Berger: What to tip your wine server

Tipping in restaurants is a common custom in the United States, although it is not widely practiced around the world.

Americans typically are seen as odd when they add 15% or even 20% to the check total in a European restaurant, where such a practice is seen as unnecessary.

In the United States, however, restaurant owners tell me that servers expect gratuities to be part of their salary.

Sommeliers and wine servers may not find this column to be among their favorites, but it has always been my opinion that the best tip for a sommelier or wine server reflects the way the service was provided.

Did they suggest a wine to go with the foods that you ordered? Was that wine unknown to you beforehand? Was it excellent with your meal and within the price range you suggested?

Then the server deserves a little more. If the server delivered something amiss, the tip should reflect that as well.

Wine in restaurants is almost always too expensive. It is not uncommon to see bottles with a suggested retail price of $50 marked $125 in upscale restaurants.

The server had nothing to do with the pricing, nor does he or she share in the profits, but diners shouldn’t routinely add a 20% tip for such overpriced wines.

On a recent trip to Scandinavia, a waiter in Sweden actually said our tip was generous, even though it only represented a few dollars.

A friend who frequently travels to Europe notes that leaving a small gratuity for the captain in a two- or three-star restaurant is considered gracious. Any tips left at casual bars/brasseries or simple cafés should be just a few coins.

At pricey U.S. restaurants, giving the server an additional $20 for opening a $100 bottle of wine seems a bit excessive.

In the 1970s I dined at Scandia, the famed Hollywood restaurant and noticed that there were two places on the check to add tips - one for the server and another for the wine server. In the latter case, I asked a regular patron what he would leave for the wine waiter (the term sommelier had not yet come into use). Two or three bucks was plenty, he said.

At today’s prices, $7-$10 should be more than sufficient for wine servers who open nearly any wine. But there are exceptions.

If the server and you agree that the wine is best decanted, a few dollars more is warranted, or if a bottle is older and the cork is difficult to remove without it crumbling.

We also add to the gratuity when the waiter in a wonderful local café brings us extra-large stemware for our mature red wines.

As in any tipping situation, the best policy is to reward professionalism and not to encourage sloppy performance.

Wine of the Week: 2014 Dry Creek Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, “Heritage Vines” ($22) - The aroma features wild raspberries and fresh cherries. A slight bit of plum in the weighty mid-palate makes this red wine a marvelous match for Italian food with red sauces. Wine maker Tim Bell has done a superb job with this reasonably priced Zin.

Dan Berger lives in Sonoma County and publishes “Vintage Experiences.” Write to him at winenut@gmail.com.