Restaurant Wine Etiquette

Whether you like him or not, whether you agree with him or not, Christopher Hitchens can always be counted on to proffer his opinion on just about anything. And he does it with eloquence and aplomb. I just tripped over an article of his in Slate magazine, "Wine Drinkers of the World, Unite," about wine and restaurant etiquette.

Hitchens depicts the scenario where a waiter interrupts the table's conversation (which at Hitchens' table must be pretty entertaining) in order to pour the remaining contents of the wine bottle into all of the glasses on the table, unasked. He cites that the motivation for this rude behavior is to sell more wine by emptying the bottle well before the meal is completed and then pushing a second bottle.

I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me, and as Hitchens' states, not everyone at the table necessarily wants the second glass of wine. When I purchase a good bottle of wine and then have to watch it left unappreciated in the glass for the rest of the night, I feel sick at the waste. Once the bottle is open, everyone at the table is capable of pouring a glass for themselves. Furthermore, the host should be able to take the honor of asking the guests if they would care for a second glass. And if a second bottle is desired, I have absolutely no qualms about signalling to the waiter to bring another.

Hitchens' is requesting social change and I have to say that I am behind him on this one. He suggests that the next time you are interrupted at your table by the waiter attempting to pour your wine for you, you should politely but firmly tell him 'no.' We would not accept the rude interruption from someone from another table, why would we accept it from the wait-staff?

So the next time you are out to dinner, think about the Hitchens' call to arms. Take control of your wine consumption and enforce some restaurant etiquette.