14 Mistakes You're Probably Making When Ordering Wine

Ordering wine is tough. I should know: In my years of working in restaurants and bars, serving countless glasses of wine to customers and undertaking wine training on the regular, I've seen virtually every mistake going when it comes to ordering this all-time drink. The problem with wine is that it's kinda a scary world, and it's easy for it to all become pretty overwhelming. There are six primary types of wine, but within all of those there are countless styles from regions all around the world, aged for a number of years resulting in a ton of different flavors. It's very easy to become baffled quickly, and to make a choice when ordering that ends up clashing with your meal or your taste.

It's also easy to stick to what you know (which is understandable) and end up missing out on some seriously delicious options that could become your next favorite wine. You might end up managing to avoid all of this, and make the right choice but at the wrong time. It's a bit of a minefield, right? Well, never fear: I'm here to draw on my experience and let you know the top mistakes you're likely making — from always ordering a bottle to selecting wine based on its vintage — as well as how to avoid them. Cheers!

"Shall we get a bottle?" is a phrase people like to hear. However, it may not be the smartest choice for your meal. Although ordering a bottle of wine between a couple of friends can be a great way to keep things marginally cheaper and compare taste notes, it can also be a risky game if you're settling in for a long meal or dining with just one other person. Ordering white wine by the bottle, for example, can seem smart — but if you're eating at a restaurant that has no mechanism for keeping that bottle cool, it may end up warming up quickly, ruining its flavor and the experience. If you're eating with just one other, you might find that you can't move through the bottle as quickly as you'd like, limiting the amount of different types you can try.

So, before you order, think about whether you'll really need, or want, a bottle. Bear in mind that ordering wine by the glass isn't actually that much more expensive a lot of the time, and doing so will allow you to taste a few different options. Additionally, your restaurant might do wine by the carafe, which is a good middle ground.

We all know the drill. Your server shows you the bottle of wine, releases the cork or takes off the top, and asks if you want to taste it. You politely decline: It seems like you're just going through the motions, and after all, you don't really know why they're asking or what you're looking for. So, imagine that you do all that, and then you end up with a bottle that tastes a little ... off. Even if you saw them open it, every sip is a bit funky and strange, and you wish you'd have had the courage to just take that darn first swig when they offered.

This ritual isn't just for show. Tasting wine before you agree to it allows you to check for any imperfections, which can be present even if the wine hasn't been opened before. The cork may have deteriorated, which can both lead to an altered taste and give the wine time to oxidize, with older vintages being more susceptible. So, even if your wine seems untampered with, it can still degrade — and it could always be old opened wine too. While you can definitely call the server back to request a new bottle once they've left and you've tried it, it's just good etiquette to taste it the first time they ask.

Bordeaux, Tuscany, Burgundy, the Loire Valley: If you're into wine, these are probably names you've heard time and time again. We all know that these regions produce some highly popular, drinkable wines, and I know from personal experience that wines from these areas are by far the best sellers in a lot of bars and restaurants. However, I also know that in the places I've worked, the wine list is carefully curated to include a host of options from different regions, which you might be missing out on.

So next time you're ordering wine, take a chance and go for a wine from a different place. Not only will you be throwing your support behind a region that's likely less popular than the star areas listed above, but you'll also likely experience some totally new flavors. Wine taste is determined largely by geography, and going for a wine produced in a cool climate, like those made in New Zealand or Piedmont, Italy, will give you a crisper, slightly more acidic taste. If you like warmer climate wines, which have a rounder taste, try wines from the Argentinian Río Negro region. 

There are plenty of white wines out there that fans love — and they all deserve to be drunk at the right temperature. White wine needs to be slightly chilled to highlight its delicacy and take the edge off its acidity, but it can quickly come up to ambient temperature — especially if you're drinking it outside on a summer day or in a warm restaurant. When white wine gets warmer, its acidic notes instantly come to the forefront, and you'll find that what was once cooling and crisp ends up a little bit unpleasant and vinegary.

