Summary: Red wine etiquette involves presentation of the bottle and cork followed by a sip poured for the taster's approval. Learn red wine etiquette and tips for selecting red wines for different events from a wine connoisseur in this free video on wine information.
Adrien Matthews runs the wine program at Tayst Restaurant and Wine Bar in Nashville, Tenn. Matthews has been in the service industry for more than six years and has been with Tayst,...read more
"Lets' take a moment and talk about the proper etiquette in selecting the proper wine to bring with you to an event with your friends. If you're going for pizza and football, you might think of something like this, a red table wine, very non descript very indicative of its area. It's basically just a family mealtime wine. Or if you're heading for a nice little dinner, or cooking that dinner for that special someone, you might look at a Cabernet from California, something in the mid priced range. Something unique and expressive, yet still a family wine. If you're looking for a special event or you're looking for a wine your friends can talk about for many years to come, then it might be a good idea to go ahead and make the investment for one of the higher end wines. Perhaps something, boutique and artisan like this one here. When you're server brings your wine he'll present it to you. This allows you the opportunity to make sure that the wine and vintage that you actually ordered. The next step, is he will open it and present the cork to you. Presenting the cork to you, is designed to show you to see the wine was stored correctly, and that the cork has moisture. There’s no need to actually smell the cork, as it won't really tell you what the smell of the wine is like. That process will happen in just a moment. The cork should be placed in front of you with the wet end facing you. More often then not, it will be done in such a way that you can actually read the name of the wine on the cork. This lets you know, that the wine was actually stored properly, and the cork was still moist. Then a sip will be poured to you to approve. And then your glass will be filled."
eHow Article: Red Wine Etiquette