You are really excited to be out for an excellent meal. You are seated and they bring the menus; you start salivating at the prospects. The sommelier brings the wine list; uh oh! it's an inch thick at least! Does your heart sink? Or do think 'Oh wow, we're going to get some great wine!'? Below we give you some tips and techniques that we have learned over the years to turn this challenge into fun!
The starting point
The conventional wisdom is that you match the wine to the food that you are going to have but this is not much use in a restaurant for several reasons. First, you are likely to have to order at least some of your wine before you have decided what you want to eat unless you are going to drink cocktails or water for a while. Second, if you are going to have one of the set menus, or a tasting menu, or a variety of small plates there are going to be a whole range of tastes that matching the wine to the food is well-nigh impossible.
One option is, perhaps, to take the matched wine by the glass option but, being a wine lover first, I prefer to have the wine I want and let the food fit in (within reason of course). And if a couple of bottles of wine is too much then don't forget to look at the half bottles of wine section.
So you are now sitting with the wine list so the questions are how many bottles and how much do you want to pay? With this settled, the hunt begins.
Restaurant Location
The place we start is the location of the restaurant - is it in a wine producing area? If yes, then we will have a least one wine, if not all, from the area. We use this rule as it forces us to experiment with less well known wines and most times the wines are better value for money. In this fashion we first tasted Picpoul de Pinet, Torrontes, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viura and Menetou-Salon Sauvignons among others. This rule often narrows the wine list considerably. However, if you are in one of the capitals of the world this rule isn't very useful as most capitals aren't in a wine producing area; still wines from the country may also narrow the list. If you are looking to limit the amount you spend on wine, then looking at the New World section of the list often yields good wines at a reasonable cost.
What you like
Knowing your own tastes and those of your fellow diners helps narrow the range of possibilities and is also useful if you give up and ask the sommelier for help (see later). Or, if you are like us, the list of what you don't like might be shorter.
So the restaurant location and what you like will yield the sections of the wine list that you want to contemplate. If you are on a limited budget then you will quickly rule out a few more sections, for example, Burgundy Cotes de Nuits and Cotes de Beaune are often way over-priced in many restaurants outside the area.
Vintage, Vintage, Vintage
To us, the most important factor in ordering wine is the vintage. You have to know which vintages are worth buying. The Wine Society, for example, has a great vintage guide - see here It also indicates which vintages are ready for drinking or probably past it. We would not buy any vintage with less than a 7 score if we were going to spend a reasonable amount on the wine. On this basis the Wine Society guide says avoid 2011 for red Burgundy and 2009 for white, and avoid 2007, 2008 and 2013 in Bordeaux. 2013 is also to be avoided in the Southern Rhone and Rioja.
The Southern Hemisphere wine makers say that vintage does not matter but that is nonsense. Their weather may not be as extreme in its impact on grapes but they do have duff vintages and excellent vintages. For example, 2005 and 2009 were great vintages for South African reds. Look at the websites of merchants who specialise in the region for views on the vintages. Decanter magazine also has vintage ratings when it reviews a region.
The better vintages will cost more but generally not that much more relative to the increase in quality.
So now we know the wine region, the style of wine and the vintage, next comes the fun part. What is the best value for money wine?
The 'Gimmie'
The 'Gimmie', short for 'Please give me that one, no debate' is the wine that sommelier wants to get rid of. Michelin star restaurants don't do specials or sales so the indicator is price. It is the wine that, relative to others that you are considering, looks cheap. Not because it is off but because it is approaching the end of its life and there is too much in stock relative to sales. These wines are mostly at their best but, on occasion, can be off. The reaction of the sommelier when you suggest it is off can vary. Most times there is no argument, they bring another bottle but we have experienced the extremes.
At a one star restaurant in Cognac the sommelier gave us a wide berth, deliberately avoiding eye-contact or even walking past our table. Needless to say when the bill arrived we pointed to the almost full bottle and the undrunk wine in our glasses and refused to pay. They took it off the bill. That was the least we have drunk at dinner in all the wine trips we have done. How very silly of the sommelier!
The other extreme was at what was a three star restaurant in Joigny, La Cote Saint Jacques. We ordered a premier cru Chablis and it was off. The sommelier offered us another bottle or one from another maker; same vineyard, same vintage. We chose the latter. When we tasted it we saw the label and our hearts dropped - it was three times the price of the one we had refused. It was made by Domaine François Raveneau, one of the most admired Chablis producers. We sighed, admitted we had been suckered, and said let's enjoy the experience that we had always wanted to have! When the bill came we were charged the price of the wine we had ordered! Needless to say, every time we are anywhere near the area we always go back there.
There is not a 'Gimmie' on every wine list but most times there is more than one candidate. Playing 'spot the Gimmie' is great fun when everyone can get a good look at a wine list.
The sommelier
If all else fails or you want a choice made, then ask the sommelier. Sommeliers are not mind readers so when asking for suggestions tell him or her what you like and don't be shy to state your price range. It all helps to get a wine you will like and one that is within your budget. If you want the sommelier to choose between wines then also give him or her the basis for the decision. For example, if you would like an oaked Sauvignon Blanc ask which of your choices is oaked. If none are oaked but the sommelier has one, then he or she will suggest it.
A thick wine list can look daunting but we hope that we have given you some useful guidelines to narrow down the search area and to have some fun.
The starting point
The conventional wisdom is that you match the wine to the food that you are going to have but this is not much use in a restaurant for several reasons. First, you are likely to have to order at least some of your wine before you have decided what you want to eat unless you are going to drink cocktails or water for a while. Second, if you are going to have one of the set menus, or a tasting menu, or a variety of small plates there are going to be a whole range of tastes that matching the wine to the food is well-nigh impossible.