This happens most frequently when you order a large glass of white wine. There's a reason why white wine is generally served in smaller glasses: Not only does the drinkware capture the wine's delicate aromas more effectively, but it also helps to keep portions of a chilled vintage moderate and cool down to the last gulp. In my opinion, you should always go for a small over a large if ordering by the glass. Importantly, too, small glasses are not that much less cost-effective than large ones.

If you've ever been in a restaurant (and I'm willing to bet the vast majority of the folks reading this have), you'll know that most of the time, you start with your drinks. Your food order is usually placed when said drinks arrive at your table, and you're then free to sit back and enjoy your evening. Now, this order of service naturally encourages you to make a drinks choice before a food one — but if you pick your wine without having a sense of the dish you want, you could be doing things wrong.

Remember that wine in restaurants is designed to go with the food, not the other way around. In the restaurants I've worked in, wine lists are painstakingly curated to correspond with the menu. If you don't know what you want to eat yet, you can end up picking a wine that totally clashes with your eventual meal. The solutions are easy. Either have a sense of what you want to eat before picking the wine and use that initial approach from the server as an excuse to order an additional cocktail or a different drink (and then grab the wine upon their return), or ask for a few extra minutes and pair your wine with your food in one go. 

Everyone knows the rule that white wine goes with fish, and most of us stick by it. It makes sense: White wine has the necessary crispness and lightness required not to overwhelm seafood, and it plays well into the briny notes of fish and crustaceans. However, this is a wine pairing myth you should get over. I've seen people go for white wine over a light red, rosé, or sparkling wine with their seafood all too often, and let me tell you, this can be a real missed opportunity.

Opting for a different type of wine with seafood gives you an opportunity to introduce some gentle, yet exciting contrast to your meal. If you opt for rosé, for example, you get just a touch more fullness that suits slightly bolder, fishier seafood well. Light red, on the other hand, can be excellent with a choice like salmon, and it gives your experience way more body. Conversely, sparkling wine can be an excellent choice for light, delicate fish.

Look, I know that we're all creatures of habit, and that's never as true as when people are ordering wine. We tend to stick to what we know when it comes to this beverage, and for good reason. Wine is expensive, after all, and if you know you like sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio, why would you choose something else? Because you're missing out if you don't, that's why. Wine comes in all sorts of different flavor profiles, from hugely crisp and honeyed and mellow, and you might just find your new favorite style if you're brave enough.

So, next time you're at a restaurant, ask your server or sommelier their opinion. Say what you like, but that you want to try something new. They'll quickly guide you to a cool choice. Folks who like grenache, for instance, might be guided to try priorat instead, a blend made of grenache, syrah, and cabernet sauvignon grapes that's a tiny bit heavier. If you like something more full-bodied, give monastrell a go, which can take cabernet sauvignon's place for meals that lean into heaviness.

When it comes to wine, one of the watchwords is "heaviness," and it's something you really need to consider. A punchy, bold wine can be a taste sensation, but it can also quickly overpower your meal. If you've opted for a sagrantino, a petite sirah, or a tannat, you might be slightly blown away by how intense the flavors are, and if you've ordered a chicken or pork dish to go alongside this, good luck tasting your food properly.

Heavy wine can overwhelm the mouth and the palette, and while some foods can hold their own to a full-bodied red, others simply can't compete. To avoid this, make sure you carefully consider what type of food experience you're going to have, and then order your wine accordingly. If you're clueless about wine, ask the sommelier what they'd recommend for both the food you're thinking about ordering and the type of drink you generally like. If you're really worried, order by the glass.

Ah, the second-cheapest bottle. Most of us have picked this wine time and time again, either to not look cheap on a date (but also to not blow our budget) or to hopefully ensure a good wine at a reasonable price. However, it's also worth considering that going for this bottle at the expense of any other option could be a big mistake. If you're not that into wine, and you just want something drinkable, it's totally fine — but you may also be paying above the odds and missing out.

The second-cheapest bottle of wine is fairly notorious for being marked up a little too high by unscrupulous restaurant owners who know people always go for it. Now, that may not be entirely true: In the restaurants I've worked in, that hasn't always happened. However, it's certainly true that this wine is often widely available and (say it quietly with me) ever so slightly overpriced for what it actually is. Perhaps even more importantly, it's also kind of an uncreative choice. Almost any other type of wine on the menu is likely to be more interesting and quirky, and if you're willing to part with just a few extra dollars you might have a much better time.

