How to Order Wine for a Business Dinner

If ordering wine at a business dinner has seemed to you to be an overwhelming, embarrassing ordeal that you’d rather avoid – read on – because ordering wine can be made into an effortless and even an enjoyable experience. Typically fine restaurants have extensive lists that can be confusing, even for the savviest wine enthusiast. Wine these days is a huge business in itself; the key is - don’t let the list intimidate you. You are in charge, so take charge!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Number of restaurant you will be eating at so you can request their wine list ahead of time.

1. First, be prepared. Call the restaurant ahead of time and request the list. We have our wine list posted on-line as do many other restaurants, but if not, you can often have it e-mailed or faxed to you.

2. Second, enlist the help of the sommelier or wine buyer. Sommeliers are proud of their list and we love to talk about wine. Sometimes I have an amazing wine that’s not yet posted on the list or a sommelier could have a good deal that has just become available that they’d like to present to you. Most importantly, we sommeliers want to impress you and make your business dinner a major success. Perusing the list before your dinner also lets you look at the price. Guideline: don’t order too expensive or too cheap, go moderate. Of course, if this is a major celebration or an exceptional client, go HUGE!

3. Arrive early. If you can’t call ahead, try to arrive a few minutes early and go over the list with the sommelier or your server, who should also be familiar with the wine list. In any case, you don’t have to order your wines ahead of time. Part of the key is to make sure that when the list is presented to you at dinner you can efficiently navigate it and zero in on what you want. This makes you look capable and confident. You should have a red wine and a white one in mind to delight your guests but it’s always a good idea to have a back-up choice just in case you need it.

4. Ordering the wine. If you can’t get to the restaurant ahead of time or if there isn’t anyone available to help you with the list, go for California chardonnays and cabernets. You are likely to find something you recognize and generally speaking California makes excellent wines. Again, in the mid-price range, you shouldn’t go wrong. A general rule of thumb is that one bottle of wine serves four people, one glass apiece. You should figure two glasses of wine per person, or a half-bottle per person.

5. Tasting the wine. Make it quick and simple so you are able to stay focused on the business at hand.
   - When the server presents the bottle, make sure you read the label and verify that it is indeed the correct selection.
   - If you are presented with the cork, don’t smell it, feel it. If it feels like it has some moisture and it isn’t literally crumbling beneath your fingertips, it is most likely good. To identify a “corked” wine (one that has gone bad) by simply smelling its cork, you’d have to be able to smell beyond the aroma of the cork itself. This is difficult at best. If a wine is “corked” it will taste like cardboard.
   - Before you taste, swirl. It doesn’t have to be big or a lot but just move the wine in your glass a bit. This helps to aerate the wine and let you fully taste its flavor though FYI, you are not tasting it to see if you like it, but to make sure it hasn’t gone bad.
   - Once you’ve approved the wine, it will be poured appropriately around the table.

6. Best of all, enjoy.

[dtwelloh]

on 9/1/2008 Wow! What a great article. I've shyed away from ordering wine for years, afraid I'd make myself look foolish. Now I can't wait to give it a try. Thanks