How to read a restaurant wine list
A long wine list in an unfamiliar restaurant is one of those small social situations that causes disproportionate anxiety. Here is how to approach it methodically and find the right bottle quickly.
How wine lists are structured
Most restaurant wine lists are organised by region — France, Italy, Spain, New World — and within each region, by style from lightest to heaviest. The list typically starts with sparkling and Champagne, moves through whites, then rosé, then reds, finishing with dessert wines.
Where the value lives
The best value on most wine lists is in the middle price range and in the less familiar regions. Restaurants mark up recognisable names more heavily because they know customers will pay for the name. A Menetou-Salon instead of a Sancerre. A Langhe Nebbiolo instead of a Barolo. A Crozes-Hermitage instead of a Hermitage.
By the glass versus by the bottle
By-the-glass wines are almost always marked up more heavily than bottles. By the bottle is almost always better value if you are having more than two glasses. The by-the-glass list is useful for tasting something you have not tried before, but it is poor economics for a full meal.
Use Pour
The fastest way to navigate any wine list is to use Pour. Take a photo of the list, enter what you are eating, and Pour identifies the best option for your dish and flags the best value. It reads the whole list so you do not have to.
Upload your wine list. Tell Pour what you are eating. Get one answer in seconds.
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