Does this sound familiar: “What would you like to drink, we have several nice wines on special tonight?” We often get this question while fumbling through the drink menu, quicky eyeing down wines under headings like “Italy,” or my personal favorite, “Big & Bold.” Region or Adjective, which is better? As you look down at the individual wines under these auspicious menu headings the silence starts to surround you as the waiter and the rest of your dinner table begin to stare into your soul while awaiting your profound drink pick - yet you don’t recognize a single wine. Even “Tonight’s Specials” somehow seem to be written in a language that you can no longer translate. Panic begins to set it, and you do what so many others do, you ask; “Do you have any recommendations?” Well, depending on the location, the evening, and the meal, this might not go well for you. Surely there is a 50/50 chance that the waitstaff will recommend something that I will like, right?
Well, based on multiple restaurant studies and my continual experimentation, the chance that you will like their recommendation is less than 30%! Unless you are at a restaurant with a staff (not simply waitstaff) who have had proper wine training, you might be better off ordering a cocktail. That 30%, however, is a sliding percentage: 30% of patrons will love the restaurant recommendation, 30% will tolerate the selection and tell themselves this is how it should be, not realizing they got the short end of the cork. The last 40% will not be pleased, and only half of them, 20%, will be bold enough to ask for something else. Ordering wine for dinner should be a fun adventure, not one where you should have to calculate your failure.
Let’s talk for a moment about a few simple ways to avoid the pitfalls of ordering wine at dinner. My friends often send me photos of wine menus when they are out for dinner. “What should I get?” they ask, “Any recommendations?” I am flattered to an extent; they obviously trust my wine choosing acumen. Some of them treat it as some sort of magic trick, but I don’t pull rabbits out of hats. Instead, I pull out great wine picks. I do the same for them as I would do for myself. I start by asking if this wine is for before, with, or after food. If with food, I ask what food. When having food with wine you need to apply the basic food-to-wine pairing truths. Chemistry tells us how to do the basics of matching sweet, salty, spice, acid, bitterness, and fat. One of the simplest ways to do this without a lot of thought is Region-to-Region. Wine growing regions have hundreds of years of doing the chemistry homework for you. An example is Chanti Classico paired with a Spaghetti Bolognese, both from Tuscany. This can go a long way, but sometimes doesn’t get you to the finish line.
Many turn to AI, which can also do a good job of this basic pairing function, but then again starts to let us down as we approach the finish line, and here lies the secret. Know yourself! I like to think I know my friends, so I have an idea of what they tend to like on the spectrum of wine. I can then take everything and match the wine choices with the menu choices. It’s also helpful to have a solid knowledge of good producers and good vintages.
The key is really having an idea of what you like and not just blindly listening to the waitstaff or AI. There is a much deeper lesson on learning why you like a particular wine and turning that into a repeatable and pleasurable wine experience, but that is an in-person journey. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to make a mistake, use the basics, and listen to yourself, you’ll have more fun doing it too. Cheers to that!