

When Eric Hiatt, a litigator in New York, ate recently at Italienne, a new restaurant in Chelsea, he was confounded by what did not happen.

Mr. Hiatt, a wine lover, ordered a bottle of Ronco Severo ribolla gialla, and at first all seemed as usual. A sommelier presented the unopened bottle for approval, so he could affirm it was the wine he had ordered. She then took it away for opening.

At restaurants where wine is not a particular point of pride, she might have opened it tableside, while carrying on the usual banter with diners. But at restaurants that take wine seriously, like Italienne, the sommelier will open the bottle in a private corner of the dining room. She will then take a small taste to make sure that the wine is not corked or flawed in some other way.

That is how it went at Italienne. When the bottle proved sound, the sommelier returned to the table and poured the wine for Mr. Hiatt and his guest. But in a departure from decades of wine protocol, she did not initiate the service by first pouring a little taste for Mr. Hiatt to evaluate.