shoulder

of the bottle. Done correctly, you will be

able to see the sediment collect there

and pour the wine past it.

Two important points to remember:

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• Once started you must NOT let

the wine move back towards the

base of the bottle. This will disturb the

sediment and no amount of decanting

will save it.

• Don’t be greedy! There is no way that a

wine with sediment can be poured completely,

getting 100% of the wine. Don’t try. Leave as much as

you have to while ensuring the clarity of the decanted

wine.

As with decanting above, pour the decanted wine for the

ordering guest to taste. Leave the cork by the decanter. The

decanter should be left at the table on a silver coaster.

Remove the bottle UNLESS the guest specifically requests that it remain

on the table. For very fine wines (above $300 per bottle) retain the bottle

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somewhere safe until the end of service

in case the guest wants to take it home.

‘Splash’ DecantingFor wines that necessarily have no

sediment because they are too young

or light, it is not necessary to use the

convoluted and theatrical method

above. Simply open the wine and pour

it quickly into the decanter. Pour for

the ordering guest to taste, then for the

table, as above.

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White WinesWhite wines must be presented and poured as above and then placed in an ice

bucket standing next to the table. Occasionally, a steel insulating tube may be

preferred to an ice bucket if:

• The guest requests is specifically;

• The wine should not be too cold. Examples of this are older chardonnays and

dessert wines.

White wines should be decanted if they are particularly full-bodied. Examples

include, VERY good California chardonnay, white Burgundies at Premier and

Grand Cru level, AOC/P Rhone wines like Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc, the wines

of Condrieu, and Hermitage Blanc. The guest may not have encountered a white

wine being decanted before and as such, should be asked if they object to their

wine being decanted. Serve as above and finish by placing the decanter in an ice

bucket as with white wine bottles.

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More than one bottle Parties over eight people in size, where all guests are drinking the same wine will

need a second bottle at the same time as the first. Present them both at the same

time to the ordering guest and open them ensuring that you have a second glass

available so that both bottles can be tasted by the ordering guest. As above, these

wines will be decanted prior to tasting.

Champagne Should be presented to the table as above and opened QUIETLY by twisting

the bottle while holding the cork and maintaining pressure between the cork and

bottle. Ensure that you have the correct number of flutes at the table and pour

the champagne, if possible without having to revisit each glass. One bottle of

champagne will do eight glasses. Any more in the party and a second bottle will be

necessary. There is no need to have the guest taste the wine in this instance (though

this is more convention than anything; there should be the same likelihood that the

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wine will be faulty as with a still wine).

Half bottles We have decanters for half bottles

and so half bottles should be treated in

exactly the same way as 750ml bottles.

Magnums We have decanters for magnums

and so these should be treated again

as with 750ml bottles.

Wines by the glass and by the carafe

We have a comprehensive wines by

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the glass offering. Glass serves are 6oz

mini-carafes. They are brought to the

table full and poured into the guest’s

glass. The assumption is that we have

already tried the wine and it is good.

By the glass - CoravinThe Coravin is a system whereby

expensive wines that will not rotate

quickly are made available by the

glass. These wines should be brought

to the table with the Coravin and

the 6oz carafe. Great care should

be used with the Coravin. It does not

have an ‘off’ switch. Make sure you

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are very comfortable using the Coravin before

attempting to use it table-side.

Wines ‘en Carafe’These are 18oz/500ml decanters and should be

treated as with 6oz carafes for the glass pours.

The decanter should be left at the table on a

silver coaster

Glasses/Stemware

At Cuistot we rely on two key styles of wine

glass: the Burgundy style, and the Bordeaux

style.

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This shape difference seems to have arisen

naturally, each region using one or the other

style.

Ideally we serve cabernet sauvignons and

full-bodied red wines in the Bordeaux style

glass and we serve pinot noirs, lighter reds

and white wines in the Burgundy glass. This

is impractical in a busy service environment

with limited stemware and servers. As such,

unless the wine is a Fine Wine, we pour onto

the glasses at the table setting. This is typically

the Burgundy glass indoors and the Bordeaux

glass on the Terrace. However, when replacing

stemware for a fresh bottle, we always choose

the correct glass as noted above.

BURGUNDY

BORDEAUX

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Other wine glasses

Dessert WinesDessert wines demand a different glass for the

simple reason that the serving size for dessert

wines would ‘get lost’ in the bowl of a standard

wine glass. We use a straight-sided flute for

dessert wines. The size of pour is 4 oz.

PortAs fortified wines, these require a larger bowl

than a dessert wine - all to do with volatile

aromatics. Nevertheless, the smaller serving

size dictates that we use a smaller glass. We

use a specific Port glass for this purpose. It is

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the glass used in Portugal. Same size of serve as

dessert wines.

Sherry and MadeiraThough we do not have a large selection of

Sherries we still use a specific sherry glass. Dry

sherry is a 6 oz pour as with any white wine,

sweet sherry and Madeira are as per dessert

wines/ports.

ChampagneWe use a large bowl Champagne flute,

technically a Riedel Vintage Champagne

flute.

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SpiritsFor the service of fine spirits, we use

appropriate glasses for brandy and

grappa, For Scotch whisky, our guests

usually expect a rocks glass.

Other glassesWe do have small bowl glasses for

white wines and these can be used on

a case-by-case basis or when the guest

requests specifically a smaller glass. With

very old red and white wines, it can be

more appropriate to use a smaller glass

to prevent over rapid deterioration of

the wine.

