order wine at resturant for multiple people

[zmender]

Hey..

Glad to find a forum where gurus hang out [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

I'm curious. Suppose at a restaurant I order a steak which calls for something along the lines or a bordeaux or at least a good pinot noir, and a friend orders something quite delicate like a bass which calls for something like chablis. How do I order the wine in this case? There is no good wine by glass.

How should I order wine in this case? Two bottles? Or get a bottle of fruity red like beaujolais or big white like heavily oaked chardonnay and hope for the best? What happens if I don't finish a bottle of wine at restaurant, do people take wine home?

Thanks for response,
Mo

[Innkeeper]

Hi Mo, and welcome to the Wine Board. Ideally the answer is half bottles. If you are American this may be hard to come by. This would not be difficult if you are a European.

If half bottles are not an option. The Beaujolais would be the next best answer, unless you are heavy drinkers in which case two bottles would be the way to go!

[wondersofwine]

In many states it is illegal to take the unfinished wine home with you. Elsewhere it is legal and you can recork it as tightly as possible and put it in the trunk of your vehicle (hard to do with an SUV.) You should not have an opened container of liquor in the driver or passenger area of the vehicle because that could get you into trouble.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 04-29-2008).]

[TheEngineer]

I'm in this situation all the time and I try to gauge a couple of things.

In general, if very different dinners are being ordered, I agree with the half bottle solution but very few restaurants have good half bottles selects as well. In this case, I usually try to find a wine that works for both. Often I get the pairing that you described. Pinot Noir works as well as the Beaujolais.


However, in a case where the selections are very limited, I often point the pairing more to my client's dinner more than mine so that they will enjoy the pairing more. If they like wine, they will notice that and you gain the brownie points. [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

[winoweenie]

Sneeky Pete! WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

[zmender]

Thanks for the responses. Wine is meant to be enjoyed, so I'll stick with a single bottle of a light fruity red.

I never tried a cab franc before - especially a samour or a Bourgueil. I heard they are quite fruity. Anyone had experience with those?

[Drew]

Not only fruity and floral but many French Cab Franc have a nice earthy componet which I love. Sometimes a light zinfandel will solve your problem as well.

Drew

[AxisOfBeagles]

IMHO, Cab Franc is not going to pair with the fish all that well. While CF has some great spice and floral notes, it is still a robust red, and oft times is going to show some tannin that won't soften unless paired with a fattier red meat. Likewise Zin is going to overpower a tender white fleshed fish.

First, I'd try to avoid such a pairing problem by talking to my dinner guest about what they want to eat / drink - and changing my order if need be.

If that simply isn't possible, it might be better to suffer lesser wines by the glass.

[wdonovan]

Not much different than going to a BYOB restaurant with two people, one bottle, not knowing what each will order. Closest single wine match.... Champagne. Not perfect with everything but it beats going either with a red or still white. Most versatile wine yet.