Most private dinners serve better wine than they deserve, because the service undoes it: white straight from a 4 degree fridge, red at 21 in a warm dining room, four glasses poured at once, and the best bottle opened when the table has stopped paying attention.
What the hire actually does
Temperature management, decanting, a glass plan with the rental company, tasting every bottle before it reaches the table, pouring all evening, and ninety seconds of clear speech per wine. For 400 to 900 euros, which on many tables is less than a single bottle, it is the highest return per euro in this trade.
When it becomes necessary
Any menu with three or more wines, and any tasting menu with pairings, because a kitchen of three cannot also pour. Our wine service guide has the temperatures and the pours if you would rather do it yourself, and the drinks calculator works out the bottles and the glass hire.
