Red or white?

Happy 2016 to all of you! It was a great New Year’s Eve for me and my friends. I hope you had a great holiday and made a resolution to drink more wine. So what is the most popular questions we all get asked at functions; red or white?

If you have ever been to a party or event and as everyone is milling around during the cocktail hour the inevitable question comes up, red or white? This is the best place to learn a few tips that make the choice easier and more rewarding. Here is my three point plan to answer the question.

It is usually (but not always) a fact that midrange white wine is far less expensive than its comparable red brethren. To that end, ask what the wines actually are that you are being offered. Is it the choice of a Chardonnay versus a merlot? French versus California? If you like one of the grapes on a general basis, go with that one. But, don’t be afraid to try something new, particularly when a glass of the unknown may be a revelation. Not to be a snob, but it is never as simple as white or red in that scenario!

My second piece of advice is do you recognize the producers? Is the label familiar in any way? If one of the choices resonates with you in either a positive or negative way, use that to your advantage. My early days of wine obsession started with a few key wines I liked and they were widely available and modestly priced. If Pinot Grigio is a favorite of yours, and you have had the wine being offered before, embrace your good fortune, and enjoy!

My third piece of advice, don’t be afraid to “cheat off your neighbors paper.” If you have a friend or coworker at the function and you have a belief that they have a keener sense of wine than you, don’t be afraid to “have what they are having.” I learned a lot about wine and particular producers, grapes and vintages this way. Sometimes that other person is not as knowledgeable as you think, or enjoys different varietals than you, but it is still not a bad way to choose.

A few little tidbits to consider are environmental in nature. Don’t judge a book by its cover; by that I mean, don’t let the venue cloud your choice. Fancy hotels and meeting spaces buy cheap and poor quality wines. It hasn’t been that long since we were offered wines in carafes at nice hotels.

My second tidbit is to ask the server. Often times these folks have some working knowledge of what they are serving. I have also found that they will be honest if they don’t know what to offer. These folks mostly work for tips, so they have an incentive to be helpful.

Lastly and most important tidbit is check out the glassware. I will go “full snob” here and say that a great red wine in a bad glass, may not be great. Chardonnay is more forgiving than a nice burgundy or Cabernet. If the glassware is standard narrow stemware, don’t expect any wine to shine. My personal snobbery is at its height when I order a bottle of wine and the server does not offer the proper glassware. It tells me they don’t understand how to properly serve the customer. How many terrific bottles of wine have been “dumbed down” by the wrong glassware?

So when presented with the question of “red or white,” again, you are now armed with the tools to make a good choice. I would always choose to expand your wine tasting if you can, but as I always tell my friends when asked, drink what you like, even if it’s rosè!