The Bottle Service Standard
Five steps from the order to the first pour of a bottle. The step most often skipped is the cheapest: reading the vintage back before the foil is cut.
- Who
- Sommeliers and servers who open wine at the table
- When
- Every bottle ordered, from the order to the first pour
- You need
- Polished glasses on a tray, a waiter’s friend, an underliner, a napkin
- Measured by
- Order read back with producer and vintage
- Host’s taste of about 50 ml
- Glasses filled a third, never past half
5 steps
01
Read back
Find the host, then repeat the order in full: producer, wine, vintage, bottle size. Write it on the order pad as you say it, so the cellar pulls the exact bottle the guest chose.
Say this
“The Vietti Barolo, 2019, a full bottle. I’ll bring it straight over, Mr Okafor.”
Common mistake Saying “the Barolo, lovely” and walking off. The list has three Barolos, and the cellar picks the one nearest the door.
02
Set the glasses
Bring the glasses on a tray, polished and smell-checked. Lay them from the host’s left, going clockwise and ending with the host, in the same place at every cover, just above the knife.
Say this
“I’ll bring fresh glasses for the red. Shall I clear the white ones, or will you finish them first?”
Common mistake Carrying glasses upside down by the stems between your fingers. It is quicker, and the guest sees you holding the rim.
03
Present and open
Show the bottle to the host, label up, and name the producer and vintage a second time. Cut the foil below the lower lip, draw the cork without a pop, wipe the neck, rest the cork on an underliner.
Say this
“Your Vietti Barolo, 2019, as you ordered.”
Common mistake Opening the bottle at the side station, out of sight. The guest never saw it and cannot be sure it is the bottle they chose.
04
Host’s taste
Pour about 50 ml for the host only, step back half a pace and wait in silence. If the host hesitates, offer a word about the wine. Pour for no one else until the host has said yes.
Say this
“Would you like to taste it first?”
Common mistake Pouring the taste and already moving round the table. You have told the host that their approval is a formality.
05
Pour and place
Guest of honour first, then clockwise, host last; tables of eight or more go straight round. Fill a third, never past half. Set the bottle down label facing the host and top up before a glass is empty.
Say this
“I’ll leave it here and keep an eye on your glasses.”
Common mistake Filling to the brim to look generous. The bottle runs out after the starter, and nobody has room to swirl.
The Bottle Service Spot Check
Thirteen things a supervisor can see from across the room while a bottle is opened. Watch one table per service and tick only what you saw.
- Host identified before the order is taken
- Producer, wine and vintage read back
- Glasses carried on a tray, never by hand
- Glasses polished and smell-checked
- Glasses laid clockwise, host last
- Bottle shown label up to the host
- Vintage named a second time at the table
- Foil cut cleanly below the lower lip
- Cork drawn without a pop
- Neck wiped, cork placed on an underliner
- Host’s taste about 50 ml, then a step back
- Glasses filled a third, never past half
- Bottle set down label facing the host
Brief two items at each pre-service meeting this week. The supervisor watches one bottle opened per service and ticks the card in front of the person who opened it. Anything missed is practised before the next shift.
The Standards Library.
No. 88 · Wine
The By-the-Glass Standard
Five steps that keep the last glass from a bottle as fresh as the first. A guest tastes yesterday’s bottle in one sip, and usually says nothing.
No. 89 · Wine
The Vintage Standard
Five steps that keep the wine list true to the cellar. A changed vintage is a small fact, and a large one when the guest finds it on the label alone.