Because of my perfect pairing obsession, a great wine list at a restaurant is uber-important to me. What makes a great wine list? One that gives me plenty of clues about what the wine tastes like. (The more information the better!) A helpful, knowledgeable staff person will also bring me back to that restaurant.

If I’m at a cafe where wine is not a big deal, I can order the house Chianti and feel fine, but if I am at an expensive restaurant, I really want a satisfying wine and food experience.

Have you ever been to a really fancy restaurant where a Wine Captain with a medallion hanging around his neck hands you a leatherbound wine list with no descriptors? (This can happen at the neighborhood place too…sans the medallion.) When a restaurant doesn’t provide good written information, it’s easy to feel completely lost: which leaves two options, close your eyes and pick or ask for a suggestion. Unfortunately, I have found that restaurants with unhelpful lists also make disappointing suggestions.

You can increase your chances of having a perfect pairing by frequenting restaurants that enthusiastically teach their customers about wine. Servers will talk about specific flavors in the food and wine, offer tastes, gladly exchange a glass (not a bottle) if it’s not right, and ask your opinion about the pairing so they can learn too.

Let me know about your favorite wine-friendly restaurants!