A great way to get your daily wine fix at work! Check back weekly for new video blogs from the one and only Dennis Perkins, Table Fifteen's wino extraordinaire! And of course, come visit us at Table Fifteen Bistro and Bar at Turkey Creek to try all these great new wines!
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Vine Time - Wine Vault 101
Welcome to Vine Time, where everything wine goes! We've compiled an FAQ section for anyone looking for answers to the most common questions, and we also have a video blog for your viewing pleasure. And of course, if you have a question that you think should be on our site, send us an email. If it's really good we'll post it on this site. Salut!
Q: Why is your wine list in categories (Crisp, e.g.) instead of by grape?
A: Although listing wines by grape or by region certainly has merit, that presentation doesn’t promote the kind of experimentation that I hope our wine list encourages. Using categories like "Rich" or "Bold" allows folks to eliminate a certain amount of risk when they try something from an unknown place or grape. If you don’t know where Gavi is or haven’t heard of the cortese grape, you might not want to try it on your own dime. However, if you know that you like crisp wines – like unoaked chardonnay or sauvignon blanc – then you have a better chance of trying something new if you know that the new wine is in a similar style to what you like.
Q: Why don’t you have sparkling wine by the glass?
A: The charm of sparkling wine is its sparkle. We offer splits – or quarter bottles- of sparkling wine because that’s the only way to make sure that you get a bubbly that’s appropriately bubbly.
Unfortunately there isn’t a preservation system that will prevent rapid deterioration of sparkling wines: so even if we did offer single glasses of fizz, we’d have to account for that deterioration in our pricing. So the splits – which are almost enough to share – would still be a good value.
Q: Do you use Riedel® glassware?
A: No we do not. I do believe that a good glass makes for a better experience. Unfortunately, Riedel® is fairly expensive and delicate. Our wine pricing is extremely competitive and to keep it that way, we agreed to a compromise on glassware. I think we selected pretty good stemware without having to increase pricing to account for inevitable breakage. If you’re a serious connoisseur, feel free to bring your favorite stems. We’ll be happy to accommodate you.
Q: Are you the sommelier?
A: Well, no, and please don’t cuss me. The word sommelier is one that is much abused in the new wine world. For some it simply means wine waiter, for others it’s a title that reflects serious study and formal training. Although I’ve spent the last 15 years with my nose in many glasses of wine and many books about wine, my training is informal. I’ve had many great teachers and taken many enlightening classes/seminars, but I haven’t matriculated in any of the formal programs that bestow titles. And although I’ve always been a sympathizer to friendly monarchies and lusted for a peerage, titles don’t mean very much to me.
I think of myself as an advanced amateur, more of a wine advocate than a wine expert. It’s my job to help you find a wine that you like based on my very practical approach – if it tastes good, go for it. Sure I have moments of wine snobbery – it’s an unfortunate flaw that’s often endemic to the fine wine trade – but really there are so many people in the world who know so much more than I do, it would be silly for me to pretend that I’m something that I’m not.
I don’t actually serve wine at Table 15; I’m around to answer questions and to advise when needed. Fortunately, I’m not needed that often since our wine list provides the information that most folks need – name of the wine, price, basic taste profile and some food pairing information. There are times when someone wants to know something more specific about a wine, say what QbA means on a German wine label (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiet- it tells you that the wine has met certain standards and comes from a specified region in Germany), but mostly guests at Table 15 want to enjoy a glass of wine that suits them – not to enjoy a glass of wine while listening to me babble about malolactic fermentation.
Q: Why don’t you fill up my wine glass – I think I got short-poured.
A: Our pour for a glass of wine is five ounces, which is pretty standard. Our wine glasses have a greater capacity than others to allow for full enjoyment of the wine – there’s plenty of room to swirl and plenty of surface area to spread the wine around so you can get the full effect of the wine’s aroma. We use a standards glass for all of our glasses to make sure that the bartender pours the full amount.
Have your own question you think should be on here? Send us an email
May 1, 2008
