The Auswine Forum

brodie wrote:

cuttlefish wrote:Fucking hell, I'm going to have nightmares

My sentiments exactly.

Jeez Michel you seem to attract bad luck (and terrible servers). These stories are truly awful, my sympathies.

If I ever came to an offline with you, I am pretty sure I would clutch the bottles (very protectively) to my chest at all times and would not let any of the serving staff touch them! "These are my babies, keep away"

PS - are you actually from Rotorua??

Brodie

20 years of nightmares here
Kinda running out of ideas now...which is good.
I was in Rotorua over Christmas
Back home Australia

TiggerK wrote:You've never BYO'ed? That's Wow.

It's true It's because I've never owned anything that I'd considering taking with us. Now that we have some anniversary wines, we might consider that for our 15th on wards.

TiggerK wrote:Don't let these anecdotes put you off, yes they are rare.

But yes, I realise it's a low percentage thing and it's unfair to taint all as a result.

michel wrote:

Mahmoud Ali wrote:

michel wrote:#5 you take an old irreplaceable Hunter semillon to a restaurant- you hear a crash and a scream from the kitchen
Sheepishly the waiter approaches the table and tells us the bottle was defective and broke as they pulled the cork

Always handle, open,and decant your own wine, that's my motto.

Mahmoud.

I know I know
But these are 'professional ' restaurants.....
Apparently

I tend to remove the cork at home and let it breath before inserting the cork a bit and removing it by hand myself at the restaurant. Same with screw caps. I have heard stories of great wines taken to kitchen decanted into another vessel and replace with another lesser wine and brought out. Not sure if it's an urban myth but why take the risk.

In a similar theme at an upmarket Brisvegas restaurant many moons ago they brought out a fresh live still moving lobster (albeit very lethargically) on a platter and I promptly ordered it boiled chilled and served with a simple green salad. My idea of heaven. When it came out it was a great disappointment being quite bland and seemingly not fresh. To my amazement the very same fresh lobster (we all agreed) was dragged out to another customer. So one fresh live lobster and probably numerous frozen ones in the kitchen. A companion advised it was an old trick in Brisvegas and you should get a knife and promptly kill the live one with a quick stab to the brain. Not sure this would be a guarantee it but at least some comfort for you and the poor lobster which would have died a slow death otherwise

Carl

Chuck wrote:I tend to remove the cork at home and let it breath before inserting the cork a bit and removing it by hand myself at the restaurant. Same with screw caps. I have heard stories of great wines taken to kitchen decanted into another vessel and replace with another lesser wine and brought out. Not sure if it's an urban myth but why take the risk.

Along the same lines, an older wine to be taken to a restaurant would be decanted at home, the bottle rinsed, and the wine poured back into the bottle before going to the restaurant.

Mahmoud.

Chuck wrote:I tend to remove the cork at home and let it breath before inserting the cork a bit and removing it by hand myself at the restaurant. Same with screw caps. I have heard stories of great wines taken to kitchen decanted into another vessel and replace with another lesser wine and brought out. Not sure if it's an urban myth but why take the risk.

Along the same lines, if I'm to take an older wine to a restaurant, or to a friends for that matter, I would decant it at home, rinse the bottle, and pour the wine back into the bottle before going to the restaurant.

Mahmoud.

I'm with Mahmoud. Reduce the risk and look after the wines yourself.

I've done this where I turned up to a (now licensed) fine dining in Perth's northern suburbs - with a taxi full of eskies and a box of reds - and bemused the staff by setting up my 'wine station' inside our (fairly large) private room. They ended up delighted that I looked after the wine service for 20 people, and they concentrated on the food. A good night.

Waiters Friend wrote:...and bemused the staff by setting up my 'wine station' inside our (fairly large) private room. They ended up delighted that I looked after the wine service for 20 people, and they concentrated on the food. A good night.

Barring places that have good experience with wine groups, there is a lot to be said for this. Good service is often unobtrusive and seamless, so allowing them to do what they know best is a good move.

JamieBahrain wrote:T-Chow.

I come all the way from HKG to eat there with the ADL crew.

Well the good thing was you had another dozen great options all around you.

-- George Krashos

I hate it when wineries either (a) ignore/overlook a specific request to withhold delivery due to high temperature or (b) unilaterally send a recurring membership delivery during high temperatures without any warning.

It's really not that difficult to monitor the temperatures in the general delivery vicinity and adjust timings accordingly!

Diddy wrote:I hate it when wineries either (a) ignore/overlook a specific request to withhold delivery due to high temperature or (b) unilaterally send a recurring membership delivery during high temperatures without any warning.

It's really not that difficult to monitor the temperatures in the general delivery vicinity and adjust timings accordingly!

I don't give wineries an opportunity to judge if the weather is too hot for shipping. Even if they do the right thing, sometimes delays with the courier can result in the wine being delivered on a hot day or sitting in a warehouse on a hot weekend. Before I order anything in late spring, summer, or early autumn, I always ask them if they can delay shipping until late April. Nobody has ever said no. I don't mind waiting a few months to receive the wine. They get paid when I place the order. Been doing this for a couple years now and it's worked well. Most online wine stores and auction houses will also do the same if you ask.

I've got 70+ bottles on delayed delivery right now from 8 different sources. I'm going to be busy in late April checking them all in to Kennards.

