OK...hypothetical situation.

You are at a restaurant and you converse with the wine stewart and select a bottle at their recommendation. When they bring the bottle and give you the customary "sampling", you absolutely dislike the wine. Can you send it back and request a different bottle without incurring a fee for the bottle you turned down?

Thanks.

Absolutely. Stewart should know better than recommending crap wines.

If the wine is not flawed, you are usually obligated by etiquette to keep it. Returning wines that you don't like that were properly represented and described prior to serving is not considered good form.

Usually before making a recommendation, a good wine steward or sommelier will ask a few questions about your preferred style, or wines that you have enjoyed in the past.

That being said, a good host would probably return the bottle without charge unless there was a really strong argument against doing so. i.e. You are served a 1961 Ch. Latour, in perfect condition, and your reason for returning it is that it doen't taste like the Mogen David 20/20 that you prefer...

PH

If you "conversed" about the type of wines you like, and he brought this, then PH is correct in that you sould pay for the wine. You can try saying something like "We discussed that I like ____ in wine, but I don't detect any ___ in this one. Would you like to try?" You put the ball in his court, and maybe he'll take back the bottle.

If, on the otherhand, he made a blind rec... by all means return the wine.

Unless the wine is spoiled or noticeably flawed, and most somms or wine servers (if they are honest) should concur with your assessment - it would not be proper to refuse it.

quote:

Originally posted by mwagner7700:

If, on the otherhand, he made a blind rec... by all means return the wine.

Thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunter:
most somms or wine servers (if they are honest) should concur with your assessment - it would not be proper to refuse it.

Why not? You did not order it, he did it, so let him drink it in the back room, and in the meantime, get me and my girlfriend some quallity wine , and preferably from Napa.

That's right.

Purple Haze hit the nail on the head. For the record, the mark-up on wine is substantial (no surprise here, eh?), so when you send a wine back here's what happens depending on what the wine is. (1) it gets re-corked and vacuumed or under nitrogen and sold by the glass to bar patrons who have already had 3 or 4 drinks (2)is enjoyed by the wine staff and some selected customers (like me) at 1:30 am when the restaurant is closing. How do you think I get to drink those 300-700 dollar bottles. (3)it is poured into the sink.

quote:

Originally posted by ratso:
Purple Haze hit the nail on the head. For the record, the mark-up on wine is substantial (no surprise here, eh?), so when you send a wine back here's what happens depending on what the wine is. (1) it gets re-corked and vacuumed or under nitrogen and sold by the glass to bar patrons who have already had 3 or 4 drinks (2)is enjoyed by the wine staff and some selected customers (like me) at 1:30 am when the restaurant is closing. How do you think I get to drink those 300-700 dollar bottles. (3)it is poured into the sink.

I agree with Numbers 1 & 2. However, Number 3, (I am told by several wait staff/sommeliers with who I have had the pleasure to discuss this very topic) rarely happens. Unless these people are giving me misinformation, most previously-opened bottles will be sold by the glass, and at a nice little profit. Just thought I'd add my 2 cents...

Darlene, I think you are correct; seldom does it go down the sink. I have sat in high end restaurants afte closing and had many a returned wines. Last resort, the barback takes it home to use in cooking. One weekend 3 Torres 1989 Cab Reserva (Spanish) were sent back. Why, because the people who ordered it expected fruit and they got none. The wine was good, but not to the likings of a novice. The restaurant took them all back with no problem.

I actually sent back/declined a bottle for the first time on Saturday night. We were at a wine bar and one of the 2 main managers that I know decently said "hey, I have a bottle that you are going to love, it is right up your alley, however, it is very dry and the rest of your group might not like it."

We decided to try it, and he was dead on, I loved it, and the rest of our group did not. They immediately said, "no problem, get something else and we will sell this by the glass."

In fact, this place also sells retail out of the back room and I bought 2 bottles to go with me, and the manager told me that he had the wine that we sent back sold before we had even finished our next bottle. That is the kind of customer service that brings you back.

Dale