How to Choose Wine in a Restaurant
Many of us feel intimidated by ordering wine in a restaurant; faced with a long list of wines and a snooty sommelier, we often end up in a near-state of blind panic, quickly picking the first wine that we recognise.
However, it really doesn't have to be like that. If you're in a restaurant with a well-informed sommelier, then they will be only too pleased to tell you anything you want to know - and will probably have some suggestions about which wines will go particularly well with the food you have chosen.
Some good 'all rounders' when matching wine to your food:
- New World Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons are good all-round reds.
- New World Semillons and Chardonnays are useful whites.
- Alsace whites go well with a great variety of dishes.
Ordering
If you don't know what to choose, the worst thing to do is to sit staring in terror at the wine list, and refuse to ask for help because you think you'll lose face.
Let the waiter know your broad requirements: the food you're ordering, the general style of wine you'd like and the price range. It could be something along the lines of:
"Hi... we're both having beef, but we want to drink white. We were thinking about this New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but perhaps it would be too crisp. What would you recommend?"
This will give them all the information they need to make an appropriate suggestion.
Checking the Wine
When the bottle comes and is shown to you, check it. Sometimes the waiter may bring the wrong wine, or the wrong vintage. If it's not the vintage you ordered, query it. If you don't want the replacement, choose something else.
When the waiter pours the wine, sniff it and taste it. You're checking to see if it's faulty (see Spotting a Faulty Wine), not if you like it. Take your time. If you suspect it might be faulty, express your doubts, take another taste and perhaps ask the waiter to try it. If it is faulty they should immediately replace it.
You're also checking to see if it is at the right temperature. If it's too cold, ask the waiter to leave the bottle out of the ice bucket and let it warm up on the table. If it's too warm, ask for it to be cooled for a little while. This applies to both red and white wines.
Dealing with Problems
If a wine has suffered from a spoiled cork, has turned sour or smells rotten, any restaurant should gladly take it back. However, an incompetent wine waiter may refuse to accept that a faulty wine is faulty. If this is the case, don't pick a row: it will only spoil the evening. A quiet, reasoned complaint to the manager at the end of the meal will far do more good. If you've had bad service, don't leave a tip.
