How to Tip a Wine Steward

Tip your wine steward to show your appreciation for her service.

A wine steward, also known as a sommelier, is a trained wine professional often found serving in restaurants or wine bars. The wine steward matches food and wine choices for the best flavor pairings and suggests wines based on your taste preferences. If you have a particularly good wine steward serving you, it is often customary to tip him for this service. With the correct knowledge, you can comfortably tip your wine steward and maintain proper wine etiquette.

Instructions

1. Determine the price of the wine you have ordered once you receive the bill for your meal. Pay for the entire bill and leave a tip for your waiter as you see fit based on the total bill.

2. Determine the percentage of the tip which you would like to leave for the wine steward. A tip of 5 to 10 percent of the cost of the wine alone is customary.

3. Multiply the percentage by the price of wine to determine the tip amount. For example, if you wish to tip your wine steward 5 percent on a bottle which cost $40, you would leave your wine steward a $2 tip.

References

• "Cooking Light": Essential Wine Etiquette