Ordering Wine in a Restaurant: Tips to Help You Order Like a Pro

Ordering wine in a restaurant might seem a little intimidating at first. Once you know a few simple tricks and rules, you will be able to order wine on your own in no time.

The first rule on how to order wine is to order something that compliments your meal. To increase your enjoyment from your wine, you will want to select your meal first and then pick your wine.

The second decision you need to make when ordering wine in a restaurant is if you want a glass or a bottle. One bottle includes around four glasses. Before deciding, you will want to consider what the rest of the group is eating, how much they want to drink and the size of your group. A bottle is the cheaper option if everyone wants the same type of red wine.

Here are the sections included on this page:

Ordering Wine from the Wine Menu

The next step for ordering wine in a restaurant is to look through the menu. There are either two menus or two sections in the menu. The first is usually by the glass and the remainder of the wine list is by the bottle. The selection by the bottle is typically much larger.

Usually the list is in order from the lightest wines to the heaviest wines. The lightest white wine is at the top and the fullest bodied red wine is at the bottom. The rose wines, made from red grapes, might reside at the top of the list or before the reds.

Ordering wine in a restaurant from the bottle menu is typically the same, with a few variations. They are also from lightest to heaviest, but include a few more sections. Each section lists wines from lightest to heaviest. The break out is one of the following:

• By region: In this case, you find French wines in one section, Italian wines in another section and US or California wines in yet another section.


• By type of wine: Pinot noir wines are in one section, Merlot in another, etc. Even within a red wine type, you find variations.


• By region and type of wine: Sometimes you will see a menu with both breakouts, since some areas in the world label by type of wine (New World wines) and some by region (Old World wines).

How to Order Wine: Pairing Your Wine with Your Meal

Most restaurants and chefs do a lot of work to select a wine list that compliments the meals they are serving. The lists are long as there are several combinations for wine and food pairing.

A simple rule for ordering wine in a restaurant is to match a lighter food with a lighter wine and heavier food with a heavier wine. Lighter food are meals with a lighter taste, with fewer spices, or something that is light and airy. Heavier foods are those with more mass, red meats or something that has quite a few spices. Here are some specifics:

• For lighter fish including halibut or other white fish, choose a white wine or lighter red.


• Fish with a little more flavor such as salmon or tuna, can pair with a light to medium red wine such as Pinot Noir or even a Merlot.


• Chicken, turkey or heavier white meats tend to pair well with lighter to medium body reds. Lean toward the medium-bodied wines if the meal includes some spices or sauces. Select a Pinot Noir, Merlot or maybe a Malbec wine.


• Red meat or other items with overpowering spices or sauces pair best with heavier wines such as a Syrah wine or Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

Get Help by Ordering Wine from Sommelier or Wait Staff

Some people are either intimidated or embarrassed to use the sommelier or their waiter/waitress to help when ordering wine in a restaurant. They worry that it makes them look like they do not know anything about wines and would rather select on their own.

Get this thought out of your head and try it! I love wine, but still use either the sommelier or the waiter/waitress for recommendations. They train with the chef on what pairs well with the items on the menu, so they are the best resource to help you find the most flavorful combination. I also think it is a great way to learn more about wine since there are always new choices on the menu.

They usually start by asking you what you are ordering. They will then ask a few additional questions. Feel free to offer up information about what you like and do not like. They ask these questions when you are ordering in a restaurant in order to pinpoint a recommendation that is right for you. As I mentioned above there are several pairing options for each meal, so they want to select the right one for you.

At the end, they usually give you a couple of options for ordering wine in a restaurant unless there is one that really fits exactly into what you want. If you are ordering just a glass and you are not sure if you will like the selected wine (or wines), ask them for a small taste. My friends and I do this all the time in order to ensure that we are happy with our selection. Unfortunately, you cannot do this with a bottle since they only open them after they are ordered.

Does Price Equal Quality When Ordering Wine in a Restaurant

The price of the wine does not necessarily equate to quality. There is more alignment of price and quality with Old World wines due to their heavy restrictions, but not as much with New World wines. In both cases, you might also be paying for a recognizable brand name and not the quality of the wine from that bottle.

If you are ordering wine in a restaurant from a local winery vs. an international one, you will see some variation in prices. This is because there are additional export fees and taxes on some of the international wines. In all cases, this does not mean the wine is higher quality (or lower quality), but just that it cost more to deliver the wine to your table.

Tips for Tasting The Wine

When ordering wine at a restaurant, many people like to order a bottle. When you order a bottle, the sommelier or wait staff opens the bottle right at your table. Before they open the bottle, ask to take a quick look at it to ensure it is the right wine. The best sommeliers and waiters/waitresses will automatically hand it to you for a quick inspection or confirm the label verbally with you before opening.

Once opened, they ask for one person at the table to taste the wine. This is to confirm that the wine is still good. It is not to confirm if you like it or not. This is a big distinction.

They usually hand the taster the cork first. Most people smell it thinking it will give them a clue about the wine. This is not the reason. You want to look at the cork to see how far down the wine seeped during storage. The picture to the right is an example of a small amount of red wine running down the cork.

The only red alert here is if the wine leaked all the way to the bottom of the cork. This means that air probably mixed with the wine and it may no longer be any good. Again, a good server usually checks this before handing it over to you.

If the cork passes the test when ordering wine in a restaurant, then the server pours just a taste of the wine into the taster's glass. Here are some tips for tasting it:

• Glance At It: Take a quick look at the wine to see if there is any sediment it in. A quick peek will also tell you if any of the cork ended up in the wine. If you see either, alert the server so they can decant it before pouring the remaining bottle. Neither of these makes the wine bad, they just make it a little harder to drink.


• Swirl It: A newly opened wine needs to mix a little with oxygen to open it up. Swirl it around in your glass a few times to help speed up the process.


• Sip It: The next step is to take a small sip of the wine. If something is wrong with it, you will taste hints of vinegar or it will taste a little sour. Even if you are not an expert, you will know if the wine is bad or rotten.

If the wine passes these three steps after ordering wine in a restaurant, then the server pours a full glass for everyone at the table. Usually the person that tastes the wine is the last to receive their full glass.

If the wine does not pass or if you suspect there is a problem, tell the server right away. They usually take a quick sip to confirm.

Do not be afraid to turn the wine away after ordering wine in a restaurant if you think something is wrong with it. This does happen since almost all wines travel great distances, pass through a number of people, and stop at checkpoints along the way.

The sommelier or wait staff will then either bring you a different bottle or you will need to order again. This depends on the circumstance and whether they have an additional bottle left.

If you follow these tips for ordering wine in a restaurant, you will become a pro in no time. Your friends will also designate you as the official person for ordering wine in a restaurant next time. This process helps you to continue to learn more and more about wine. In turn, your confidence will grow quickly.