Restaurant Wine Tips

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

Drinking wine in a restaurant requires so many decisions that most people could use some tips or advice. Should you leave the wine in an ice bucket? What should you do if the wine is bad? And can you bring your own wine into the restaurant?

Let the following restaurant wine tips guide you:

Can I kick the ice-bucket habit? Most servers assume that an ice bucket is necessary to chill white wines and sparkling wines. But sometimes the bottle is already so cold when it comes to you that the wine would be better off warming up a bit on the table. If your white wine goes into an ice bucket and you think it’s getting too cold, remove it from the bucket, or have the waiter remove it. Just because that ice bucket is sitting there on your table (or next to your table) doesn’t mean that your bottle has to be in it!

Sometimes, a red wine that’s a bit too warm can benefit from five or ten minutes in an ice bucket. But be careful! It can get too cold very quickly.
What’s with these tiny glasses? When various glasses are available, you can exercise your right to choose a different glass from the one you were given. If the restaurant’s red wine glass is quite small, a stemmed water glass might be more appropriate for the red wine.
Should the wine “breathe”? If a red wine you ordered needs aeration to soften its harsh tannins, merely opening the bottle won't accomplish that (because the air space at the neck of the bottle is too small). Decanting the bottle or pouring the wine into glasses is the best tactic.
Where’s my bottle? You may prefer to have the bottle of wine on or near your table, not out of your reach. You can look at the label that way, and you don’t have to wait for the server to remember to refill your glasses, either.
What if the bottle is bad? Refuse any bottle that tastes or smells unpleasant. A good restaurateur will always replace the wine, even if he thinks there’s nothing wrong with it.
May I bring my own wine? Some restaurants allow you to bring your own wine — especially if you express the desire to bring a special wine, or an older wine. Restaurants will usually charge a corkage fee (a fee for wine service, use of the glasses, and so on) that can vary from $10 to $25 a bottle, depending on the attitude of the restaurant. You should never bring a wine that is already on the restaurant’s wine list; it’s cheap and insulting. (Call and ask the restaurant when you’re not sure whether the wine is on its list.) Anyway, you certainly should call ahead to determine whether it’s possible to bring wine (in some places, the restaurant’s license prohibits it) and to ask what the corkage fee is.
What if I’m traveling abroad? If you journey to countries where wine is made, such as France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Spain, or Portugal, by all means try the local wines. They will be fresher than the imports, in good condition, and the best values on the wine list. It doesn’t make sense to order French wines, such as Bordeaux or Burgundy, in Italy, for example. Or California Cabernets in Paris.