Feeling overwhelmed by restaurant wine lists? Learn how to pick wines with confidence! This guide breaks down budget, expert advice, varietals, and regions to help you choose a bottle you’ll love!

Maybe you’re looking to impress a date or, I don’t know, a boss? Or maybe everybody in the table pegs you as “the wine guy”. I mean, you are reading this, aren´t you? Thing is, you’re sitting in a restaurant, and the server hands you the wine list. Don’t panic! I’ve got you. Let’s learn how to pick wines that will bring you enjoyment.

Let’s break it down, not exactly step-by-step, but maybe think about them in this order when the menu overwhelms you. First, money.

Mind Your Wallet

I know it’s obvious, but sort wines in the list by what you can afford, and only you know what your budget is. Most restaurants keep most of their wines within a certain price range, so you’ll have plenty of options to pick.

Just don’t ask for “your best Burgundy,” unless you can pay the price. Remember, expensive wines cost several thousand dollars. Of course, that might not be a problem for you, in which case remember I do have a donations button in the menu up top. Hook your boy up!

Most of us, however, must decide where we draw the line. What’s the most we will pay for the wine? It’s best to establish a range: something between 90 to 120 bucks, for instance. Or from 35 to 45, or whatever your budget allows for a bottle in the restaurant.

Right, but what if you pick the wine but someone else pays for it? If there’s a lot of trust, ask them. If not, maybe ask them anyway? Especially if you didn’t volunteer to order the wine. And if you can’t just ask, then just pick wines sitting within your budget or a smidge higher.

Ask The Expert for Advice

Not all restaurants have one, but if it has a daunting wine list, it’s likely they’ll employ a sommelier[i]. Ask them. They’ll happily come over and guide you. Tell them what you’re looking for—fresh, tannic, fruity, whatever you fancy—and hear their suggestions. The more you tell them, the better the suggestions.

Their answers provide good information for you to remember and learn from. If the sommelier recommends a Carménère from Cachapoal, or a Chardonnay from Casablanca, take note of the varietal and region Next time, you might risk ordering that combo[ii]. By understanding their recommendations and noting varietals and regions, you’ll build a knowledge base for you to pick wines you might enjoy in the future.

Furthermore, feel free to give them your budget; this provides them with more information to refine their recommendation. It’s good practice: remember, sommeliers are there to guide you, but the restaurant also hires them to improve beverage profits, so don´t be surprised if they try to upsell wine.

Without a sommelier, a server might help you. Smart restaurant owners train their staff, but I already talked about this when discussing the challenges of ordering wine by the glass in Chile. Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask. At least see if they offer you more information than what’s already on the wine list.

If they’re no help, here’s my advice.

How to Pick Wines Based on Varietal

Decide what you and your friends (or family, or boss) like, and learn a little bit about the grapes typically offered to quickly select a wine.

In Chile, whites are simpler because restaurants typically offer only Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The former is the heavier, typically sweeter, and less crisp of the two. Some key words will guide you toward heavier styles.  Look for white wines with skin contact[iii], sur lie, or aged in oak for more body and complexity in flavors, as opposed to fresher and lighter wines. The chart below includes more whites, including increasingly popular Riesling and Torrontés, one of my personal favorites.

For reds, you should know that the most popular light one is Pinot Noir. Very popular! Most popular reds are what most would consider medium body, including Carménère, Sangiovese, and Rhône blends. Cabernet Sauvignon, the most popular red in the world, however, is bolder.

Expect bolder wines to possess more tannins, and lighter ones to feel fresher due to sharp acidity. The chart above might help you visualize this. But what if you encounter two Merlot options from different regions? Or what if the wine list brims with Old World alternatives?

How to Pick Wines Based on Region

Admittedly, if you already know what to expect from a specific region, you’re probably not reading this because you need help. Regardless, understanding regional characteristics adds another layer of confidence to pick wines, so let’s dive in.

I’ve already written about wine regions in Chile, if you want a deeper dive. Here’s the gist of it:

• Colder Areas. Choose these when you’re looking for more acidic, fresher, lighter wines. Limarí, Casablanca, San Antonio, and Itata all get cooler ocean breezes at night[iv].
• Warmer Areas. Chile’s popular red wines come from the central valley, which is relatively hot. Here we’re talking Colchagua, Cachapoal, Maipo, and Maule. Warmer Areas. Chile’s popular red wines come from the central valley, which is relatively hot. Here we find Colchagua, Cachapoal, Maipo, and Maule. Wines from these regions tend to be fruitier, more tannic, hold more residual sugar, and have heavier bodies.
• High Altitude. This is Chile’s wild card. We have some unique high-altitude regions, like Aconcagua, but we also have some larger regions encompassing different altitudes. Some vineyards in Maipo and Colchagua, for instance, sit on the slopes of the Andes. Of course, higher altitudes translate to colder nights, so these regions tend to produce wines with higher acidity and lower alcohol.

Right. But What About Old World Wine Regions?

Here things get more complicated, because there’s just too many. I’ll just cover most of the popular ones.

How to Pick Wines from France

Yup. Let’s start with the big one. You’ve probably already heard of these. If bolder wines appeal to you, look for Bordeaux blends, particularly those from the left bank of the Gironde, the river that runs through the region, separating it in two[v]. I risk generalizing too much, but in the left bank Cabernet Sauvignon reigns, while in the right one, winemakers make wines with Merlot as a base.

