The Temperature and Glass Standard
Five checks on what a guest feels before tasting: how cold the wine is and the glass it is in. A white served too warm tastes of alcohol before fruit.
- Who
- Sommeliers and servers, checked by the head sommelier
- When
- Before every service, and each time a bottle reaches the table
- You need
- A wine thermometer, buckets, coolers, lint-free cloths, the glass chart
- Measured by
- Fridges read and logged before service
- Every glass held to the light and smelt
- Wine served within the range on the card
5 steps
01
Read the fridges
Before service, read and log every wine fridge: whites and sparkling at 6–8 °C, the red cabinet at 14–16 °C. A fridge more than 2 °C off target goes to engineering before the doors open.
Say this
“Wed 17:30. White fridge 7 °C, red cabinet 15 °C. Bar fridge 11 °C, reported to engineering.”
Common mistake Trusting the display on the door. It reads the air by the sensor, not the wine at the back of the shelf.
02
Polish and smell
Steam each glass over hot water and polish it with two lint-free cloths, holding the bowl. Hold it to the light for marks, then smell it: cupboard, detergent or cloth means it goes back to be washed.
Say this
“Glasses: steam, polish, light, smell. If in doubt, rewash.”
Common mistake Polishing with the same cloth all evening. By nine it is damp, and it leaves its smell in every bowl.
03
Match the glass
Use the glass on the card: tulip or flute for sparkling, a smaller bowl for whites and rosé, a large bowl for reds, a small glass for sweet wine. Every guest drinking that wine gets the same glass.
Say this
“For the Pinot I’ll bring the larger glass, Mr Haddad. It gives the wine room.”
Common mistake Running out of the right glass mid-service and using whatever is clean. The next table drinks the same wine from a better glass.
04
Hold the temperature
Sparkling and light whites go in a bucket of ice and water; fuller whites and older reds sit in a cooler sleeve or on the table. Check every 10 minutes and lift the bottle out before it overchills.
Say this
“I’ll take it out of the ice for a few minutes, Mrs Lindqvist, so it opens up.”
Common mistake Burying a fine white in ice for the whole meal. By the main course it is too cold to smell of anything.
05
Ask and adjust
After the first glass, ask the host once if the temperature suits them. A warm red goes in a cool bucket for 5 minutes; a white that is too cold comes out of the ice. Note the preference in the profile.
Say this
“Is the red at a good temperature for you, or shall I cool it for a few minutes?”
Common mistake Treating “reds at room temperature” as a rule. In a dining room at 26 °C the wine tastes hot and flat.
Serving Temperatures and Glasses
Our house targets for each style, measured in the glass, and the glass it is served in. Pin it above the wine fridge.
Brief one row a day for a week, with a thermometer in a poured glass so the team sees the number. The head sommelier checks two tables per service against the card and logs the readings.
The Standards Library.
No. 91 · Wine
The Faulty Bottle Standard
Five steps for a bottle that may be faulty, whoever notices first. The answer never depends on who is on shift, and it is never argued at the table.
No. 92 · Wine
The Decanting Standard
Five steps for decanting at the table, from the question to the last pour. A bottle stood upright for a day decants clean; one fetched from the rack does not.