Perusing a Wine List

You're out for the evening at a restaurant you've never visited  before and along with the menu, you are presented with a formidable wine list. It has quite a number of selections and most of them look quite strange. What should you do?

Before going down this path at all, I'm going to say that there is no universally right answer. So much is a matter of food, price, willingness to try, your own knowledge level, and your own tastes. And, we also likely need to break this into three categories (perhaps even four) of restaurants -- 1) those with sommeliers, 1a) those with sommeliers, but also with very knowledgeable servers, 2) those without sommeliers, but with somewhat helpful servers, and 3) those where you are on your own. Let's go through them.

A sommelier is a person on a restaurant staff whose specific customer service job is to help the customers with wine and other beverage selection and service. He or she has special expertise. Often, you will see a sommelier wearing a pin or badge of some sort demonstrating the level of expertise they have proven through examination. But, while those examinations are a great proving ground, some of the best I have seen few, if any designations while some of the most knowledgeable by examination are just not very customer friendly.

If you know or suspect that your restaurant has a sommelier on the floor and you are struggling to choose wine, you might ask your server if the sommelier (sommerliere in the case of a female) is available to help you. The sommelier, or somm as they are sometimes known, has likely curated the wine collection, or in the case of a restaurant with multiple somms has at least had input into the development. Your somm will understand the menu of this restaurant and the wine list.

Working with the somm often takes some knowledge. While they are there to help you, they may also be looking to push some difficult to move wines and some overpriced wines. Pay attention.

The somm should ask you which foods you are selecting or considering as well as what types of wines you like (or don't like). Don't be shy about it. But, also don't make things up. They should also ask you what price range you are comfortable with. If you are there with someone that you don't want to know what you are spending, rather than speaking an answer, find a wine on the list that is in the range and subtly point to it and say something like "around there."

If the somm doesn't ask you about price, then they should propose several options in a variety of price ranges where hopefully, one fits into the range that interests you.

Digressing for a moment, I had an experience in New York about 10 years ago. Presented with a creative food menu and an extensive wine list, I needed help. Upon hearing the foods that we were about to order, she suggested a nice Domaine de la Romanee-Conti pleasantly priced at ninety-nine ninety-five. No, not that $99.95, but that $9,995. I'm sure it would have been wonderful, but I will never know.

In any event, once you have agreed with the somm as to the wine you will be having, they should take responsibility for the service of the bottle. A higher-end sommelier will have significant training in wine service as well as knowledge of the wines. Upon bringing you the bottle, they should present it to you, announcing quietly the wine, the vintage, and perhaps other characteristics (for example, 2010 Chateau du Beaucastel, Chateauneuf du Pape). They should not do anything else until you acknowledge. Once you do acknowledge, the somm should cut the foil, place the removed foil in their pocket, and pull the cork slowly, all the while continuing the presentation with the label pointed toward you. When the cork is pulled, the somm should inspect the cork before handing it to you for your inspection and subtly sniff the wine checking for flaws. At this point, the person who selected the wine should receive a small tasting for their appoval. If approved, the wine will then be served typically clockwise, ladies first, starting to the left of the person who ordered, and ending with the person who did the ordering, regardless of gender. The somm should be responsible for continuing wine service for you throughout the evening.

Suppose your sommelier did a very good job. Well, most somms receive some of the tips that the servers get, but if your somm was particularly helpful or interesting or fun, it's customary to give them an additional tip. How much? There's really no guideline, but they will be appreciative of any tips. Just discretely pass the tip from your hand to theirs with a smile and all will be well.

In case number 2, we're on a spectrum that is long and wide. At restaurants with nice wine lists, but without sommeliers, some servers are particularly knowledgeable about both wine and wine service and some are completely lacking. Before going into how to deal with them, I will say that in my opinion, especially if the cost of the wine is a good portion of the total amount of the tab, their help with wine and service of it should be a significant factor in their tip. A brief story might help you to understand.

My wife and I were at a new local restaurant for the first time. The wine list was not small, but was also not interesting. Seeing me looking at the list, our server came over and recommended a wine. He did not know what we might be eating, but was already recommending the second most espensive wine on the list. After we decided on what we were eating, I chose a wine that happened to have a screw top.

Our server came back with the wine and two wine glasses. He left the glasses on the table and unscrewed the screw top and walked away. Not only was the wine not presented to us (perhaps that was too big an expectation), but we were not even given the chance to taste it before accepting. And, he did not pour it for us.

In addition to the fact that his wine service was commensurate with his other service, he was not tipped well. And, for those of you who feel that servers should be tipped a standard amount without regard to quality of service, I disagree. Especially at other than fine dining restaurants. I will happily forgive inexperience if there is effort, but where there is no effort, the gratuity will reflect that.

Your server may or may not have any special wine training. If they don't, remember that while it is part of their job, wine is not their primary function. Work with them. It should become obvious pretty quickly though whether they could be helpful with wine selection. If they ask you if you will be having wine and ask you if they can be of assistance (without imposing themselves), in my experience, they are more likely than not going to be helpful.

Finally, we get to the wine list that is long enough or unique enough to be intimidating, but where the restaurant does not avail you of any particular help. Of course, havinread my first 138 posts word for word, you will have sufficient expertise on your own and will not be the least bit intimidated. 

In all seriousness, though, do consider what you have learned here, but also consider what you like. If you are ordering a bottle, your best values will often (but not always) be the wines you have never heard of. 

Why?

People tend to order the bottles they know about just as you might and the ones that move faster on thier own likely have higher markup. 

Bottles with catchy names also tend to have higher markups. Often, the branding of a catchy name seems to add anywhere from 20 to 50% to the price of the wine. But, the obscure grape from the obscure place likely doesn't move very well. The restaurant may have taken a case of Chateau Musar from Bekaa Valley in Lebanon because the distributor required it in order for them to get a bigger allocation of [insert the name of the favorite mediocre, yet overpriced wine (FMYOW) in your area]. If you do some quick googling, it is not unlikely that the Chateau Musar is priced in the restaurant at less than double the retail price while FMYOW likely has a nearly 400% markup. Order the Chateau Musar and send me the part you don't finish.

It's time to get up and leave the restaurant, but first you have to pay. And, you need to decide on a gratuity. Tipping on wine has way fewer guidelines than do general restaurant gratuities. For what it's worth, my rule of thumb is that I will tip fully (the same as I would for food) on wine if the wine service and help is commensurate with the level of the restaurant and with the price level of the wine. At a white tablecloth restaurant with servers in dinner jackets and dark ties, I would expect the wine service to be at worst near flawless. At a family-oriented chain restaurant, I would expect it to be cheerful and poured into the glass and not on me. 

Go with your conscience.