How to Order Wine in a Restaurant

3 of 9 in Series: The Essentials of Pairing Wine with Food

Plan to order the wine at the same time that you order the food in a restaurant — if not sooner; otherwise, you may be sipping water with your first course. If, after sizing up the wine list, you decide that you aren’t familiar with most of the wines on it, ask for help with your selection.

If the restaurant is a fancy one, ask whether there’s a sommelier (pronounced som-mel-yay) to help you with your wine selection. Unfortunately, not all restaurants employ one — usually only the most wine-conscious. If the restaurant is not particularly fancy, ask to speak with the wine specialist. Often someone on the staff, frequently the proprietor, knows the wine list well and would know what wines go best with the food you are ordering.

Here are some face-saving methods of getting help choosing a wine:

If you aren’t sure how to pronounce the wine’s name, point to it on the list, or mention the wine’s item number or bin number (if there is one).
Point out two or three wines on the list to the sommelier or server and say, “I’m considering these wines. Which one do you recommend?” This is also a subtle way of communicating your price range.
Ask to see one or two bottles; your familiarity with the labels, seeing the name of an importer whose other wines you have enjoyed, or some other aspect of the label may help you make up your mind.
Ask whether there are any half-bottles (375 ml) or 500 ml bottles available. Sometimes they’re not listed, but smaller bottles give you wider possibilities in ordering: For example, you might drink one half-bottle of white wine and a half or full (750 ml) bottle of red wine.
Mention the food you plan to order and ask for suggestions of wines that would complement the meal.

The following table lists some wines that are on most restaurant wine lists and are consistently reliable choices with the specified foods.

Reliable Wine Choices When Ordering in a Restaurant
When you want:	Order:
A crisp, dry white wine that isn’t very flavorful, to accompany delicately-flavored fish or seafood	Soave, Pinot Grigio, or Sancerre
A dry white wine with assertive flavor; perfect with mussels and other shellfish	Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa or New Zealand
A medium-bodied, characterful, dry white wine, for simple poultry, risotto, and dishes that are medium in weight	Mâcon-Villages, St.-Véran, or Pouilly-Fuissé
A full-bodied, rich white wine, for lobster or rich chicken entrées	California or Australian Chardonnay
A full-bodied white wine with a honeyed, nutty character; works with meaty fish, or veal, or pork entrées	Meursault
A medium-dry white wine, for Asian-inspired dishes	Chenin Blanc, Vouvray, or German Riesling
An easy-drinking, inexpensive red; perfect with roast chicken	Beaujolais (especially from a reputable producer, like Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, or Georges Duboeuf)
A versatile, flavorful, relatively inexpensive red that can stand up to spicy food	California red Zinfandel
A lighter red that’s delicious, young, and works with all sorts of light- and medium-intensity foods	Oregon or California Pinot Noir
The basic French version of Pinot Noir; try it with simple cuts of steak	Bourgogne Rouge
A dry, spicy, grapey, and relatively inexpensive red wine that’s perfect with pizza	Barbera or Dolcetto
A very dry, medium-bodied red that’s great with lots of foods	Chianti Classico