Returning a bad bottle of wine

There's a long thread in another forum about returning food to the kitchen. What about sending wine back? I've been on both sides of this situation many times. It's a great process to train your waitstaff on, since a green crew and manager can really make the restaurant look bad.

Case in point Stregganonna in Chicago is an Italian/New World Cuisine (whatever that means) restaurant in a nice neighborhood with an up-and-coming restaurant row. The restaurant is owned by a successful group with several other units. I'm starting a casual dinner with my best friend, and I know that we'll likely order two bottles of wine. I order an inexpensive (at the time) Spanish red - Conde de Valdemar Crianza.

The young lady had some training in wine service, but she was nervous even with a cheap bottle. We made conversation to put her at ease. She poured the taste for my friend, who thought the wine was corked. He asked the server to pour a taste for me, and indeed the wine was VERY corked. The server put the bottle down on the table, and ran off to get the manager. She came back in ten minutes and explained that the manager, "who knows a lot about wine," said that he "didn't want her to open another bottle of the same wine, because we probably wouldn't like that either." We should pick something else.

I asked the server to send the manager over, because like him, I too know something about Spanish wines, in particular this wine, and this was not an issue of liking or not liking the wine. The bottle was clearly corked. AND, no matter what the manager thought was going to happen, we weren't going to drink this bottle, so she could take it away.

The manager refused to come to the table, but I saw him taste the wine at the bar across the restaturant. He made an iccky face, and the server served us another bottle and a second of the same wine that were just fine.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I'd even go on to say that if a bottle is refused, remove it from the table immediately. The wine guru can taste and determine whether or not the wine can be offered by the glass to other guests, or used as a tasting opportunity for the staff, or simply returned to the vendor for credit. I would never want to force someone to drink a wine they're not enjoying, even if it is technically not corked. In that event, work with the guest to find a wine that suits their palate.

To your questions, Dick, no way should the server pick up your glass to pour - but without proper server training? When I steward a bottle of wine, I do hold the bottle so that the person who chose the wine can take another look at the label, and I don't really know why. I have had people tell me, no I am not making this up, "we ordered Zinfandel - this wine is RED" and "isn't a chianti bottle supposed to be in wicker?"

It's really a heart-breaker when someone starts sending back serious wines. I was a captain years ago at a four-star restaurant here in Chicago. We had just opened, and our cellar was still in the "growing" phase. A guest sent back a three old Bordeaux, until finally the owner talked him into the third. I think he was just playing big shooter for the night and wanted the attention. The wines were all showing well.

I meant to respond to your last post sooner, Dick. Believe me, if these difficult, ignorant people were the majority, I would have gotten out of the business years ago!

Despite what you might hear, 95% percent of restaurant guests are a pleasure to serve.

I was told once that tartrate crystals on the cork can indicate that the bottle has been through a wide temperature range - and could have been damaged. Playing with the cork is sort of a superfluous exercise, when the wine is right there ready to be tasted. I've seen flawless corks come out of the most oxidized, undrinkable wine; and I've seen corks with years of seepage evidence come out of old Bordeaux and Barabarescos that were beautiful, vibrant wines. Go figure.

When I captained, I would examine the cork as a part of my stewarding. I never presented the cork to the guest.