Selecting Wine From A Wine List - Requires Pre-Planning To Maximize Your Enjoyment

The pressure of selecting a very good wine from the wine list can be one of the most intimidating circumstances that I hear people speak about when it comes to discussing wine moments. Like you, I want all wine moments to be very good ones, if not excellent. So how do you remove the anxiety and the intimidation factor? What do you do when the wine director hands you the one inch thick wine list? If done right, you tell him/her which wine you would like because you did your homework. You knew what you wanted before you even walked in the restaurant door. It all comes down to pre-planning. Below are some suggestions for success in selecting wine from the wine list.

First, choose a restaurant that not only has a very good reputation for tasty food, but also one that has a great reputation for very good wine - at fair prices. Ask around. Word of mouth is often helpful in picking a terrific restaurant. The next step is to go online and print off their wine list. If their wine list is not online, you have two choices. Skip the restaurant and move on to one that makes an effort to make their wine list available on line, or call the restaurant and have them fax or e-mail you their wine list. Either way works. I just prefer the former because it is less work for me and I appreciate their efforts upfront.

Once you have the wine list, you can get to work choosing some wines. Look for familiar wines you like. Highlight them. Note if their pricing is fair and within your spending range. I then recommend going to www.KensWineGuide.com to look up the average score of the wine based on reviews from 8 of the leading wine periodicals and the KensWineGuide.com wine reviewers. This helps to narrow the field to a few reds and a few whites. I like to go to the restaurant with usually 4 white choices and about 6 red choices in hand. I usually choose a mixture of different varietals, unless I know one of the attendees has a bias towards a particular grape or a regional preference. The reason to have a number of selections lined up is because you never know what kind of food your guests are going to order. The more pre-planned selections you line up the more flexible you can be, without having to scramble.

Speaking of scrambling. To avoid it, consider calling the restaurant after you have made your selections to make sure they have the “specific” wines you would like. Ask them to check the vintages. If you can, have the restaurant set aside a bottle of each in advance. Finally, if you know you are going to purchase a specific bottle of a “Big” wine, have the wine director open the bottle in advance and decant it for you. You will probably need to pay for it in advance with a credit card.

If you follow the above steps for selecting wine from a wine list, you should be able to reduce most anxiety and intimidation from the process. As a result, you can enjoy a wonderful wine experience to complement your delicious dinner with your guests. I hope you find these tips helpful.

Enjoy and cheers,
Ken

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