How to Select the Right Wine When Dining Out

Here's the quandary. You are out at dinner in a relatively fine restaurant on a date or entertaining clients and the waiter asks, "Would you like to see the wine list?" The appropriate answer (unless you know your guests don't drink) is "Yes." But the next problem is what to order. If the entire party prefers to order individual glasses, you have nothing to worry about except your own glass. But commonly wine-drinking parties will just share a bottle. A considerate option is to ask the party what they would prefer. But unless you are entertaining a wine connoisseur, you will probably receive a handful of indifferent answers. Read on to learn how to select the right wine when dining out.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Basic understanding of types of wines

1. Obviously the first step is ask if any of your guests have a wine preference: red or white, dry or sweet, full or light-bodied. Then scan the wine list for descriptions. If there are no descriptions on the list look for how the wines are categorized. Often reds are split into light and robust. Or the whites are divided by dry and sweet. If none of that is available, trust your knowledge or ask the server.

2. Find out what people are going to eat. Chances are some people will order heavy meats and others will order light seafood or vegetarian dinners. Don't worry if everyone orders something from a different spectrum. There are light, medium wines that go with just about anything. And the whole red wines with red meat, white with poultry and fish is out the window here. Wines in all shades cover the gamut of flavors. The most important thing to find out is if anyone orders anything sweet. Sweet wines pair better with sweet, fruity foods. But sweet wines can ruin a hearty, savory meal. Your best bet, is stick with a dry wine and if one individual prefers a sweet wine consider ordering a separate glass for that person.

3. When choosing a red wine, peruse the wine list. Many restaurants select medium bodied wines that will accompany most things on the menu. If one is noted on the list, give that a shot. Otherwise, look for a Pinot Noir. Most restaurants carry this type of wine. It offers a light body with soft tannins. This wine should offer a nice, fruity yet earthy taste but also go down smoothly. Another option is a Merlot. Although much more tannic, this is a nice wine for beginner wine drinkers. It is generally smooth, flavorful and familiar.

4. For whites, a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc are good options. The Sauvignon Blanc is typically lighter than the Chardonnay and offers a fruity, sometimes musky melon flavor. The Chardonnay is a popular wine that easily pleases most wine drinkers. Its creamier vanilla, butter and coconut flavors are subtle and easy to get along with.

5. These are only four options among thousands of wines out there. But for a beginner entertaining a group, if you know this much you will appear to know much more about wines. If the wine list doesn't have a Pinot Noir or another wine described as light with soft tannins, ask the server for a recommendation. He should be knowledgeable of the restaurant's wines and can recommend a house favorite.

Tips & Warnings

• In wine descriptions you'll encounter a large number of reoccurring descriptive words such as spicy, tannic and full-bodied. Most of these terms are self-explanatory, but one of the main terms to consider is tannic. The tannins in a wine effect the way the wine grips your tongue as you drink it. A wine with heavy tannins will cling to your mouth throughout the entire dinner, possibly smothering the flavor of your meal. Look for wines with soft tannins.
• Don't stress too much about flavors of wine clashing with the flavor of the food. For a beginner wine drinker, it usually isn't that noticeable. And if you are too nervous about picking the wine, don't hesitate to let someone else make the selection.
• Some wines, especially some red Zinfandels and blended wines have higher alcohol content, some as high as 15.5 and 16 percent whereas the average is around 12.5 percent. This is usually noted on the bottle. But it is possible for one wine to make you drunk quicker than another wine.
• Don't drink and drive.

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Resources

• Basic description of various types of wine