Wine-ordering for dummies: Noses off the cork

Don't sniff the cork.

Unless you generally go around sniffing things — like door handles and other people — don't sniff the cork when a restaurant server places it on your table after pulling it from the bottle you have just ordered.

When a cork comes from an old wine, make sure it's not dry and crumbly. Otherwise, just let it sit there. And keep it away from your nose. Now that its sealing job is over, the cork is more of a souvenir than anything else.

For a lot of people, the stress that accompanies ordering wine in a restaurant is on par with the stress that those same people would experience speaking in public in their underwear while closing on a new home — in …