Tuesday, December 11, 2007

STOCKING A CELLAR

he first consideration in acquiring wine is to have a realistic idea of the establishment's potential supply and demand. Bear in mind that customers at any level expect a wine's price to reflect its quality.

Before buying any wine, taste it several times, preferably after acquiring samples in different places. Control not only its class, but also the quality of bottles, labels, capsules, cartons or crates and, above all, the condition of corks.

Prestigious and expensive wines require more care in tasting and more attention to the potential of each vintage. When stocking wines for aging from great vintages, try to buy early and in adequate supply to meet demands for years to come, thus avoiding future price increases. Beware of special discounts for quantities.

Acquiring a large stock of a certain wine may tempt you to push that and neglect other types that make up a well-rounded selection. For wines that need to be drunk within a relatively short time span, order quantities annually but arrange for delivery every three to six months to avoid overloading the cellar.

Follow the advice of wine experts, but don't be unduly influenced by opinions or ratings. Rely on your own palate in searching out unpublicized or rare wines and offering your discoveries to customers. Wine drinkers like to be pleasantly surprised.

It's important to have a cellar or storage space large enough to hold a longterm stock of wine, but only if conditions are right. The room should be constantly cool (50-60°F) and with a source of light ventilation to avoid excess humidity. Nothing odorous should be stored in the room, which should be isolated from traffic vibrations, noise and odors. Lighting should be dim and direct sunlight rigidly avoided.

Even if the area is primarily for storage, it's wise to keep it neat and attractive. Customers like to visit even the most primitive of wine cellars. Shelves should be built of wood, tiles or cement, which resist temperature changes better than metal.

Bottles should be stacked horizontally with their labels facing up and grouped by estate or zone of origin or type. Horizontal stacking is important because it keeps the cork in contact with the wine, thus damp and elastic, and also because when the bottles are massed together the temperatures of their contents tend to remain stable.

If the room is subject to temperature fluctuations, it is best to keep sparkling wines, dry whites and roses close to the floor, where it's cooler. Aged reds and strong dessert wines may be kept higher, since their alcohol helps preserve them.

Wines should be recorded by type and vintage with a note of original cost. In some large cellars, wines are catalogued under a numbered code that is kept in a computer keyed to register any changes in the wine list.


erving wine is a pleasurable occupation but it is no light task. After the grape grower, winemaker, taster, bottler, shipper, importer, wholesaler and retailer, the sommelier represents the final link in the chain between the wine and the consumer. He or she must provide information, offer advice and answer questions which require a thorough knowledge of the subject.

Presenting wine in its most favorable light requires the proper tools. The following is a short list of accessories needed for top-flight restaurant service of wine:

Small wine service tables, on rollers, so that they can be shifted from place to place.

Carafes or pitchers, of fine glass or crystal, for decanting wines that have sediment or that need to aerate, or breathe, before being served.

Buckets, half filled with ice and water, for quick cooling of sparkling wines and certain dry whites and dessert wines - or for maintaining temperatures if they are already chilled.

Insulated containers may also be available for maintaining temperatures of certain wines.

Special pincers that resemble a nutcracker for freeing corks on sparkling wines if they are too stubborn to be removed by hand.

Serving baskets or cradles used for holding bottles of certain aged red wines as close to horizontal as possible, so that they can be poured with a minimum of motion to avoid stirring up sediment.

Candles to provide light behind a bottle being decanted to check that the sediment remains in the shoulder without being poured. Such candles should be made of odorless wax.

Tastevins, the shallow silver saucer that sommeliers often carry on a neck chain, may be used to check the color, odor and flavor of a small amount of wine poured into it before serving. Some wine waiters consider the tastevin more symbolic or showy than practical.

Bottle openers normally used by sommeliers are in the form of a jackknife with a corkscrew and lever at one end, and a blade for cutting the capsule or foil at the other.

The corkscrew should consist of a slender spiral open at the center with a sharp point to penetrate the cork without drilling a hole through it and depositing scraps in the bottle - as a solid, screw-shaped type often does. Also, the lever which is placed against the lip of the bottle should be long enough to permit the cork to be pried out easily in a gradual, uninterrupted motion.

Glasses, in a sense, are the ultimate tools of the sommelier's trade. They should be carefully chosen, first of all for function but also for effect, to fit the setting or the occasion.

To say that a fine wine loses something if served in a tumbler or plastic cup isn't just an example of snobbery. Those vessels lack the form, size and visual and tactile qualities that allow wine to express its sensorial best. On the other hand, a common wine will still taste common, or worse, if served in crystal stemware or a silver chalice.

Glasses vary to extremes in design, reflecting the endless theories and ongoing debates over which is right for each type of wine.

Most table wines can be served in glasses of the familiar chalice or tulip type, slightly closed at the top. Their rounded forms maintain aromas and their stems allow them to be held so that the hand neither impedes vision of the wine nor warms it.

Such glasses may vary dramatically in size and shape as well as in quality. But whether they are made of ordinary glass or the finest crystal, experts tend to prefer perfectly transparent glasses untinted and with a minimum of etching or design. Drinking vessels made of metals, crockery or other materials have been largely dismissed as folkloric.

ometimes a table setting includes the full array of glasses, like for example at a large banquet, where many wines are being served in rapid succession. In such cases, glasses should be arranged from right to left, in the order that the wines are served. But in all other situations, such as when wines are ordered in a normal restaurant, the correct glasses should be placed on the table just before pouring.

