How to choose the right wine at the restaurant? Five tips to make a good impression

What is there to eat?
If you’re at the restaurant, it’s because you want to eat! This allows you to exclude at least 50 percent of the options. Did you order a red meat dish? It goes without saying that you can snub the white wines and head without delay on the reds, maybe a Sangiovese or a Bordeaux blend. White meats and fish go with white, but if they are seasoned with tomatoes or important sauces, they can also be perfectly combined with rosés. Do you love oriental cuisine? Focus on the Gewürztraminer or orange wines (wines made from white grapes, vinified with a long maceration on the skins), both able to withstand the spiciness and personality of ethnic dishes. It is good to know that acid wines balance well the fat dishes, while the soft wines are combined with savory and acid-rich dishes. Finally, the golden rule is to take into account the structure of the food and choose a wine with the same structure. marcolavoro@gmail.com

IN DEPTH
Decide on a budget
To drink well, it is not necessary to spend half a salary! So, set a budget and look for a convincing wine, which falls within the established price range. To do this, keep in mind a few simple fixed points. First of all, a paper made as it should certainly has good wines at affordable prices. Evaluate, then, that the prices in the restaurant undergo a charge of about three times the original cost. Finally, consider that between the price paid by the restaurant owner and the top-up that you find on paper, there is an inversely proportional relationship: the cheaper wine will have a higher top-up and vice-versa.

Glass or bottle?
The wines by the glass can be an opportunity to combine each dish in a different way and to discover new labels (without having to drain a bottle), but be careful! First of all because it could be bottles opened for more than a few days, with a consequent loss of pleasantness of the wine. Then, because the wine by the glass usually has a higher price mark than the bottle. If you are at least three people at the table, then you should take an entire bottle of wine, because, if you have followed our advice, surely you will want to drink more than a glass.

Bets on local wines
Pinot nero and Chardonnay like everyone! But, if you are on holiday or on a business trip, forget about the international vines, which you can drink anytime and anywhere, and be intrigued by local wines. Italy is the country in the world with the highest number of native vines, from which are produced excellent wines, able to best express the territory of origin. Some examples? Timorasso in Piedmont, Schioppettino in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Cesanese del Piglio in Lazio or, again, Grillo in Sicily and Schiava in Alto Adige, Falanghina in Campania and Montepulciano in Abruzzo.

Ask the expert for advice, but first clarify your ideas!
Do not be intimidated by the waiter or – when present – by the sommelier, his theatrical gestures and his technical language. After all, it’s there for you! So let me help you and guide you in your choice, but first clarify your ideas. Focus on the character of the wine you want to drink. Do you prefer something fruity and watered? Or better, a wine with a long aging in wood and structured palate? Are you more from silky and enveloping wines or from vertical and fresh wines? Think about the characteristics of the wines that you liked the most in the past and describe them to the sommelier, so that you can understand your tastes and advise you the best.