One option is, perhaps, to take the matched wine by the glass option but, being a wine lover first, I prefer to have the wine I want and let the food fit in (within reason of course). And if a couple of bottles of wine is too much then don't forget to look at the half bottles of wine section.
So you are now sitting with the wine list so the questions are how many bottles and how much do you want to pay? With this settled, the hunt begins.
Restaurant Location
The place we start is the location of the restaurant - is it in a wine producing area? If yes, then we will have a least one wine, if not all, from the area. We use this rule as it forces us to experiment with less well known wines and most times the wines are better value for money. In this fashion we first tasted Picpoul de Pinet, Torrontes, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viura and Menetou-Salon Sauvignons among others. This rule often narrows the wine list considerably. However, if you are in one of the capitals of the world this rule isn't very useful as most capitals aren't in a wine producing area; still wines from the country may also narrow the list. If you are looking to limit the amount you spend on wine, then looking at the New World section of the list often yields good wines at a reasonable cost.
What you like
Knowing your own tastes and those of your fellow diners helps narrow the range of possibilities and is also useful if you give up and ask the sommelier for help (see later). Or, if you are like us, the list of what you don't like might be shorter.
So the restaurant location and what you like will yield the sections of the wine list that you want to contemplate. If you are on a limited budget then you will quickly rule out a few more sections, for example, Burgundy Cotes de Nuits and Cotes de Beaune are often way over-priced in many restaurants outside the area.
Vintage, Vintage, Vintage
To us, the most important factor in ordering wine is the vintage. You have to know which vintages are worth buying. The Wine Society, for example, has a great vintage guide - see here It also indicates which vintages are ready for drinking or probably past it. We would not buy any vintage with less than a 7 score if we were going to spend a reasonable amount on the wine. On this basis the Wine Society guide says avoid 2011 for red Burgundy and 2009 for white, and avoid 2007, 2008 and 2013 in Bordeaux. 2013 is also to be avoided in the Southern Rhone and Rioja.
The Southern Hemisphere wine makers say that vintage does not matter but that is nonsense. Their weather may not be as extreme in its impact on grapes but they do have duff vintages and excellent vintages. For example, 2005 and 2009 were great vintages for South African reds. Look at the websites of merchants who specialise in the region for views on the vintages. Decanter magazine also has vintage ratings when it reviews a region.
The better vintages will cost more but generally not that much more relative to the increase in quality.
So now we know the wine region, the style of wine and the vintage, next comes the fun part. What is the best value for money wine?
The 'Gimmie'
The 'Gimmie', short for 'Please give me that one, no debate' is the wine that sommelier wants to get rid of. Michelin star restaurants don't do specials or sales so the indicator is price. It is the wine that, relative to others that you are considering, looks cheap. Not because it is off but because it is approaching the end of its life and there is too much in stock relative to sales. These wines are mostly at their best but, on occasion, can be off. The reaction of the sommelier when you suggest it is off can vary. Most times there is no argument, they bring another bottle but we have experienced the extremes.
At a one star restaurant in Cognac the sommelier gave us a wide berth, deliberately avoiding eye-contact or even walking past our table. Needless to say when the bill arrived we pointed to the almost full bottle and the undrunk wine in our glasses and refused to pay. They took it off the bill. That was the least we have drunk at dinner in all the wine trips we have done. How very silly of the sommelier!
The other extreme was at what was a three star restaurant in Joigny, La Cote Saint Jacques. We ordered a premier cru Chablis and it was off. The sommelier offered us another bottle or one from another maker; same vineyard, same vintage. We chose the latter. When we tasted it we saw the label and our hearts dropped - it was three times the price of the one we had refused. It was made by Domaine François Raveneau, one of the most admired Chablis producers. We sighed, admitted we had been suckered, and said let's enjoy the experience that we had always wanted to have! When the bill came we were charged the price of the wine we had ordered! Needless to say, every time we are anywhere near the area we always go back there.
There is not a 'Gimmie' on every wine list but most times there is more than one candidate. Playing 'spot the Gimmie' is great fun when everyone can get a good look at a wine list.
The sommelier
If all else fails or you want a choice made, then ask the sommelier. Sommeliers are not mind readers so when asking for suggestions tell him or her what you like and don't be shy to state your price range. It all helps to get a wine you will like and one that is within your budget. If you want the sommelier to choose between wines then also give him or her the basis for the decision. For example, if you would like an oaked Sauvignon Blanc ask which of your choices is oaked. If none are oaked but the sommelier has one, then he or she will suggest it.
A thick wine list can look daunting but we hope that we have given you some useful guidelines to narrow down the search area and to have some fun.
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Quite simply, halfwine.com provides a service that's on par with having your own sommelier source outstanding half bottles of wine on your behalf.
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Each wine is personally curated by halfwine.com and only offered if it is an excellent example of its provenance and style. The range comprises around 70 varietals, vintages, countries and vineyards almost completely sourced from smaller, family-owned producers who adopt a 'nurture nature' approach to their vines and in the cellar.
Quite simply, halfwine.com provides a service that's on par with having your own sommelier source outstanding half bottles of wine on your behalf.
We only sell wine in half bottle sizes, and ours is the most comprehensive range of 375ml bottles in the UK today.
Each wine is personally curated by halfwine.com and only offered if it is an excellent example of its provenance and style. The range comprises around 70 varietals, vintages, countries and vineyards almost completely sourced from smaller, family-owned producers who adopt a 'nurture nature' approach to their vines and in the cellar.
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