Glasses for most types of wines should be only partly filled. For example, some ballon glasses could hold an entire bottle, but the wine poured should merely fill the lower part of the bowl to perhaps a tenth of capacity. A sparkling wine flute or dessert wine glass may be filled halfway, but never to more than three-fifths of capacity.

In many restaurants the sommelier's duties include selecting, storing and cataloguing wines. But perhaps the greatest test of knowledge, skill, experience and tact comes in dealing with the customers.

The sommelier's introduction is the wine list, presented along with the menu, or at a strategic interval, after guests have had a chance to consider the dishes. And it is at this point, in the often brief interaction that follows, that the sommelier's skills should come into play to insure a memorable wine experience to the customer.

An astute waiter can often size up a customer's familiarity with wine by weighting the response to a calculated question. In the best of circumstances, a rapport will be struck that will lead to ready acceptance of the suggested wine or wines to be served. If the choice is difficult, patience may be required, but the solution must bear out the axiom that, in the end, the customer is always right.

With orders in hand, the sommelier should quickly check that all bottles to be served are at proper temperatures or will be by the time they are opened. If any bottles are still in the cellar, sparkling or white wines will need to be cooled slightly and mature reds will need to be gradually warmed a few degrees. Then the serving procedure begins.

First, the bottle should be brought to the table so that the person who ordered can confirm that the label shows the right wine and vintage. Then a serving table should be placed nearby and any cellar dust or mold on the bottle should be removed with a dry towel.

Place the bottle on the serving table with the label facing the guests. With a knife blade or foil cutter, remove the top of the capsule neatly so that it won't come in contact with the wine being poured. Wipe away any mold or residue that was left between the capsule and cork.

At this point insert the corkscrew, set the lever against the lip, and slowly pry the cork upward, making sure that it doesn't begin to break or crumble. If it does, extreme caution will be needed to remove it without getting scraps inside the bottle. The cork should come away easily and cleanly, but don't pull it so forcefully that it makes a loud pop.

Use the moist lower end of the cork to clean away any residue around the top of the bottle and sniff it to make sure there are no obvious off odors. If there is any sign of cork scraps in the bottle, remove them by quickly pouring a tiny amount of wine into a glass.

Remove the cork from the corkscrew and set it aside within view so that the customer can check it on request.

Pour a small amount of the wine into a glass and quickly and decisively sniff and taste it. If there is any sign of a problem, tell the customer that you are getting another bottle and why - but don't seek permission, since that would reveal doubt. If the wine is right, grasp the bottle so that the label is evident and pour a small amount into the glass of the person who ordered - unless he indicates that someone else present should taste it.If a wine is not approved by the costumer, for whatever reason, don't contest the decision but offer to get another bottle of the same wine or, if you are certain that the taster is at fault, suggest another wine.

If approved, after a sniff or a taste, begin serving, following the usual etiquette of ladies first. Serve from the right of each guest, filling glasses to prescribed levels and keeping the label in view. End each pour with a gentle half twist of the bottle to remove any drips from the lip. A clean white napkin should be held in the left hand to avoid any drips on the tablecloth. Conclude the first pouring by filling the taster's glass to the right level.

During the meal, check the level of wine in the glasses frequently and provide refills before any is empty. Before the bottle is empty, ask the person who ordered if he would like another of the same or another wine. If there is a change of wine, place clean and appropriate glasses around and repeat the serving procedure. Remove the preceding glass only with each guest's consent.


Place the proper glasses - flutes for dry sparkling wines, rounded chalices for sweet spumante - around for guests and put a bucket filled with one-third ice and one-third water on the service table. If the wine has been refrigerated, the ice bucket will maintain a temperature of about 45°-50° F. If brought from the cellar, the wine will need about ten minutes in the ice bucket to reach the right temperature.

When ready to serve, dry the bottle with a towel if it has been in the bucket and place it upright on the serving table. Using a corkscrew blade (or the tab inserted on some bottles), remove the upper part of the capsule or foil so that the wire baling over the cork is exposed. Unwind the spiral stay with one hand held firmly over the cork to be sure it doesn't pop out when the baling is removed.

Grasp the bottles in one hand and with the thumb and two fingers of the other twist the cork gently but with a firm grip to avoid a quick release. If it doesn't yield to this pressure, use a pincer to begin removal.


Tilt the bottle and ease the cork out in a spiral motion that must be braked to assure a subdued puff of carbon dioxide rather than an explosion. A towel or napkin held over the cork during removal subdues the sound and can be used to catch any foam that issues.

Hold the bottle at an angle for a few seconds to let the CO2 fumes escape before pouring a small amount into a tasting glass to check aroma, color, clarity and perlage. Serve the wine by holding the bottle with the thumb inserted in the punt (the conical indentation underneath), while grasping the base with the fingers and part of the palm.

Pour a small amount into the glass of the person who ordered. If approved, serve the other guests. Pour slowly to avoid having the foam rise above the rim and let it subside before filling the glass sufficiently to show perlage. Place the wine in the ice bucket with a towel draped across the top to dry the bottle before each serving.






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