20-40-60 Etiquette: Should we line up the wine glasses?

YOU ASK! WE ANSWER! YOU DECIDE!

QUESTION: I was at a formal dinner party at a Country Club where several kinds of wines were served. Each wine had its’ own glass, so there were four extra glasses on the table which wasn’t so big anyway.

Wouldn’t it be better if each wine was served individually and the server took away the extra glasses. That way, it would not be so crowded. And I would not get my neighbor’s glasses mixed up with mine.

Or is it a rule to line up the glasses to go with each course?

CALLIE’S ANSWER: SORRY!! This is out of my league, but logically, that sounds about right.

I do believe that each wine needs its own individual glass. White wine and red wine come in different glasses to let the wine breath, and supposedly it tastes better.

It might look crowded on the table but this shows which wine is which; and you can tell the one you liked, or didn’t like and maybe remember the year, or  the type or wine. (Compliments to my dad for my knowledge.)

LILLIE-BETH’S ANSWER: According to etiquette guru Emily Post, all glasses are lined up on the right directly above the knives. This guideline includes water and as many wine glasses as necessary for the courses being served. Since wine is typically poured at the table, this makes sense because it would cause extra work and extra trips back and forth to deliver new wine glasses and then take them away. I believe the wine glasses are picked up as each course is finished and a new one is served, unless you’re still drinking it, which will make room at the table as the evening goes on.

The way you saw it happen at the country club recently probably isn’t the only way to handle this on a small table; while tradition dictates one way, I would imagine that there are other proper ways to serve wine in a formal setting.

HELEN’S ANSWER:  When several wines are served during dinner courses, set the glasses above the plate. The water glass goes above the dinner knife tip. Next, a red wineglass can be placed to the right behind the water glass. White wineglasses are to the right of the red ones and should be removed as the meal progresses.