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basket, in a horizontal position. When drawing the
cork, the bottle must not be taken out of this basket,
but the cork drawn gently, while the bottle remains in
its steady position. If too cold, the bartender may
have to place the bottle in lukewarm water, or steam
the glasses, to give the wine the desired temperature
which always improves its flavor.
All the claret wines should be placed on shelves
where the temperature is nearly even all the year
round. It is advisable for the proprietor to have as
large a stock of clarets on hand as possible, providing
he has the demand for them, as this brand of wine
requires considerable time to rest and recuperate—
after being jostled about—from what is known as
"wine-sickness." In laying in the stock of clarets, in
cluding fancy brands, it is beneficial to take the bottles
out of the cases, and remove the wrapping paper be
fore placing the wines in the proper condition on
your shelves. Never think of taking down your bot
tles and dusting them. This only gives the wine an
other shaking up, requiring days to properly settle,
and, again, the dust on the bottles is a proof of its
age and condition. It is also of importance, in serv
ing claret wines, to have the proper claret glasses
and not a Ehine wine or other kind of goblet or tum
bler. The more delicate and handsome your glass
ware, the more palatable will the wine seem to your
customers. People, who drink high-priced liquors,
always appreciate glasses of costly make and fine
texture. In places where there is a large sale of clar
ets and the stock of wines is not to be placed in the
fit temperature, it is wise to have a closet built and
placed—near a radiator, for instance—where the tem
perature is sufficiently high, in order to keep the
wines in proper condition. The closet should be suf
ficiently large to suit the business requirements, and
in it could be placed the stock that would be used in