We explain to you where to place the bottles of wine once they are finished and how to place the empty bottles of wine in the restaurant to make the waiter understand that they are finished.

If you are wondering and looking for answers, keep reading. And even if you found this article by chance, we recommend that you spend a few minutes reading it. You will find out how you should behave in these cases. To make a good impression!

Where to place the empty wine bottle?

Let's start by answering the question: where to put the finished bottle of wine? What we will report is valid when you are in a restaurant, precisely because of the presence of waiters in charge of the service, but, as we will see, some rules are also valid when you are invited to the homes of relatives and friends.

Before answering the question, we invite you to reflect on how you behave when you finish a bottle of wine at a restaurant: where do you place it? What do you do to show that it is finished?

We know that, according to the Wine Etiquette, the non-empty bottle of wine should be left on the appropriate service table or guéridon, in the classic ice bucket for white wines or sparkling wines, in a special bucket for red wines. In the absence of the service table, in more formal situations or at a dinner at home with friends and relatives, it is possible to keep the bottle in the center of the table.

The ordered bottle of wine is finished. What to do? Where to place the bottle of wine that has just finished? According to Wine Etiquette, the finished and empty bottle must be placed outside the bucket or the ice bucket, on the guéridon or on the table, depending on where it was placed by the sommelier after being opened. The service attendant will immediately notice this detail and remove the bottle.

If the bottle was served without an ice bucket, it is important to place it in a clearly visible area of the table. Move it from the center, but do not place it on the edge. In these cases, you can get the waiter's attention by raising your index finger, without waving your arms or raising your voice. At most, a very polite "excuse me". Avoid calling the waiter while he is busy at another table. Wait until he is free from service duties.

The rule of placing the bottle outside the bucket is valid on every occasion, even when you are at a less formal dinner or at the home of friends or relatives.

In short, when you finish the bottle of wine DO NOT leave it in the bucket.

How to place the finished bottle of wine?

Wine Etiquette also establishes how the bottle of wine should be positioned once it is finished and empty. The bottle should be placed in a vertical position (of course we would say, but we have witnessed situations in which the bottle was placed horizontally), with the label clearly visible, therefore facing the waiting staff.

To summarize, a finished bottle of wine, served in the bucket, should be placed:

+ out of the wine bucket

+ positioned vertically

+ with the label facing the room

A bottle of wine, not served in the bucket, should be placed:

+ in a clearly visible area of the table

+ vertically

+ with the label facing the room

Finally, a very important recommendation: according to Wine Etiquette, it is NOT good manners to turn the finished and empty bottle upside down, leaving it in the bucket. A practice, unfortunately, still very widespread, but which should absolutely be avoided.