Wine Wednesday! At the Restaurant!

My sweet Daddio sent the fam a Wall Street Journal article earlier this week that had some tips on ordering wine at business dinners. It reminded me of some fabulous tips I read from the same fine publication about ordering wine the smart way in restaurants. You know how I love my bullet points, so let's get started, shall we?

• The most overpriced bottle on the menu: I love this this tip. It is simple, easy to apply, and completely logical. How many times have you found yourself in this little situation?

The budget's tight this month, the recession (or your children) are killing your "play money" reserves, or you are a poor recent college grad working hard for the table scraps at the corporate dinner table. But you are hungry and tired of eating hot dogs and heck! You need a night out! So off you trot with your friends or your sweetie to your favorite little bistro for a little indulgence. You crack open the wine list and scan the options. You gotta play this smart, so your eyes head straight to the bottom of the list where your dear friends, the inexpensive bottles, live. You don't want to look like a total cheapskate and order the cheapest thing on the menu, so you jump a bottle or two up and call it done! Whew! You can now order with the confidence that you don't look like a penny pincher to your waiter, but you didn't break the bank in the process.

Congrats!

And by "Congrats!", I mean Congrats to the restaurant owner! Because he priced his menu based on the idea that you will be too self conscious to order the cheapest bottle if you are choosing a less expensive bottle from the menu. The funny thing is that often that cheapest bottle on the wine list is probably a great bang for your buck. The mark-up on the second and third cheapest bottles are generally the highest on the menu. So if you are dining a budget, don't be afraid to choose the lowest priced bottle - you actually will do your wallet a favor and might just find a new favorite!

• Common Labels/Varietals = Overpriced Wine

A study of restaurant wine lists and pricing across the U.S. showed two very strong trends - American chardonnay is generally the most overpriced type of wine on a menu, and Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is the #1 overpriced label. Guess why? Because they are familiar and most customers prefer to order wines they already know. It doesn't mean that American Chardonnay or Santa Margherita are bad wines - in fact, they both encompass some great wines! But when you are paying that restaurant mark-up, take the opportunity to try something you have never seen at the store. Restaurants can get their hands on some really fun, interesting wine if you will just give it a shot! And better yet - they keep the margins lower on the wines that aren't ordered as often.

• Uncommon regions make for tasty deals!

Americans as a whole are notorious in the global wine market as being a bit predictable and boring with wine preferences. We tend to drink the basics - chardonnay, pinot grigio, merlot, cabernet, and pinot noir, etc. But there are literally hundreds of species of wine grapes that make fantastic wines in very small regions of the world. So check out the whole list - see what jumps at you!

Now don't get me wrong - sometimes when I am out at dinner, I decide that I absolutely MUST have that California Cab I spotted, or that Pinot Noir that I haven't been able to find anywhere... but don't let yourself get stuck in an overpriced rut. If you are overwhelmed, then just talk to your server and/or sommelier. You will often end up with recommendations that are fun and completely outside-the-box.

So try that 2006 Trimbach Gewürztraminer!

Approximately $20 retail

Tasting Notes:

The basic Gewurztraminer from Trimbach is a real gem for those of you who like the spicy exotic aromas that this grape is renowned for but who don't appreciate the cloying and often times sweet character in other wines. This is dry and racy showing the classic Trimbach restraint with this grape resulting in a delicious lichee and orange peel-scented beauty. 89 points Wine Spectator: "This dry, light-bodied white has a minerally undertow to its flavors of grapefruit, smoke, orange granita and spice. There's good balance, with a modest finish. Drink now through 2016." (11/09)

or give that 2004 La Fortuna Brunello di Montalcino a shot!

Approximately $40 retail

Tasting Notes:

92 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "La Fortuna’s 2004 Brunello di Montalcino is especially beautiful in this vintage. The wine is remarkable for its density, richness and concentration, all of which have been achieved while maintaining clarity and freshness. The French oak is beautifully integrated in this sumptuous, generous Brunello. Suggestions of flowers and spices add notes of brightness on the finish. The Brunello spent a whopping 40 months in 25-hectoliter medium-sized casks prior to being bottled. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019." (06/09)

Find that inner dare-devil and let it take over! Love ya'll - mean it!

P.S.

Photos and tasting notes are from K&L Wine Merchants - one of the top wine distributors in the U.S.

I. love. them. and you.