5 Tips for Ordering Wine in a Restaurant [WINE 101]

Ordering wine in a restaurant can be frightening. If you’re in a smart restaurant, it’s usually a snooty French guy who looks at you like you just fell out of a tree if you ask a simple question. And if you’re at your local down the road, the waiter usually says something inane like: “I don’t know, I only drink Breezers”. So here are a few tips on etiquette and how to navigate your way around.

Real Time Wine & WineStyle present: 5 Tips for Ordering Wine in a Restaurant.

1. Corkage Always check whether a restaurant will allow you to bring your own wine and how much corkage they charge before arriving there with your wine in hand. Your wine should be rare or unique, or it shouldn’t appear on the restaurant’s wine list – otherwise you will simply look “cheap”. If it’s a truly special wine, it is considered etiquette to offer the sommelier or waiter a taste after it’s been poured.

2. Be accommodating
Ask your guests what style of wine they would like. If their tastes are too disparate, there is nothing wrong with ordering by the glass or ordering two or three different wines; you can always take the leftovers home.
 
3. Be considerate
If you’re going Dutch, keep your guests’ budgets in mind when selecting a wine. When consulting a sommelier, show them which wine you have in mind and ask whether he would rather recommend another. A good sommelier will immediately note the price you are looking at and won’t recommend a wine that is much more expensive.
 
4. Ask advice
Sommeliers and wine waiters are there to help. If you phrase your questions correctly, you will win them over. For instance, don’t just ask for a wine that will go with your pasta. Instead, ask for a wine that will stand up to the acidity of the tomato sauce without being overwhelming. Also tell him what your preference is, say, a full red or a wooded white wine. However, if the waiter is merely there to take your order and barely able to tell a red from a white wine, you’re on your own.
 
5. Approving
Well-trained waiters or sommeliers will first present the wine to you, or the host at your table, by showing him the label. This is simply to confirm that it is the correct wine. If vintage is important, this is the time to check it. He will then open the bottle and put the cork on the table. Do not smell it; it means nothing. The waiter will then pour a little wine for the host. Swirl, smell and taste it to make sure that the wine isn’t spoiled. Once you’ve given it the nod, he will pour for the rest of the table, working clockwise to the right and starting with the ladies. The host’s glass will be filled last.

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The Wine 101 series is a collaboration between Real Time Wine and WineStyle Magazine. Content originally produced by WineStyle. Subscribe to their great newsletter and wine deals here. And whatever wine you're drinking, it's better to share it with your friends using Real Time Wine, the wine app for everyone who enjoys wine, not just those who understand it!