Wine List G.P.S. - Tips for Successful Restaurant Wining

Restaurant wine lists come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. Knowing how to navigate through one is key to successful wining rather than fumbling your way without a compass. Fortunately, I do have experience with wine lists: creating, writing, designing, and reorganizing them. Even though my experience as a fine wine consultant bodes confidence in this task, sometimes even those in the know, don’t. I’ve been overwhelmed many times by wine lists. Long-story-short -- My husband and I and our close friends were at a swanky Italian restaurant in New York City.

As usual, I am responsible for the wine list reconnaissance and plucking the perfect bottle from the plethora of offerings. I knew we’d be starting with white (we usually start with white and end with red) – it sets the mood, elevates conversation, and preps the palate for the wonderful Italian delicacies that awaited us. I gingerly sifted my way through the list. Everything offered was Italian and by region. Hmm. Gavi from Piedmont, Muller Thurgau from Trentino Alto Adige, Vernaccia from Tuscany, Tocai from Friuli, Vermentino from Liguria, Orvieto Classico from Umbria. My journey through this comprehensive wine list of hard-to-find and undiscovered bottles and vintages was posing quite a challenge for this wine diva. Like a pig trying to sniff out truffles in Central Park, I was lost and needed wine G.P.S!

It was obvious that the restaurateur definitely expected me – Joe Customer – to be fluent in Italian geography. I did indeed travel to Italy on my honeymoon (interpreting maps was not the first thing on my mind) and I have sold some fabulous Italian wines over the years, but that didn’t make me an expert on Italian wines, at least not the ones on this list. I began to feel more and more American and less international than I did when I first walked into this cool joint. So I put my pride on the bread plate and summoned the sommelier for navigational assistance. We settled on a fruity, clean, light white with almond accents….a Tocai Fruiliano, of course. And it was yummy.

Wine list presentation is important. It can overwhelm or educate. I prefer the later because learning about wine is life long. A wine list is essential. And a good one will sell you wine without much intervention. That’s why it’s important to know the many styles that are offered in restaurants how to navigate through them. Before I pontificate, however, first and foremost, it is critical to know your wine palate and those at your table. If everyone likes something different, then each can experiment with the by the glass selections, they offer variety throughout the entire meal. If your group is on the same page, then the selection will be easier.

Wine lists can be designed in many ways: regionally, varietally, by progression, color coded, or by price. Some restaurants provide no wine list, but a menu of foods already paired with wine.

One style of wine list presentation is region, country of origin, or appellation. Wines are categorized by where they are produced: California, Italy, Spain, Argentina… you get the point. Often, lists go further and express specific appellation (Napa) or village (Chianti) where the grapes are grown. Wines are usually listed white to red, driest to sweetest.