PORTCHAMPAGNE

GRAPPABRANDY

MARTINI

DESSERT WINE

Wine Storage

Wine should be stored on

its side ensuring liquid contact

with the cork. This prevents the cork

from drying out and keeps to an absolute

minimum the interchange of air and wine. We

store our red wines at 54 degrees Fahrenheit and

our white wines at 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Our by the

glass wines rotate with sufficient speed that we store them at

a cool room temperature. They are chilled prior to service.

Wine faults

There are two main faults of which to

be aware:

Trichloroanisole (TCA)/Cork taint

Do not confuse bits of cork in a wine with the wine

being ‘corked’ or cork-tainted. Those are simply bits

of cork and can be easily removed, leaving the

wine in perfect condition.

TCA taint is a very specific chemical

fault with the wine. It

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is believed to be a breakdown of either chlorine-based

cleaning agents or agents used in the management

of the cork trees. Either way, it is obvious, smelling

of moldy leather, and pervasive: a corked wine

will not get better. If a guest complains that the

wine is corked, check that they do not intend

that there are bits of cork in the wine, then

replace immediately.

OxidizationWill make the wine taste ‘sherried’

or, in extreme cases, acetic -

vinegary. Oxidization should

be easy to spot as it causes

a distinct browning of

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white wines and red wines, whites being more

obvious. If a wine ever looks older than it should

do, it is probably oxidized and should not be

served.

Dirty bottlesVery rarely, a wine may be simply unclean. This

is usually a fault of the bottle. The wine should

be replaced immediately.

CorkageIn spite of the breadth and depth of our wine

offering, guests will sometimes prefer to bring in

their own wines to drink in the restaurant. This is

for one of three reasons:

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• They have a very favorite wine and having

looked on our website, know we do not

offer it.

• Typically, restaurants struggle to keep older

vintages of wines. Though we do at Cuistot,

the guest may not be aware of that and so

may bring in their own aged bottle.

• They are saving money: it can be very

efficient to bring in a very expensive bottle

of wine and pay only a small corkage fee.

We offer a corkage/’bring your own’ (BYO)

service at Cuistot in Palm Desert.

Corkage Fees750ml Bottle: - $25 + tax + gratuity

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1500ml Bottle (Magnum): - $40 + tax + gratuity

3000ml Bottle (Double Magnum/Jeroboam): - $80 + tax + gratuity

All other sizes by prior arrangement only.

QuantitiesAll quantities are per party, defined as being under the same booking, irrespective

of number of guests.

Cuistot allows up to four 750ml bottles of wine, or the equivalent volume, per party

to be brought into the restaurant.

Cuistot retains the right to refuse any BYO bottles above four bottles per party.

In exceptional circumstances and by prior arrangement only, Cuistot will allow more

than four bottles of wine for one party and a total corkage fee will be agreed upon

beforehand.

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Corkage Fee removalWe remove one corkage fee for every bottle of wine purchased from the wine list,

and/or for every $100 per party spent at the bar.

Wine VaultCuistot, in agreement with Wine Vault, will remove one corkage fee per party on the

production of a valid Wine Vault card. This is irrespective of the number of people in

the same party with valid Wine Vault cards.

ExceptionsAny exceptions to the above are by prior written agreement only.

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Describing wine

Taste is subjective. I cannot taste what you taste, you cannot taste what I taste.

At the same time, we use some words communally to describe wines. Here are the

most useful:

Acidity – The level of acidity in a wine will determine how bright and fresh it is. In a

hot year, there is typically less acidity in a wine. A wine with too little acidity will be

‘flabby’ and not nice, while a wine with too much acidity will be tart, sour, and un-

pleasant.

Aroma – the most important aspect of any wine is the aroma. This is the combina-

tion of smells that come from the wine. The aroma should be enticing, making you

want to taste, and it should compliment the taste.

Balance(d) – A wine displays balance, or is balanced, when there is harmony be-

tween the various flavors, acids, sugars, and structural components like tannins. It is

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a sign of a good wine.

Big – Big wines can be either red or white. It means that the wine has been made

with very ripe grapes and usually has spent time in an oak barrel (which gives flavor

and structure). They are usually more alcoholic than the norm.

Delicate – In wine, the opposite of big. Delicate is usually applied to young, fresh,

white wines but it can be applied to very old reds, though these are more often de-

scribed as fragile.

Elegant – A great characteristic for a wine. Similar to balanced but an added di-

mension of light- touch, structural beauty.

Fat – Fat wines literally contain fatty acids that result from fermentation. More often

than not, this applies to white wines like oaked chardonnay but can be used to de-

scribe reds. Unlike big, fat is not necessarily positive.

Fruity – Young wines and those made with lighter tasting grape varieties are often

described as fruity. These wines are generally not complex but bright, enjoyable,

and ‘quaffable’.

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Full-bodied – Like fat but without the

negative meaning. It is mostly reds de-

scribed as full-bodied indicating a ripe

character to the grapes backed up by wine

making techniques like oak fermentation and

aging.

Nose – Similar to aroma in meaning but more so. The

combination of aromatic and other smells like alcohol

and wood.

Oaky – A wine fermented and aged with oak contact but not

displaying balance; the oak being out of balance with the other

flavors.

Rich – Like full-bodied only more so.

Tannic – Applied to red wines where the tannins – the compounds found in

the grape skins that give a wine color – are too much for the wine.

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Summary

Wine and spirits service should be one of the

most enjoyable parts of the process of din-

ing. There should never be any pressure on

either the server or diner to in some way per-

form. A well-crafted program with enthusias-

tic, well-schooled servers will ensure that the

food created in our kitchen is complimented

on every level by the choice of wine, and

that the opening and closing parts of the

meal, built around cocktails and digestifs,

make the whole experience perfect.

72-595 El PaseoPalm Desert

CA 92260