I recently dined at a restaurant in the heart of West Village. Classique, I know. I had heard incredible things about the vibe, service and the tapas-style menu. Who doesn’t love a good shared plate? I was super excited to give it a try. I took a seat at the bar with a vivacious and friendly bartender and instantly felt a rush of incredible hospitality.
We decided to cap off Memorial Day weekend with a nice bottle of red wine. Because we obviously earned it after a long weekend of our favorite rosés, sun, and hanging with friends. When our server put the cups down, we had thought they were for the water but soon realized, they were for the wine.
It wasn’t a huge deal; we found it interesting that for a place known for wine, we wouldn’t be drinking out of wine glasses. We were drinking out of small, short, thick-glassed cups. We gave it a try.
After a couple of sips, we lost the magical feeling of the dining experience. Don’t get me wrong, the wine was delicious, but the experience drinking it was far from lovely. It was almost difficult to drink from this bulky glass.
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We nicely asked our server for real wine glasses. We were disappointed to hear that the wine glasses were only for “reserved wine.” He mentioned that they only have a limited number of glasses that they need to save just in case someone orders a reserve label.
I’m sorry but does our $48 bottle of wine not warrant a lovely wine glass? A couple of minutes later, we got a bit heated. Drinking wine out of water glasses went beyond being “fancy.” We allocate some of our post-rent funds for enjoyable dining experiences. Also, according to Scientific American, the shape of the glass really does impact the wine! So we asked again.
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At this point, our server could tell that we were desperate. He went to see how many reservations were left on the books. He gave us the wine glasses. I guess no one was stopping in for a stinkin’ reserve bottle of wine.
From there, the meal was incredible.
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After the immense feeling of satisfaction, here are four ultimate ways to enhance the wine-drinking experience.
1. Drink out of a wine glass
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These are the basics, kids. Do it right or kindly return to your beer bottle. Wine is meant to be drunk out of a glass. Get it right.
2. Drink wine whilst eating cheese
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The more wine you’re drinking, the more cheese there should be on your plate. Everyone knows cheese and wine go together like PB&J. We found some killer pairings on Parmesan and we recommend a parmesan cheese with a fruit red wine or a sparkly white.
3. With fruit
Photo by Kelly Logan
Not in the mood to drink wine straight but would rather sip on something sweet and refreshing? Easy – take the fruit that you’re going to let shrivel anyway, chop it up and throw it in there. Check out this recipe for a sangria slushy that’s perfect for hot summer days.
4. Out of the bottle
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There’s nothing wrong with being that guy. Someone once said, “go hard or go home.” Drinking out of the bottle sometimes makes it easier to not have to share.
This rant may have sounded like a complaint from a millennial, but the truth of the matter is, had they not given us the wine glasses, not only would the wine be less enjoyable, but it would have been disappointing from a service perspective. That restaurant will certainly see us soon and we hope they ordered some more wine glasses for the rest of you.