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Wine in Restaurants
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By David Rosengarten
No one knows how it happened, but ordering wine in restaurants has become an anxiety-inducing transaction. There's no reason for wine or wine people to make you sweat. You don't need to worship wine; you should be drinking it because it's wet and goes nicely with your food. If you don't know a lot about the subject, big deal. I don't know a lot about folk-dancing, but someone in a brightly-colored skirt and bandana doesn't intimidate me. So the first rule in restaurants is: Relax.
Relax still further because the sommelier, wine steward or most informed waiter is there to help you out--not to test you. I try to deflate things right at the top by asking, "Do you have a wine guy?" (Not "may I consult with the sommelier?") If the answer's no, simply ask, "Who would be best to talk to about wine?"
Get Suggestions
Once you're talking, make sure to be completely honest with the wine guy or gal. "I know little about wine," "I'd like to spend no more than $20," "I really like wine that's a little sweet," "I hate wine that starts with the letter P," or whatever. Speak your mind. What have you got to lose?
When it comes to actually making the decision, you're going to want to factor in what you're eating. Unfortunately, not a lot of menus tell you the most important information in wine-matching: Is the salad dressing sour? Is the sauce sweet? Understand the principles of matching wine with food. Then start asking questions about sweet and sour, bitter and salty in the food.
The Arrival
OK. The wine comes out, and the sommelier shows you the label. Your job: Make sure it's the wine you ordered. If there's a switcheroo, it's often on the vintage. If you wanted a 1998 Sancerre, and out comes a 1997, you're well within your rights to ask the sommelier to find a 1998. If he or she can't, consider changing your wine selection if you know the vintage makes a big difference.
The Cork
Next: Out comes the cork, and it's placed near you on the table. For the most part, this is a meaningless ritual (though it has its uses--read on). The real business at hand is tasting the wine and making sure that it's healthy.
Approving the Wine
You're not being asked if you like the wine. You're only being asked to pass judgment on whether the wine is spoiled or not. If it's not spoiled, and you don't like it, you're supposed to accept it. Would you say, "Waiter, this steak is fine but I suddenly decided I don't like steak"? No. And so it is with wine. So is the wine healthy? There are three kinds of problems that occur with some frequency: The wine may be corked, oxidized or volatile.
Corked. The most common problem, by far, is corked wine. About five percent of all corks develop a certain disease (not harmful to humans) that makes them taste like moldy cellars or musty attics. Usually, the wine picks up that smell and taste. If you perceive corked wine in a restaurant, send it back immediately. If you're not sure, give the sommelier a sniff too and ask for an opinion.
Oxidized. Wine may be oxidized, which means that too much oxygen has somehow crept in. If wine is oxidized, it will smell something like cut fruit that has been sitting on the kitchen counter for a few days--kind of a browning smell. If I'm thinking oxidation, I may feel the cork to see if it's dry, because a dried-out cork is one of the ways oxygen can penetrate the bottle. But smelling and tasting the wine is more important. Some wines (Sherry, Arbois, Tokay) are oxidized on purpose. However, if your expensive Corton-Charlemagne smells like Sherry, you'd better send the bottle back.
Volatile. A wine may have turned volatile--that's winespeak for the wine essentially turning into vinegar. There'll be a sharp smell that reminds you of vinegar or of nail polish remover. This is not good. Send the wine back. By the way, wine turning to vinegar may not yet taste sour--it's the aromatic aspects of vinegar you're looking for.
In all of these cases, should you ask for another bottle of the same wine? In the case of corked wine, yes; the next bottle will almost never be corked. In the cases of oxidation and volatility, however, the odds are higher that succeeding bottles will have similar problems. Get the sommelier on your side and make a game of finding a good version of the wine you ordered--or jump ship fast, should you have something else (or someone else) you'd rather concentrate on.
The Real-World Wine Guide Table of Contents
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