Beverage Service and Bar Basics
What you must understand
Know the main beverage families: aperitifs, beer, wine, spirits, liqueurs, soft drinks, coffee, and tea. Understand wine service: present the bottle, show the label, open, pour a taste for the host, then serve in order. Know the correct glassware for red, white, sparkling, beer, and spirits, and why glass shape matters. Understand temperature: reds slightly below room temperature, whites and sparkling well chilled, beer chilled. Know basic cocktail structure and the difference between shaken and stirred drinks. Understand draught beer pouring, head size, and line cleaning. Know how to serve hot drinks safely and how to handle a corked or faulty bottle.
Traps in questions
Questions often test who tastes the wine: the host, not the server, and not every guest. Another trap is filling a wine glass to the brim; you should pour a modest measure. Watch for options that pour sparkling wine down the side of the glass rather than into it, or that serve red wine ice-cold. Also beware of suggesting a guest taste a bottle to "check the vintage" rather than to check for faults.
Worked example
A host orders a bottle of red. Strong service: present the bottle label-first to the host, open it, pour a small taste for the host, wait for approval, then serve the other guests first and the host last.
Rule of thumb
Present, open, taste with the host, then serve guests before the host.