How to find the good wine on a list when everything sounds the same
One wine list but with three different Sauvignon Blancs. All from different producers, with different prices and from different regions. All described in the same vague terms. The wine list gives you almost no useful information and you have about ninety seconds before somebody starts looking at you expectantly.
Start with the food, not the list
The single most useful thing you can do before looking at the wine list is deciding what you are going to eat. Once you know what you are eating, you eliminate half the list. You go from choosing between all the whites to whites that work with fish in a cream sauce -- a much shorter list.
Ignore the producer, look for the region
Producer names are almost useless unless you know the producer. Regions tell you so much more. Chablis means unoaked, mineral, acidic Chardonnay. Rioja means Tempranillo, aged in oak, structured, and food friendly. Marlborough means ripe and aromatic.
Look for lesser known regions
A Cotes du Rhone sitting next to a Chateauneuf du Pape is always better value -- the same southern Rhone grapes, a lower profile appellation, a fraction of the mark up. These wines are priced lower because fewer people recognise them. That is your advantage if you know to look for them.
Do not get anchored by the top of the list
Wine lists are structured in a way to draw the eye. The most expensive bottles are at the top of each section, which makes everything around feel like less. A £180 Barolo makes the £65 Barbera under it look a bargain. Decide your budget before you open the list and stick to it.
When the list is impenetrable
Some lists are impenetrable. When that is the case -- take a photo, tell Pour what you are eating and get a recommendation in seconds. No guessing, no defaulting to house wine and no awkward pauses whilst everyone waits for you to decide.
Wine list in front of you? Upload it to Pour with your dish and get one confident recommendation.
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