Why do we try small samples of wine in a restaurant before pouring the glass?

When you order wine by the bottle, typically the server or sommelier will pour a small amount for the host (the person ordering the wine) to sample after opening it. It isn’t really to see if you like the wine you ordered, it’s to let you have a chance to determine if the wine is faulty.

What is a faulty wine? There are many types of faults that can affect wine, and some have a more noticeable impact than others. For this discussion we will focus on one you might have heard of, a corked wine. A wine is said to be “corked” when a natural cork has been affected by the containment 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, commonly referred to as TCA or simply cork taint. This only affects natural corks from cork trees. If the wine has a screwcap or a synthetic cork you have nothing to worry about! TCA can be present in several places along the winemaking process and hard to detect which is a reason why good sanitation practices are so important in winemaking. Through modern winemaking and sanitation practices the number of corks affected by TCA continues to decline, though it is estimated that between 1-3% of wines could be “corked”.

So how do you know if your wine is corked? The wine will have aromas that are most often referred to as an old damp basement, wet cardboard, or a wet dog. It is a musty smell that overpowers the fresh and fruity aromas of the wine. It could be in present in small amounts where it might be hard to tell, especially in some aged red wines that show complex earthy aromas. But most of the time it is a level where you immediately can tell the wine is just unpleasant and not something you would want to drink. It also will not go away as the wine breathes after opening.

So what do you do if you think your wine is corked? Tell your server, they want you to be satisfied and certainly to not drink a faulty wine with your meal. Either the server, sommelier, bartender, or manager is able to evaluate the wine and confirm if it is in fact corked. Regardless, if you believe the wine to be faulty, they should immediately offer to replace the bottle. Keep in mind we are talking about a faulty wine and not a wine that you picked and decided you don’t want. The staff is there to assist you with questions on the selection and pairing so you can avoid choosing one you won’t enjoy and saving them the added expense of trying to sell an opened bottle.

And what about that smelling the cork thing? Don’t waste your time! The cork is presented to the host so you can see the wine has been stored on its side with the wine in contact with the bottom of the cork, there will be a noticeable color and wetness on the end of the cork. Smelling it won’t give you a great indication of how the wine will smell or taste. In fact, it is possible for a cork to have TCA and not even affect the wine. So smell your first sample pour, evaluate the wine as your table’s resident expert, and approve pouring the rest as your guests enjoy the wine you chose.

Cheers!