eating out guide
Choosing Wine in a Restaurant Liam Steevenson MW Choosing wine in a restaurant can be a daunting task. Most of us can work our way confidently around a food menu, but navigating the wine list can be a different matter. Wine lists are generally complicated, written by people with an interest for wine for others that frequently do not. They are almost always too long. Mostly we purchase our wines in the anonymous surroundings of a supermarket aisle, however seated in a restaurant surrounded by inquisitive ears one frequently gets asked to purchase the most expensive portion of the meal, to match a selection of widely differing meals. The correct selection is a choice very difficult to get right.
THE FACT that restaurants add high margins onto their wines before sale is no secret. That it is wrong is debatable, they are businesses after all, and profit needs to be found somewhere in an industry with such high running costs. Whatever the percentage margin added, it still makes sense to spend more if you wanted to be rewarded with quality. The basic cost of wine in the UK is inflated by a blanket rate of duty, that makes an increasing proportion of the bottle’s cost the less you pay. It is worth looking beyond the house wines.
A GOOD TIP is to stay clear of the bigger ‘brand’ appellations of the Old World. If you are a winemaker in Rioja or Chateauneuf du Pape you do not have to work very hard to achieve a relatively high price point for your wines. That is not to say that these regions do not make outstanding wines, of course they do. However you can be sure than the neighbouring vineyards
GLOSSARY - WINE
owners of Navarra and Gigondas will work much harder and create wines of better quality to sell at the same price point.
REMEMBER. Wine is there to complement your food. Think about the style of your food and then choose a wine that complements its flavour, weight and texture. Is your meal heavy and rich or light and fresh in weight, is it sharp, spicy or sweet in flavour? It is of course difficult to choose a wine to suit different people’s meals, and in an ideal world I would suggest selecting the wine first. However, most of us visit restaurants for their food rather than wine offering, so however sensible an idea this may be, it is generally unrealistic.
ASK FOR HELP. If you are in a restaurant with a Sommelier, then make use of their skills, as they should have good knowledge of both the wines and the menu. If you are direct, with your budget, the styles of wine you like and the food that you have chosen, it is their job to leave you pleased with the wine chosen.
FINALLY, I recommend that you are experimental when eating out in the wine that you buy. Any good wine list, however short, will have wines that are interesting, and perhaps slightly challenging. These should be the wines that the waiting staff are recommending. A restaurant is a great place to enjoy wine. The bottles are usually served in better condition, into better glassware and with superior food than we achieve at home. Choose the wine you want (spending a few pounds more will not greatly affect the final bill) and enjoy your meal.
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