A waitress, pulls the cork out of a 94 Mount Ed only for cork to come out in one piece and bottle leaves hand to smash on concrete floor. As compensation we were given a free meal and a bottle of basket press off their list as a replacement...still !
Cheers
Craig

phillisc wrote:A waitress, pulls the cork out of a 94 Mount Ed only for cork to come out in one piece and bottle leaves hand to smash on concrete floor. As compensation we were given a free meal and a bottle of basket press off their list as a replacement...still !
Cheers
Craig

hmmm I remember the 04
I looked after a lovely person and they gave me a bottle with a ribbon the bottle
I was very appreciative

but I agree how do you replace it
at lease they reciprocated

michel wrote:

Mahmoud Ali wrote:

michel wrote:#5 you take an old irreplaceable Hunter semillon to a restaurant- you hear a crash and a scream from the kitchen
Sheepishly the waiter approaches the table and tells us the bottle was defective and broke as they pulled the cork

Always handle, open,and decant your own wine, that's my motto.

Mahmoud.

I know I know
But these are 'professional ' restaurants.....
Apparently

This raises an interesting question of restaurant etiquette: I normally ask to see the wine, including my own, opened in front of me. I hate having it disappear out the back for these very reasons. If removing the cork looks like it is going sideways, I prefer to step in. If it breaks then its my problem. I also find many waiters are more than happy to hand over opening old bottles for the same reason.

Do people think its rude to request the wine is opened in front of you?

Mark

rooman wrote:

michel wrote:

Mahmoud Ali wrote:
Always handle, open,and decant your own wine, that's my motto.

Mahmoud.

I know I know
But these are 'professional ' restaurants.....
Apparently

This raises an interesting question of restaurant etiquette: I normally ask to see the wine, including my own, opened in front of me. I hate having it disappear out the back for these very reasons. If removing the cork looks like it is going sideways, I prefer to step in. If it breaks then its my problem. I also find many waiters are more than happy to hand over opening old bottles for the same reason.

Do people think its rude to request the wine is opened in front of you?

Mark

Mark know this happened for a fact in a restaurant in Adelaide that is no longer in business...karma
The 20 year old Coonawarra cab came back like a 2 litre Riverland cask number.
Other bottles went into a decanter with bottles on more than one occasion not coming back to the table.
As a large group we wised up and asked to open our own at the table

As an aside that night, we specifically requested tap water and they kept sending out fizzy stuff (what there was no tap in the kitchen??), and they charged us $85 for that and another $135 for sorbet ( frozen flavoured bloody tap water).
Needless to say after an argument we left...and left them short $220.

Most restaurateurs are good hard working people, but suspect all sorts of tricks go on when nicely dressed folk come in with a few old bottles.
Cheers
Craig

phillisc wrote:

rooman wrote:

michel wrote:I know I know
But these are 'professional ' restaurants.....
Apparently

This raises an interesting question of restaurant etiquette: I normally ask to see the wine, including my own, opened in front of me. I hate having it disappear out the back for these very reasons. If removing the cork looks like it is going sideways, I prefer to step in. If it breaks then its my problem. I also find many waiters are more than happy to hand over opening old bottles for the same reason.

Do people think its rude to request the wine is opened in front of you?

Mark

Mark know this happened for a fact in a restaurant in Adelaide that is no longer in business...karma
The 20 year old Coonawarra cab came back like a 2 litre Riverland cask number.
Other bottles went into a decanter with bottles on more than one occasion not coming back to the table.
As a large group we wised up and asked to open our own at the table

As an aside that night, we specifically requested tap water and they kept sending out fizzy stuff (what there was no tap in the kitchen??), and they charged us $85 for that and another $135 for sorbet ( frozen flavoured bloody tap water).
Needless to say after an argument we left...and left them short $220.

Most restaurateurs are good hard working people, but suspect all sorts of tricks go on when nicely dressed folk come in with a few old bottles.
Cheers
Craig

Does this work in reverse?
If I take my cask of Paddlewheel Claret into a restaurant and it disappears out the back, should I get excited?

Scotty V...you are a beauty...perhaps we could develop some Willy Wonka contraption where it goes beyond turning water into wine.

Cheers
Craig

phillisc wrote:Scotty V...you are a beauty...perhaps we could develop some Willy Wonka contraption where it goes beyond turning water into wine.

Cheers
Craig

Mate you're onto something....

Best example I've got, which is not that much. Was at a well know French bistro in Sth Yarra for my wedding anniversary. We took an old 707, but we ordered some ok Chablis before that. After a glass or two, the arrogant waiter brought over a bottle of awful non-descript white that was from another table and proceeded to top up our glasses! Not impressed, although I was impressed by the couple next to us, I remember that the woman had impossibly pneumatic bosoms on near full display! The 707 was excellent fortunately.

mjs wrote:Best example I've got, which is not that much. Was at a well know French bistro in Sth Yarra for my wedding anniversary. We took an old 707, but we ordered some ok Chablis before that. After a glass or two, the arrogant waiter brought over a bottle of awful non-descript white that was from another table and proceeded to top up our glasses! Not impressed, although I was impressed by the couple next to us, I remember that the woman had impossibly pneumatic bosoms on near full display! The 707 was excellent fortunately.

Pneumatic bosoms

Photo imagined
And
Very much appreciated

Yes Malcolm what I refer to as those who go up and out.
Of note breast tissue is further out than down from the chest wall at...just 18 years of age!
Cheers Craig

Someone (me ) dropped a cigarette butt into a newly opened bottle of 1996 Bin 389 a few years ago just prior to decanting, meant to put it out into the empty bottle beside it...decanted it anyway and wasn't too bad although a tasting note would have noted a hint of ash and tobacco

You think you're finished for the month buying wine and then yet another amazing wine offer comes your way which you can't turn down.

Barney wrote:Someone (me ) dropped a cigarette butt into a newly opened bottle of 1996 Bin 389 a few years ago just prior to decanting, meant to put it out into the empty bottle beside it...decanted it anyway and wasn't too bad although a tasting note would have noted a hint of ash and tobacco

Done this with beer lots of times in my younger days but not wine.
The worst part was when I took a drink out of it.

Cheers Con.