Restaurant Wine Advice

Filed in archive Food and Wine on April 4, 2007

When the husband and I go out for a really nice dinner we expect to also taste a really nice wine. For the most part, we are rarely disappoint nor we have trouble finding a number of wines on the wine list that spark out interests. With the surge in wine popularity, the wine list has come a long way, but Daily Harold still has some advice for restaurant when it comes to the wine they decided to serve along with their food:

Season dishes with wine: The people have spoken - "Enough Chardonnay, already!" According to Wine & Spirits 2007 Annual Restaurant Poll, "Chardonnay continues to give ground. ... Crisp white wines - including Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Riesling - now account for more than 15 percent of the most popular whites."

Sure, Chardonnay is delicious for butter-based dishes, but with Asian, Mexican or Mediterranean cuisine, Chardonnay has all the appeal of butter sauce on Greek Salad. Thankfully, Riesling and Pinot Noir are the two most food-friendly varieties, and both are on the rise.

Honesty is the best policy: Pinot Noir is now so popular that some producers are forced to source fruit from lesser regions to meet demand. Unless the restaurateur inspects each case, the change in vineyard (and quality) may not be reflected on the wine list.