How do you choose your wines?

[Nicko]

Ok thought I would get a poll going to see how the rest of you pick your wines...

So, when you are at a restaurant or at the wine shop and need a bottle for the evening how do you pick the wine.

Often I try to read up on a particular variety and then pick from some recommendations.

If I am at a restaurant and am not familiar with any of the wines then I usually ask the sommellier.

[cape chef]

I only buy wine that comes in pretty bottles...I am never disapointed

Kidding!

I choose wine in conjunction of what I am preparing or eating.

When I am in a restaurant I usually feel comfortable selecting the wines on my own. When I feel I need some suggestions I never hesitate to enlist the insights of a Sommeilier, this is what they are trained in.

I also follow quite a few different Vinyards from around the world that have never let me down, so I refere to them when in dought.

I get a real kick out of reading a number of different reviews by the wine press, many times they are very different opinions. This is the time I find the wine they are reviewing and taste it for myself.
This will give me a better idea of who's taste is more closly related to mine, and I will end up trusting there reviews.

[katbalou]

i vote for the one with the cool label. actually i have a very hard time obtaining wine in restaurants, i'm extremely allergic to sulfites and most restaurants do not carry sulfite free wines. this can be a real bummer as i really like a nice red on occasion. try drinking ice water with a steak, yuck.
i do occasionally get lucky in the local health food store and find organic wines, but they're kind of boring. if any one has the name of a good natural vineyard i'd appreciate the information.

[Suzanne]

Between Hubby and myself, we know the basic characteristics of a lot of varietals and blends. So if that's what we see on a list, we're okay on our own. If we see something unknown (a particular vineyard, say, or a known varietal from a new region), we might just order it to see what it's like -- if it won't cost too much. I like to ask the waiter or sommelier to describe the wines that catch our eye. This almost always works out well (always with a sommelier, usually with a waiter in a good restaurant).

It really helps to know the basics, in order to match the wine to the foods. And to be flexible in your tastes.

[fodigger]

I second CC. I use all of them except the pretty label idea. I have had some wines that were pretty good that had really nice labels though

[nancya]

I've already confessed to picking the wine with the pretty label, so there's no use pretending.

Actually, I like the pretty bottle even better because at least I end up with a pretty bottle no matter how bad the wine is.

I'm annoyed today because I printed out CC's list of wines to look for and then left it at home when I went to Rapid City yesterday. Grrrrrr.

I did buy a Reisling in a pretty bottle though. That was for the fella I see who likes that sweet German wine. I like the bottle.

Nancy

[Isa]

As a kid when I bought a bottle of wine as a present for my dad, I would go by the name. I'd choose a chateau something, that sounds very French.