The real reason restaurants offer you to 'try the wine' before serving

TikTok is filled with the little-known secrets of adulthood – and one fact, in particular, has left people stumped.

When ordering wine at a restaurant, diners are often asked if they'd like to test it before fully committing to their choice. Many people assume that it's a friendly way for staff to gauge whether the beverage is suited to their preference – but that isn't the case.

In a clip that's racked up almost 800,000 views, TikToker @trashqueentm revealed there's more to it.

"It’s for you to check if the wine is corked. So if it’s gone bad, you’ll taste it," she explained. "You’ll know and you can just say, to the server ‘Sorry, this wine is corked ‘and they’ll give you a fresh bottle. But like they’re not asking, like, 'Is it yummy? Do you like it?'"

Corked wine means that it has become contaminated with a chemical compound caused by mould in corks. It overpowers the scent and taste of the wine, making it undrinkable.

The video was soon flooded with fellow TikTokers in disbelief.

"IVE BEEN GOING 'that wine's alright' THIS WHOLE TIME," one responded, while another joked: "You guys are so cute thinking I would know if the wine is corked."

Meanwhile, a third chimed in: "It feels more natural to approve the wine by saying it tastes nice, rather than saying, 'it is not corked'."

Speaking of wine advice, etiquette expert Willian Hanson recently revealed why you should never order the second cheapest wine.

The second-cheapest wine is usually of the "poorest quality" because it's been subjected to the "biggest mark-up" in price.

"When ordering from a wine list, don't make the mistake of picking the second cheapest item on the menu.

“That's often the wine with the biggest markup from the restaurant and often the poorest of quality."

However, if you want something that’s actually good value, ask the waiter for an “end-of-bin” wine.

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