When ordering wine its not exactly like ordering a Gin & Tonic at the bar. Ordering wine requires a bit more skill and knowledge because of complexity and variations.
So to help you impress that special someone or friends, we have put together a short guide to help you out when ordering your next bottle of wine.
Know what your partner enjoys drinking
It may be the most obvious question to ask but its one that needs to be asked, without letting your partner know ofcourse. From here you can narrow the wine choices down according to what they have selected from the menu. Everyone has a prefference so start by finding out wether that preference is red or white and narrow it down from there.
Dont be scared to consult the waiter.
We now know wether it is white or red that your date prefers so its time to narrow it down. Allow them to first decide what is the dish to be ordered from tonights menu. Once you know that, consult the waiter and ask them what wine options in the preferred white or red they have for that dish. This makes life much easier than trying to remember what wine you once had with that dish that paired perfectly. Deferring to the expert will also make yourself look like one in doing so.
Just be confident
Even the most expert wine tasters get a few wine names wrong so dont be scared to just show confidence when pronouncing the name and most of the time your date wont even realise you dont exactly know how to say it.
Know how to taste the wine you have ordered
- Check out the color, opacity and viscosity (wine legs). You dont have to have a staring competition with the glass so keep this step brief.
- Smell the wine. Try keep a broader picture as you are on a date not a wine tasting competition. Think of what kind of fruit it may have notes of like such as citrus or berries. If you are one that really likes to impress someone with a bit more in depth description on smells then heres a few basic tips.
- Primary Aromas are grape-derivative and include fruit-driven, herbal, and floral notes.
- Secondary Aromas come from winemaking practices. The most common aromas are yeast-derivative and are most easy to spot in white wines: cheese rind, nut husk (almond, peanut), or stale beer.
- Tertiary Aromas come from aging, usually in bottle, or possibly in oak. These aromas are mostly savory: roasted nuts, baking spice, vanilla, autumn leaves, old tobacco, cured leather, or mushroom.
- Finally taste the wine. Our tongues can detect salty, sour, sweet, or bitter. All wines are going to have some sour, because grapes all inherently have some acid, but this varies with climate and grape type. Some varieties are known for their bitterness, with a sort of light, pleasant tonic-water-type flavor. Some white table wines have a small portion of their grape sugars retained, and this adds natural sweetness. You can’t ever smell sweetness though, since only your tongue can detect it.
Lastly, very few wines have a salty quality, but in some rare instances salty reds and whites exist. The taste of wine is also time-based, there is a beginning, middle (mid-palate) and end (finish). How long does it take before the flavor of the wine isn’t with you anymore?
So the next time you are out on a date, keep these tips in mind and your date will surely be impressed, making you look like a pro and giving you even more confidence for the following date night.