K Series: Ordering Wine at a Restaurant

Twenty years ago, I found myself walking into Michel Guerard's Restaurant at Eugenie Les Bains in Les Landes, France. I was newly married and it was my first anniversary. We were being very well taken care of as my wife is the granddaughter of Michel's dear friend Chef Pierre Franey.

Still, this was a long-established Michelin Three Star restaurant and I was incredibly intimidated. This was an intimate restaurant and we were the youngest table there by decades (note: the plural). We walked in to see the host.

Then, something happened. We were not ushered into the dining room. 

Instead, we were ushered right into an antechamber. Here we were handed classes of Champagne (Jacquesson, if I remember) and the menu, and the wine list. We were told to take as much time as we needed. 

The menu was easy, as it was a tasting menu. (I am convinced the future of all sit down restaurants should be pre-fixes or tasting menus.)

The wine list was not- it was a tome. It was incredibly comprehensive. I had just started in wine, and I knew a little, but not enough to really take advantage of it. We had arrived to Eugenie Les Bains as I was working in Bordeaux at the time, so I choose an affordable back vintage Pontet-Canet. There were other wines- I think we started with a Chablis, but I don't remember specific vintages or the other wines. 

Then, after some time, the host came back.  I placed my order for the menu, and he and I talked a bit about a few of the wines, and then we were done. He topped us off on Champagne and asked for a few minutes to prepare the table.

He then came back and ushered us over to the table. There, the sommeliers had already prepared the wines, and the theatre of the evening unfolded in the most relaxing and glorious way.

Why was it so incredible? Because the anxiety of shopping had been eliminated. That time in the side room with the Champagne and the menus was crucial. It allowed me to look over the menus and frankly shop without the perception of judgement by either the staff or my wife. It allowed me to have control of the evening. And the time in that room was honestly probably just a little longer than if we had been initially sat down and I had to then tell the staff 'another minute', and again, 'I'm so sorry, another minute please'. No one likes to apologize while they're supposed to be enjoying themselves.

This opportunity for relaxed, anxiety-free menu shopping exists now in most restaurants (and shops too!). It's via the online pdf menus and wine lists (and in shops via their online inventories). Especially with larger groups (and absolutely with company dinners), study and shop these online menus ahead of time. 

Start with your budget. How much do you want put down in total. $75? $150? $350+? $1000? $2000+? (can I come?.. 🙂)

Study the menu. What is the theme of the restaurant? Is it contemporary and experimental? French? Italian? Japanese? Mexican? Korean?

Study the list. Where are the sweetspots? Look for the oldest vintages available. And start by looking at non-power regions (ie- do not shop Burgundy, Bordeaux, Napa, Tuscany first). Look deeply into the almost forgotten regions, such as Alsace and the Languedoc-Roussillon in France, the Marche and Friuli in Italy, the Nahe and Baden in Germany, Margaret River in Australia, etc, etc. In short, look where others don't look. Then come back to the big power regions.

Start with whites and roses (shop rose hard!). Look for back vintages here. I particularly find incredible value in back vintage Alsace, Rhone and Friuli right now in whites. And on rose, Tempier and Pibarnon rose can age for a decade, and these wines make a great inter-mezzo offering. Or grab a Lopez de Heredia Rosato.

Write your picks down. Make a couple of options, in case of out of stocks. It should be expected that the list is not perfectly updated, so when you confidently give your top draft picks over to the sommelier and they come back with a "I'm so sorry, but..", you're ready with second round draft picks.

And if you're the wine person for the large group (6+), shop the 1.5L mag section. Look at mags between $100 and $150. No mags offered? Then shop the super values and have a table white and red picked out that can allow for 2 bottles on the table. Look in Portugal and Italy here.

This sounds like a lot, and yes there's work involved. But have fun with it. Enjoy it. If you want, run your picks by us (info@indiewineries.com), we're always happy to chime in. But, remember, it's only wine. Choose your first choices, have some back ups, and then go to the show and relax. You can now walk in, sit down, and let the theatre unfold.