So here's the thing: Restaurants and bars don't have access to some entirely different wine world that you can never, ever access. There's a lot of crossover these days between the types of wine sold by wholesalers and the types of wines you can get in your supermarket — and while eateries do their best to offer something different, a lot of the time, they all come from locations you can probably find yourself.

This means that you may well be ordering a wine that you can find in a liquor store near you for way less than you're about to pay. Naturally, you're also buying the experience of drinking it in a restaurant or bar, but you're also going to be paying way above the odds in a lot of cases. So, here's a top tip: Before you order your wine, do a bit of Googling to see where you can get it. If you find it at a local supermarket for a couple bucks, avoid it and buy it on the way home (just avoid making one classic mistake at the wine store). If, however, you find that the wine you're interested in is pretty rare, go for it and savor the wonderful feeling of ordering something both hard-to-find and delicious.

I hereby release you from all your shame around wine. Industry professionals like me make it our business, and our livelihoods, to know all there is to know about drinks like these — but look, there's no denying it: Wine is confusing, and daunting! There are lots of technical terms, lots of tasting notes that feel inscrutable, and lots of "rules" around how to drink it. It's easy for folks to fall at the first hurdle when they're ordering it, out of fear that they seem stupid or that they'll be judged for not knowing their stuff, and end up apologizing for no reason.

Well, don't worry. Our job is to help you make the right choice, not to make you feel bad about not knowing much about wine. There's no need to say sorry. Instead, just tell us what you like, what you normally drink, whether you want to try something new, and the types of wines you usually avoid. We'll make sure you get a glass that you like, choose natural wine over a regular one, and probably save you money too. 

How much do you know about vintages? If it's not much, let me explain. The word "vintage" simply refers to the year that the grapes were harvested. This is important as there are good years and not-so-good years when it comes to wine, and picking a wine that has a good vintage can help you get a better quality glass.

However, it's really not the only thing you should think about when you're picking your wine, and too many people do just that. Vintage can have a big impact on wine, but it's not the only thing that determines its quality — and you can often pick a wine by its vintage, but not like the base style, rendering the whole activity useless. Plus, there are plenty of good wines that come from off years, which you may prefer thanks to their slightly different effect on the palette. While vintage is important to ask about and consider, you don't need to be an expert on it. Most of the time, restaurants include wine on their menus because it's good across the board, so trust that you'll pick right.

One more for the road? It's a phrase we all love to hear — but if you're referring to wine when you're saying it, make sure you mix things up. Ordering the same bottle again, either halfway through a meal or when you're enjoying that post-dinner glow, may seem sensible if you enjoyed it the first time around. However, it's an unadventurous choice that stops you from trying something new and deepening your overall experience.

Additionally, it's worth thinking about whether that second bottle will complement the course to come. That peachy bottle of white may have worked with your fish course, but what if you're about to have a steak? If you're finishing off your meal with a fruit plate, are you really going to want your cabernet sauvignon to get in the way? Veer away from the established path, and try something new.

When it comes to wine, sparkling and dessert wines are often a bit of an afterthought. In my experience, people tend to veer way more towards white and red than these alternative options. The thing is, though, is that the wine world is a rich tapestry, and opting for a sparkling in place of a flat wine, or topping your meal off with some dessert wine, is an exciting way to mix things up.

Don't forget that sparkling wine doesn't just come in white, light forms. Sparkling rosés and reds are increasingly popular, with red Italian varieties like lambrusco and brachetto d'Acqui taking the wine world by storm and providing a balance of lightness and a full-bodied red flavor. Elsewhere, sparkling rosés made with a combo of chardonnay and pinot noir grapes offer a gentle fruitiness with the crispness you'd get from a prosecco or a cava. As for dessert wines, port, sherry, and Madeira all offer a sweet, yet bold way to finish off your meal. If you're in doubt about which dessert wine you'd like, ask your server what they'd suggest based on your personal tastes.