As a waitress at a fancy restaurant what are the important things I need to know about wine?

Question

As a waitress at a fancy restaurant what are the important things I need to know about wine?

Answer 1

what wine goes well with each entree

Answer 2

personal experience:  start experimenting and taste them, look at your wine list at work and be able to truly make an honest suggestion from each category (whites..such as pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay...etc.. know wich are "dry" and wich are sweet. same with reds: be able to offer up a suggestion from your cab, merlot, shiraz, blends, etc.) Dont fumble your way through a web of lies at the table,  anyone with any knowledge of wine will surely see straight through this.  Also your restaurant may have a list of what wines pair nicely with what food.  Knowing how to appropriatley open wine at the table is also a must, it is very intimidating but with practice you will be a pro in no time. If you get the cork stuck or ::GASP:: it BREAKS!! just excuse yourself if you must and open it away from the table. Make sure to offer a tasting to the host of the table to ensure that the wine has not "turned".  If the wine is accepted (they shouldnt turn the bottle away if they just dont like it..that is extremely classless) Ask them if they would like their wine decanted or if they would like it to "breathe" before serving the other guests. Dont worry and have fun with it!  Get those check totals up!  

Answer 3

"Learning wine" is a whole art and science in itself.  

You probably won't be expected to know much, if anything right at first ... you'll learn as you go.

Reds are GENERALLY paired with red meats and red-sauced pasta dishes.

Whites are GENERALLY paired with white meats (chicken, fish) and cream (white) sauced pasta ...

But those aren't "rules" carved in stone.  Plenty of folks prefer one over the other, no matter what they're eating.

One of the first things you need to know is whether a wine is "sweet" or "dry" ... dry is the opposite of sweet ... or somewhere in between (semisweet, off-dry).

You will quickly become familiar with the house wines ... those are served by the glass.  Most places serve at least a few reds, a few whites, and something pink (probably white zinfandel) by the glass, and you'll be able to suggest an appropriate wine once you learn the characteristics.

You'll get a copy of the wine list to study when you start working ... take it home and look it over.  No need to memorize, just become familiar with each, how the name is pronounced, which varietal it is, etc.

Some wines commonly served:

Chardonnay ... heavy, oaky, dry white

Sauvignon Blanc ... medium-body, moderately dry white

Pinot Grigio ... light-body, light-tasting white

Riesling ... medium-body, off-dry white

Cabernet Sauvignon ... heavy, dry, "big" red

Merlot ... VERY dry, medium-body red

Pinot Noir ... medium-body, lighter tasting red

Syrah/Shiraz ... medium-body, dry red

Beaujolais ... medium-body, sweet red

White Zinfandel ... (blecch!) ... sweet pink

Rose ... off-dry pink

Sparkling wines and champagne, which can be very sweet to ultra-dry.

There are many others.  You'll learn!  Try all the wines you can, though ... you can't enthusiastically promote something you haven't tried!

Answer 4

someone may ask for your recommendation... always be truthful, lying can fall in your lap.  I asked one time for the waitress to recommend a dinner wine, and she told me her favorite was "X"... it was terrible, then she confessed she really didn't know the difference.