Why am I offered a taste of wine?

By Mark Henderson

You are sitting in a moodily-lit restaurant perusing the wine list, wanting to impress your dinner date: wine waiter standing over you.

Lindauer Brut seems a tad stingy so you order the Lindauer Special Reserve, pointing at the line on the list.

The waiter returns with a bottle, it is displayed, the cork eased out and a sample is poured for you to taste.

You're thinking: they don't do this with the food so why the wine?

This may be part of the ''theatre'' of wine service and fine dining but there are serious principles that underlie it.

Firstly: it is an opportunity to confirm the waiter has indeed, brought the wine you ordered.

They could have mistaken your pointed finger for the Dom Perignon, 10 times what you intended spending. While you are at it, is it the vintage you requested?

You may also determine whether the wine has been served at a reasonable temperature: it may need an ice bucket, or need to be warmed.

Historically, the key reason for tasting the wine has been to check for faults; basically, to confirm the wine is in sound condition.

Winemaking, even 20 or 30 years ago, was more rudimentary than today.

Batches could fall prey to various microbiological maladies, while the curses of cork taint and random oxidation routinely scalped good bottles.

Thankfully, most of the worst issues are things of the past, although it never hurts to be wary as cork taint still lurks.

Finally I must dispel one myth: the opportunity to taste is not about whether you like the wine or not, it is purely and simply about whether the bottle you have purchased is a true and sound representation of its type.