How to Choose Wine With Dinner

The modern professional needs an array of skills that aren’t taught in college. One of these, especially useful on first dates, is the ability to order a bottle of wine with confidence and élan. Red or white? Californian or Italian? Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc? Fruit forward character or aromatic? When it comes to wine lists there are literally endless choices.

A good wine list will offer some advice, suggesting elegant pairings like which wine goes best with duck or which complements a white sauce pasta dish. If you’re out on a date, however, you want to look like you know what you’re doing. So we’ve compiled the best advice for handling the wine list challenge.

  1. Review the wine list before ordering your food. But since you choose the wine based on what you’ll be eating, ask for a few minutes from the waiter while you decide what to have and then review the wine list afterwards.
  2. Basic rules of thumb are lifesavers when you aren’t sure what to do. White goes with fish. Red with pasta, steak or any type of red meat. Choose red or white for chicken depending on the richness of the dish.
  3. Once you’ve decided on red or white, the choice comes down to specialty and taste. If a restaurant lists 25 California wines and only a handful of Chilean, French or Italian, stick with the California list. Obviously the sommelier of the restaurant prefers California wines and they are more likely to be of a higher quality and work better with the restaurant’s menu.
  4. It is ok to ask for help from the sommelier or the waiter. Rather than asking what they would recommend, try asking them to describe the wines that would work best with your food order. It is also helpful to explain which wines you prefer. If you like Cabernet Sauvignon, ask for something similar. If you prefer drier or sweeter be sure to mention that too.
  5. Order by the glass if you want to try different wines.