Rituals in Wine Drinking

There are various rituals involved with wine drinking. A clear example is when you order a bottle of wine at a restaurant. When the server or sommelier brings the bottle to your table, the ritual begins. You are first shown the bottle's label, to ensure that it is the correct bottle. Then the bottle is opened, cutting away the foil and then uncorking it. The cork is left on the table for you. You are then poured a taste of the wine to ensure that it is not corked. Once you approve the wine, then it is poured. This seems so ordinary to many of us that we don't even think of it as a ritual.

Once of the criticisms of screwcap wines is that it detracts from this ritual. It does not feel the same when a waiter unscrews a cap rather than removes a cork. This implies that the ritual itself has importance to us, beyond any concerns on the effect of a screwtop on the taste of the wine. I have heard that some servers have been taught to place a cloth over the screwcap when it is being removed, to lessen the visual aspect of seeing the cap.

Ritual is important to us, in wine as it is in many other aspects of our life. Ritual helps place us in a certain mind set, contributing to a certain mood and ambiance. It can be very reassuring and pleasant. We feel better with the ritual of having a waiter uncork a wine bottle for us. It makes it seem more special. Yet restaurants are not the only place where this applies.

At home, how we drink our wine, the ritual we may go through, can affect us as well. Breaking out your best crystal for an expensive bottle of wine helps to set our mood. It would feel much different if you broke out plastic cups for a $100 bottle of cabernet. Some people use a decanter and that certainly adds an interesting visual to the pouring. Think of the ritual of opening a bottle of champagne on a special occasion. Will the cork pop out and hit the ceiling?

The atmosphere, the rituals, all contribute to the experience of the wine and can transform it into a better one. So, give a thought to the rituals of wine drinking.