How to Read a Wine List: 7 Tips to Help You Order Wine off a Restaurant Wine Menu
I can almost guarantee that everyone reading this has felt intimidated or overwhelmed by a restaurant wine list at some point.
Wine can be a scary thing...grapes you’ve never heard of, producers in foreign languages, colors, bubbles, vintages, oh my!
To me, wine is a food. It’s just as much of the experience of dining out as the food is. If you have a glass of delicious wine, your food will taste even better!
But how do you even go about reading a restaurant wine menu?
Well, I’m here to help, and hopefully show you that ordering wine doesn’t have to be stressful. I hope these tips help you find the perfect wine next time you dine out!
How to Read a Wine List: 7 Tips to Help You Order Wine off a Restaurant Wine Menu
Once I’ve settled at my table, I like to ask myself a few questions to see what I’m really in the mood for drinking.
I usually think about these things before looking at the wine list. Otherwise, it can be too overwhelming!
Ask yourself these questions to help you break down the wine list into pieces.
Often times, restaurant wine menus can be pages long. Thinking about these questions will help you break it into categories so it’s not as scary.
1. Are you feeling still or sparkling?
For me, this is the easiest way to narrow down the wine list.
If I’m celebrating, I’ll start with a glass of bubbly, and if not, I usually stick to still wine. Once I’ve decided, this eliminates a portion of the wine menu to consider.
If you can’t decide, think about what you’re going to order for your meal. If you’re ordering a fatty dish like creamy Alfredo pasta or fried chicken, go with a bubbly to help cut the fattiness of the food.
2. Narrow down by color
White? Red? Rosé? Orange? This is often a hard decision for me, since I love each type of wine equally.
Some simple tricks I use to help with my decision are:
If I’m cold, I typically go with red wine (not always, but this can be helpful).
If it’s hot outside, I’m usually thirsty for a white or rosé.
If my meal is very light and delicate (salad, fish, etc.), I’ll go with white or rosé.
If I’m feelin’ like something different, I might go for an orange wine. Not a lot of wine lists have orange wines, so it’s fun to order them when you see them!
Most of the time, I just go with my gut and order what sounds best in the moment - there’s not real science to it.
Once you’ve chosen your color, stick to reading only that section of the wine menu, so you don’t get distracted!
3. What’s your budget?
If it’s payday, I’ll be ordering that pricey glass and treatin’ myself.
If not, I might try something a little bit cheaper - I try to stick to less than $15 per glass because that’s my personal budget.
The wines are often listed in order from lowest to highest in price, so this is a quick way for you to cut out another chuck of the menu.
4. What are you eating?
Being the huge food and wine pairing fanatic that I am, I often times decide what I want to eat before I order my wine.
Don’t stress too much about the rules, but there are a few guidelines when it comes to food and wine pairing:
Acidic food goes well with acidic wine.
Food and wine should match in flavor intensity.
Spicy food can be complemented with sweeter wine.
Bubbles go well with fatty foods.
Salty food goes well with just about any wine!
Even though these general food pairing guidelines exist, you should ultimately just order what you like!
If you want white fish and red wine, GO FOR IT. It’s not a bad pairing if you enjoy it!
5. Ask the sommelier for suggestions
Somms are there to help you, not to make you feel humiliated that you’re not a wine expert.
Most sommeliers I’ve come across are usually helpful and excited to chat about the wines they offer. You should be able to ask questions about the wines, get their suggestions, and you can usually try a taste of something before committing to a full glass.
If the somm makes you feel dumb, they’re not a good somm.
Not all restaurants have sommeliers, but your server should also be able to give you some recommendations. And if not…
6. You can always rely on the internet!
Don’t be afraid to look up wines that you’ve never heard of before (I do it all the time!). There’s no rush in choosing your wine - take your time and do your research.
Wine Folly is a great resource for looking up grapes or wine regions you’ve never heard of before. They’ll provide you with a little background on the wine, typical flavors and aromas, and even food pairings.
If you want to look up reviews on a specific wine, download the Vivino app! I’ve found almost every wine I’ve tried on there, and you can see honest reviews from other wine-drinkers, along with descriptions of the wine’s flavor profile.
Plus, it’s a fun way to keep track of wines you’ve tried and some notes on why you loved or didn’t love them.
7. My #1 rule: Try something new!
The best way to learn about wine is to try a wine you’ve never heard of before.
I get so excited when I see wines I’m not familiar with on the menu. I usually gravitate towards these because as a wine student, I want to expand my palette by tasting as many wines as I can.
A good way to find a new wine you will love is to let the sommelier or server know which wines you typically drink. This will give them an idea of your flavor preferences and with this information, they’re usually good at finding something new that you’ll enjoy.
If you try something new and don’t like the one you pick, you can always send it back and order something you’re familiar with, but at least be proud of yourself for giving it a shot!
And if you do enjoy something new, then you’ve a discovered a new wine to add to your rotation. How exciting is that?
I hope these tips help you find the wine you’re looking for the next time you go out to dinner.
Remember, exploring wine is a journey - enjoy the ride, don’t give up, and keep trying new wines! Ready to further your wine education? Enroll in a WSET class today and use code LexiStephens for a discount.
If you want to learn the basics of wine tasting to help you find wines you love, book a wine tasting with me!
If you’re in the mood for some pink wine, check out my top 12 rosé picks that you will love!