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You are here: Home / Social / Confused about ordering wine?

Social

Confused about ordering wine?

wine rackIs it red with chicken or white? If I’m having a nice lunch with friends and I have beef but they are ordering salad, what do we order for the entire table?  What are the rules for ordering and drinking wine?

Frankly, there are no hard and fast rules. My first reaction is to tell you to ORDER WHAT YOU ENJOY, because wine is to be enjoyed and savored, but there are times when you’re in the company of others (like business dinners) when you wish you knew the basics. So for those times….


RED WINE

Red WineFull bodied reds make a great accompaniment to heavier beef and pork dishes. These should be served room temperature.

  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Rhone (reds)
  • Syrah
  • French Bordeaux
  • Zinfandel (great with pasta)

Medium bodied wines are those that you’d enjoy with lamb, veal, lighter pork meals (for example a pork tenderloin), pasta with a red sauce. Serve room temperature.

  • Merlot
  • Chianti
  • Burgundy
  • Rioja
  • French Pinot Noir

Lighter reds can easily be enjoyed with the same foods as many white wines such as turkey, chicken, duck, and heavier fish (like a tuna steak or swordfish, salmon, etc. It is fine to serve these wines slightly chilled.

  • Beaujolais
  • California Pinot Noir

Rosé or Blush wines. Chilling makes this wine taste much brighter, so go ahead and chill.

Rosé is available in both sparkling as well as still and can be enjoyed before dinner as an aperitif or with very light foods like eggs, foods that are spicy (Mexican), salad entreés, and light chicken dishes.

WHITEwhite wine

White wines should be served either chilled or WELL chilled.

Full bodied whites should be enjoyed with the same types of food as a light red – think chicken, veal, etc.

  • White Burgundy
  • California Chardonnay

Medium Whites should be your “go-to” for anything that swims. Great with poultry fish, shellfish and pastas that have a clear or white sauce (like a white clam sauce or an alfredo).

  • Chardonnay
  • Chablis
  • White Bordeaux
  • New Zealand whites
  • Pinot Blanc
  • Sauvignon Blanc

Light red wine is great for vegetarian or Asian inspired dinners

  • Reisling
  • White Zinfandel
  • Pinot Grigio
  • Gewurztraminer
  • Spanish whites

♥♥Champagne and Sparkling Wines♥♥freixenet
Sparkling wines and champagnes are so versatile that you can drink them with anything. They’re wonderful for cleansing the palate, especially after eating any spicy, salty, or fried foods. The difference is in the sweetness rather than the body when choosing when to drink a champagne or sparkling wine.

Brut – very dry

  • Great with appetizers, fish (perfect with lobster or shrimp) and chicken meals.

Extra dry – a little sweeter than brut, but still in the “dry” range.

  • This is toasting champagne!!! Oh and it’s fabulous with that chocolate mousse cake (or any dessert) that you made for dinner.

Sec, Demi-Sec or Doux – this is the SWEET stuff

  • Serve this with dessert or AS a dessert.

What do you do when you’re ordering a bottle for the table and everyone’s eating something different?

Beaujolais or any of the lighter reds is perfect, as it can accompany everything from meat to fish.

Of course, when all else fails – ORDER CHAMPAGNE


7 Comments

About Zipporah Sandler

Zipporah Sandler AKA Zippy is a lifestyle and travel specialist who after living everywhere from Providence to Paris found herself suddenly residing in South Florida (something she swore she’d never do).

Whether it be San Pellegrino water or Louis Roderer Cristal, Zippy suggests that you keep your life sparkling and your glass full.

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Comments

  1. Katie says

    April 19, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    awesome post – I rarely drink wine (I’m a beer drinker) so this is super helpful.

  2. Cat Davis says

    April 19, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    Thanks for sharing these tips. I’ve never ordered or bought wine because I haven’t got a clue where to start, there’s so many choices out there.

  3. Kasandria Reasoner says

    April 19, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    I learned more about wine in this post than I have my whole 29 years lol
    Kas

  4. Zipporah says

    April 20, 2011 at 11:37 am

    The easiest? Just order what you love, that’s it. I only included the basics, but my favorite is Tempranillo, which is a heavy Spanish wine and I’d order it with ANYTHING, because I enjoy drinking it so much.

  5. Carley says

    May 18, 2012 at 9:11 pm

    This is a champagne site and I LOVE Champagne and I too think it should be drunk often. If you want to know what wine to pair with what food, go to a fine wine store and ask. Though I know a lot about food and wine pairing, I often refer to a book called “What to eat with what you drink”. It is very specific on pairings, even if it’s beer. The wine pairings posted here are questionable.

  6. Margot says

    August 29, 2012 at 9:21 pm

    Not a word about cheese? Nothing better than some bread, olive oil, cheese and a glass of red wine…

  7. Christopher says

    November 24, 2013 at 8:20 pm

    This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.

    I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seekling more of your magnificent post.
    Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!

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