Yes, I am a sommelier and I earn my living serving wine to people, so it comes naturally that I have certain expectations of proper wine service in restaurants. But proper wine service ...

is not rocket science; proper wine service is simple- serve the wine with respect for the wine and for the guest. Serve with respect for the wine? Yes, serve it at the proper temperature, serve it into clean, odor-free stemware, and do not pour too much into the glass. Serve with respect to the guest? Just as important. Acknowledge the guest, present the wine, open it with grace, pour it with confidence, check-in with the guest. How is the temperature? Is the wine to your liking? May I bring another bottle?

Simple, right? Apparently not.

Last night I dined at a stylish restaurant with friends; we had procured the reservation weeks ago. There were five of us. We ordered some wine. Bottle after bottle was, in my opinion, improperly served. Disappointing, because the wine list was clearly well-selected. The food was delicious and well-paired with the wines. But the wines were not served with respect. The server presented me with a taste and after I accepted the wine, he poured it for the four other people at the table and completely forgot to serve me. Shockingly, this happened with subsequent bottles. When we ordered a fine red wine, we were given the same, small glasses used for the white wines. Furthermore, the red wine was served way too warm. And the server never checked-in with us to see if we wanted to order more wine. Unfortunately, that was simply a missed sales opportunity for the restaurant. Any businessperson would cringe! Again, this was a well-reputed, high-end restaurant. I could not help but think, if only the service staff put as much care into the wine service as the chef had put into the food. Perhaps this was a question of management training the staff. But when I spend that kind of money in a restaurant, I expect a certain level of service. I expect friendly, competent, respectful service.
It is not rocket science. Servers should really learn the simple steps of wine service, if not for a sincere respect for the wines and the guests, than at least for their own incomes.