Wine Pairing Advice

Buying wine in a restaurant: a little advice.

Okay, so here you are for dinner at a wonderful restaurant, and a server presents you with a nice heavy wine list. How do you go about choosing a wine for you and your companions for dinner?

Do a little homework.

Ask yourself these few simple questions, and the answers will help guide your decision:

• What kind of wine do you like to drink: white, red, fruity, complex, simple, bold, subtle?

• How much money do you want to spend?

• How much wine do you want to drink?

• What are you going to eat?

• What is the purpose of the dinner? Are you here for the fine dining experience; an important business dinner; a routine business dinner; a special occasion? Have you just stopped in for a quick meal?

• Do you like to try new things are you more comfortable with a standard style or wine?

Armed with your answers you are now prepared to choose a wine for your meal – whether it is a bottle, half-bottle, glass that suites your needs.

If you decide to make a choice on your own, a safe assumption in most good restaurants is that the wine list has been chosen with the Chef’s food in mind. Quite frequently the Chef is involved in the process. Given that, you should feel pretty comfortable regarding matching the food with the wine on your own.

Help!

Never hesitate to ask for the help from the restaurant’s wine professional. Generally, that person has chosen and tasted the wines on the list (frequently with the food) and is probably most willing to share any and all information about these choices. Restaurants are able to buy wines that never get to retail stores, so a description can be very helpful.

Money is an object.

Always let the person helping you know how much you want to spend. Whether you subtly point to a price point on the list or simply state your limit, it is a necessary piece of information. It is then that person’s responsibility to recommend a suitable wine within your price range.

Be happy with your choice.

Have this person also taste your selection for soundness, and then you taste to see if you like it. The wine should taste as described – sometimes you do need to give it some time in the glass before the flavors develop, but you should be able to tell within the first five minutes, whether or not it is as it was described to you.

If you don’t like it, speak out. A good restaurant wants you to enjoy yourself.