sharing wine with waiter/server

Generally speaking, my wife and I if dining alone will share the last few ounces with the server or somm.  It all depends on the rapport that was built through the dinner.  Someone that shows a genuine interest or is just a darn good server will usually get the offer.

Part of that is just the desire to share, but mainly having been in that industry for a dozen years earlier in life, it always made me feel good to get the offer, especially on a great bottle. 

Our local offline group routinely makes the offer. I’ve also done so in smaller groups - one time it got a corkage fee waived.

billhike posted:

Our local offline group routinely makes the offer. I’ve also done so in smaller groups - one time it got a corkage fee waived.

As Bill said, the CWM always makes the offer at offlines.  As for myself, my wife and I usually eat one of our clubs if we're drinking wine, and we always drink with our servers during the meal. 

At our offlines, we almost always offer the server the opportunity to taste what we're drinking.  As with patespo, an engaged and interested server is most likely to get the offer.  At a favored local restaurant, the owner always stops by with a glass for a pour.  He knows the offer is permanently on the table, and he responds generously when it's time to calculate the corkage.  In this case, it's almost always waived.

PH

irwin posted:

I brought a bottle of a 2012 I Balzini Black Label, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, to dinner at a local restaurant.  The waiter came over and said, "Looks like we'll be drinking well tonight."  I thought, "What do you mean "WE""?

I do, sometimes, offer a taste to a waiter, but that's my choice.  I am sure this waiter, who I new from a prior position he had at a different restaurant, was just using the royal "WE", but.....  Do you typically offer the waiter/server a taste of the wine you bring to the restaurant?

Isn't that the vernacular of folks down south?  I've found going to a few restaurants down there, when greeted it's usually along the lines of "How we all doing tonight?" or "What are we having tonight?"

Onto your original question, yep, if at an offline there's more than half/btl per person, I'll typically share.  nothing worse than a DUI.

g-man posted:

Isn't that the vernacular of folks down south?  I've found going to a few restaurants down there, when greeted it's usually along the lines of "How we all doing tonight?" or "What are we having tonight?"

 

It happens up here also. I don't like it. Despise might be more accurate. It bothers me sufficiently that I sometimes feel like being snippy and replying, "I don't know about you, but I'm well." Then I remind myself that they'll be handling my food.

(This doesn't occur solely in restaurants, to be fair).

I always offer our server, or the reataurant’s wine person, a taste. Occasionally they’ll decline, but mostly they accept and then will usually talk to me about the wine a bit, which I enjoy. Sometimes there’s even some reciprocal advantage, though I never do it in expectation of this.

at the very least, I’m always thanked sincerely. Sometimes it’s beyomd that. With Steve8 a few weeks ago, we gave our server and the manager tastes plus left about half our bottle of Port for the staff— no corkage on our bill (4 bottles) plus they took off 2 appetizers.

Yes, I believe in karma.😋

I guess I ignored the OP. I always offer to share when I BYO. It's almost always appreciated.

Sounds like the royal we to me. I like sharing with staff if they're interested. It also helps with the wine training they might not get a the restaurant they're working at (identifying varietals, tasting different styles, getting to taste better wine than $8/bottle wholesale wines etc).

Almost always offer to share, sometimes accepted, sometimes not - usually appreciated

I always offer a small pour if the server has an interest in wine. Some appreciate the gesture so much they waive the corkage fee.

I often offer the server a taste, but many note that it is either against restaurant policy or in some cases, the law, for them to accept.  I would have thought that they were just being polite in declining in a way not to offend me, but when I was a bar tender many (many, many) years ago, the restaurant would fire anyone that had a drink while working.

We always offer the server a taste.  If they're already a wine enthusiast, they appreciate tasting a good/great bottle.  If they're a wine noob, sometimes they appreciate it even more.  I get a kick out watching their eyes open wide when they taste 'really good' wine', sometimes for the first time.  I hope we've provided more than one server with their provervial Eureka Wine Moment along the way and started them down the path we're all on.