For lighter reds look at Burgundy, which is known for lighter-bodied reds, particularly Pinot Noir, and bolder whites made with Chardonnay. This region can get confusing because regions around some villages function as their own appellations, so you’ll find those on the label instead of Burgundy or the varietal. Learn this five:

• Chablis, Mâconnais, and Côte[vi] de Beaune for Chardonnay. The Latter oaks their whites, so expect richer, bolder wines. Seek out Mâconnais if you’re looking for value!
• Côte de Nuits and Côte Chalonnaise for Pinot Noir. The value here is in the latter, which also makes a great Sparkling wine—Crémant[vii] de Bourgogne—with that varietal.

The Rhône region produces medium-bodied wines, where the delicious GSM combo is common. I’m talking about a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. They also cultivate other grapes, like Carignan and Cinsault. Rhône also creates white wine blends with grapes like Viognier, Roussane, and Bourboulenc.

I can’t leave the region without mentioning their better-known wine: Châteauneuf-du-Pape. At its core, it’s another GSM blend, but for this one, regulations allow up to 13 other grapes, including some white ones!

A few last notes: Loire produces excellent affordable wines in all styles, Alsace gained fame for its Riesling and other Germanic-sounding grapes, and you should definitely try a rosé from Provence.

This is the starting point. It goes deeper than that, but to get the complete picture, you might need years of schooling.

How to Pick Wines from Italy

I’m keeping it simple. Two wine regions in the north, one in the center, and one in the south. There are 20 wine regions in the country, but here I’ll only cover the better-known ones.

The “south” one is Sicily. The island is famous for Marsala, Italy’s famous fortified wine, and Nero d’Avola, a fuller bodied red wine with high tannins and medium acidity. The surprise here is that they plant more white wine grape varieties[viii], even if it’s rare to see them outside of the country.

Tuscany is not at the center, as I implied, so forgive me for misleading you. I just wouldn’t call the area “northern Italy”. Tuscany is famous for Chianti Classico and other great reds crafted with the versatile Sangiovese grape[ix], and for producing high quality Bordeaux blends that we call Super Tuscans. The big white wine in the region in the light and crisp Vermentino.

North Italy has a region to the east, Veneto, and one to the west, Piedmont. The former is probably better known for Prosecco, the easy-to-drink bubbly they produce. But we shouldn’t ignore Valpolicella, a red wine crafted in many styles, though it’s better known for Amarone, a full-bodied, dry red perfect for rich stews and braised meats.

Piedmont sits south of Turin, and to the west of Milan, and they probably craft the best wines in Italy. It’s true, I prefer Sangiovese, but there’s no denying the appeal and seriousness of Barolo and Barbaresco, both crafted with the Nebbiolo grape.

How to Pick Wines from Spain

This is the last Old World wine region that I’ll cover in this article, and I will only discuss two grapes: Albariño and Tempranillo. The former hails from the Rias Baixas region in Galicia, Northwestern Spain. The proximity to the ocean and generally colder weather enables them to produce a crisp white wine with nice salinity.

Let’s now move to Ribera del Duero and Rioja. It´s a little unfair to pair them in a paragraph or two only because they feature the same main grape in their blends. I’m, of course, talking about Tempranillo, a moderately high tannin and full-bodied red wine with sharp avidity. But that’s where similarities end.

Rioja is in the north of Spain, whereas the Ribera region sits closer to the center. Therefore, the former tends to experience milder temperatures and yields slightly lighter wines. Rioja’s blends feature Garnacha—which we also saw in Rhône blends as Grenache—and other local varietals, like Graciano. In Ribera del Duero, Tempranillo is more dominant, but winemakers also allow some Bordeaux grapes[x] in the mix.

Should You Care About Vintage When Picking a Wine in a Restaurant?

Kind of? Not so much in New World Wines, as winemakers craft them to maintain consistency year to year. While vintage might be less critical in New World wines, it’s smart to keep them in mind for dependably picking those wines you enjoy, particularly when buying icon wines, the exception.

In the Old World, wines are more terroir-driven, so the year of harvest is important. There are too many regions and vintages to cover here, but you can refer to Wine Searcher’s compendium, Wine Spectator’s charts, or search online for your trusted vintage guide.

The Last Drop

I know I’ve provided you with a lot of information to mull over, and a wine list might still intimidate you. My second piece of advice stands strong: don’t be afraid to ask for help from the people in charge of selling that wine day in and day out. Letting them guide you to pick wines, as long as they’re within your budget, might help you discover new favorite varietals or regions!

If you have any additional advice how to pick wines at a restaurant, feel free to drop it below! There’s probably a lot more to say on the topic.

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Footnotes

[i] Look at me with the fancy words. A sommelier is a wine… no, let me correct that… a beverage expert trained to guide you make the right drink—in this case wine—decision. I didn’t add sommeliers to my wine terms lists; do you think I should have?

[ii] I owned a restaurant from 2007 to 2010, and I hired a sommelier to increase my wine profit. Of course, our customer service improved because he was friendly and knowledgeable and was not trying to fleece you with wine. We all want you to come back!

[iii] We call these orange wines, and they’re quite fashionable now.

[iv] Itata is in the south of Chile, and therefore closer to the pole. Nights are naturally cold there.

[v] The river itself splits in two, so the region is actually three different ones. For simplicity, I will not cover Entre-Deux-Mers here.

[vi] Côte is French for slope.

[vii] Crémant sparkling wines are those made with the traditional method—the same used in Champagne—but not made in the Champagne region.

[viii] Grillo being the better known one.

[ix] Small appellations within Tuscany also craft wines with this grape, like Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino.

[x] Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

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Cover Image: A glass or two. Photo by Aybek Mirza