How to order a bottle of wine in a restaurant

Sommeliers Lorenzo Savona of Upstairs on the Square, Cat Silirie of No. 9 Park, Roger Black general manager of Picholine, Cecile Chauvau from the Chanticleer and Anthony Giglio sommelier and writer for Boston magazine, New York Times and New york Daily News. Read as the discuss how to order wine in a restaurant. This was written after attending the symposium at the Nantucket Wine Festival.

Important tips
• Sommeliers are not tipped; they are paid employees and are there to give customers advice.
• If you have a question about what wine to order with a meal, ask the wine director, not the waiter.
• Sommeliers are there to help you and make suggestions.
• Order wine by the bottle, not by the glass. Bottles can be old, opened for a long time and you spend less money buying a bottle in long run.
• If you do order by the glass, ask the sommelier if the bottle has been recently opened.
• An unopened bottle of wine is always fresher.
• Ask for a taste by the glass, engage with the sommelier.
• Ordering half bottles of wine are good.
• Make sure the wine glass is clean.
• High acidity for first wine is good.
• Try something different, not something you always drink at home.
• Variety is good and it may turn you on to something new.
• Tell the wine director what you generally like.
• Give a price point.
• Vintage is not as important as producer.

What is the first thing you do when you sit down at the table:
• Order a beautiful crisp and racy white wine that is appetizing refreshing.
• Wet the pallet while you browse the menu and settle into the restaurant.
• Another suggestion is a glass of champagne, sipping it and enjoying it while you read the menu.
• If it is a nice restaurant get something in glass before looking at the menu.

4-6 people are out for dinner. What should we order, red or white?
• You should plan on a drinking a bottle of wine per person.
• Order a bottle of red and a bottle of white, let people taste and decide what they want to drink.
• Ask the waiter for two wine glasses per person so you can sample both the red and white.

When is a good time to order the wine?
• Hear the menu and specials and make the decisions for the wine for the rest of the night to go along with your meal.
• Ask the wine director questions and tell them what you are having for a meal.
• Have the wine brought out while waiting for your meal.
• Decanting is good, let the wine breath.

What if you order a bottle of wine and don’t like it?
• Send it back. Restaurants want the customer to be happy, food wise and wine wise.
• You are in control of the wine.
• Try the wine with the food that it goes with before you reject it.
• Wine tastes completely different when eaten with food.

What is a good wine to order at the end of the meal?
• A nice sweet wine with desert.
• A glass of port.
• The same rules/questions apply to port by the glass as they do to wine.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
How to order wine in a restaurant.