how do you select wines in a resturant?

[brukna]

hi wine gurus,

a'ight, here's the story. i'm going to a nice French resturant with my girlfriend tomorrow for our first anniversary!! i need to pretend that i know about wines when ordering it. how should i do this? any quick tips or tricks??? what kinda questions should i ask when tasting for wine? cost is not a problem. and this is something i wanted to know for quite a while anyways. so i ain't doing it just to score. help me out guys. i'm relying on ya'll....

helpless

[This message has been edited by brukna (edited 01-10-2001).]

[chittychattykathy]

Several ways to approach this one, I will mention a few.
First you could put the ball in their court and suggest that they pick the correct wine(s) to go with each course. Say something like "I have a few wines in mind , but would like to know what your suggestions are." Then when they respond with a few wine suggestions make those "I know what your talking about" sounds, and nods, then agree to one, (or two, if they suggest different wines for different courses of the meal.) [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img] Second, you could just go with Champagne for the entire meal, and tell your girlfriend that in Champagne, France, one often just drinks Champagne with the whole meal. Third, they may have a multi-course meal set up and selected wines to go with, with this, you're set!
& When the cheese cart comes around, do each get have a glass of port.

[Drew]

If you want to IMPRESS your girlfriend AND enjoy a nice bottle of wine that matches well with your meal then......ask for and take the advice of the wine steward. She won't be impressed if you sound like an "expert" but the wine and food don't pair well together.

Drew

[hotwine]

You said that you're not trying to score.... But if that was really a Clinton-style denial, go with the Champagne! Just be aware that wines in a restaurant are more expensive than when purchased in a wine shop, so insist on having the wine steward show you the list, and point out his recommendations, with the prices listed. If you can order by the glass, you can keep your costs down, but you may lose quality due to oxidation if the bottles have been open a while. (Champagne is not served by the glass and is always expensive in a restaurant.)

[mrdutton]

Depends on the restaurant, but Champagne certainly is served by the glass.

For a listing of restaurants in Boston, Miami, New-York and Los Angeles serving by-the-flute, check out this web site:

www.moet.com

These are not the only places that serve Champagne by-the-glass. Many others do, also. Some places even manage to serve some decent Champagnes and sparklers by-the-glass, besides the Moet.

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 01-05-2001).]

[RAD]

a'ight, brukna, what're ya'll doing up in Ottawa? You sound like a southerner to me. I didn't know they migrated that far north.

RAD

PS I like CCK's advice [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by RAD (edited 01-05-2001).]

[hotwine]

I've never encountered champers by the glass in this part of the country, nor would I buy it if I did. If you want to sniff the bubbles, you've got to buy the bottle.

[janrob]

Sorry I'm too late Bruckna, hope your evening went well. Shouldn't need to worry, it's the company and the food that's most important and it sounds as if you have that covered on both counts. If in doubt, red wine with red meat, never go wrong with any Burgundy. For whites you could try the same area or perhaps they have a selection of Ontario 'estate' wineries. A chardonnay for more substantial white meats, riesling for seafood. And when they pour you an ounce to test, don't sniff the cork. Since you're from Ontario, great info on wines can be found at www.winelife.homestead.com

[mrdutton]

Hey, Hotwine, if the place has a large enough turnover, then they'd be serving freshly opened bottles everynight. Would be no lost bubbles in that case...... (no pun intended).

[hotwine]

I'll agree that buying a glass of Champagne in a place that's popping corks all night would be OK.

Happened to catch a program last night on the Food Network called "Champagne Uncorked", in which a place in Chicago called "Pop's for Champagne" was mentioned. It's a Champagne bar in which buying by the flute is the norm. That's a whole 'nother country from what I was referring to, which was ordering a glass of champagne in a restaurant, something I certainly wouldn't do.

[brukna]

All you great folks....

Just to let ya'll know, my evening went quite well. I went with "Iron Horse Champagne". The steward said that this is the same Champagne they server at the White House. The Champagne was infact really good. expensive but good. was around C$195.
so thanks a lot for all your replies. all of it counted....and by the way, I did score!!!

[hotwine]

Mission accomplished!
Glad your evening went well.