Help: I start work today and need to know a little about wine!?

Question

I was supposed to start work at a restaurant at the end of this month but they are short handed today and asked me to fill in. They serve wine here and the manager asked me to go home and learn about what foods go with what wines. This restaurant serves fish, clams, and other seafood, chicken and filet mignon. Any advise would be greatly appriciated. I start at 5pm. :)

Answer 1

The rule of thumb is red wines pair best with red meat and aged cheese; white wines pair best with white meat and young cheese.

Without knowing exactly what is on your wine list, it's hard to be more specific than that.

What you might want to do is get the chef to give you some recommendations. A lot of the art of pairing wine with food is with the food itself. If that doesn't work, ask the manager for a little help.

If you get stuck, don't guess, ask someone -- either another server, the manager, host, etc. The last thing you want to do is to try to bluff a customer who may know more than you do about wine. Just explain that you've just started working there and you are still in the process of learning what wines you cellar and how they pair with the menu.

Answer 2

I worked for Olive Garden and used to do a lot of suggesting. if they order fish that is a white fish offer a sweet reisling to go with it as it will add a lot more flavor to the meal. if its a red fish like salmon offer a chardonay as it will really bring out the flavors and will clear the pallet before each bite.(the alcohol actually cleanses the pallet by stripping off the fats from the food.) if they are going to have clams then suggest probably a pinot grigio something italian because it will highten the flavors sooo much! most seafoods will use a good white wine. the blushes are for those who really dont like wine but will drink it for the sweetness as they have no real definitions for taste. chicken would be good with a chardonay or a good pinot noir. filet would be great with a cabernet or a shiraz for those with pizzaz. read the back of the bottles and tell your guests what the bottles say. not word for word but use that for a guide as it will increase your tips. get them to laugh also the more you make it seem like you know wine the more you will sell even if you dont.

Answer 3

The very basics:
White wine with fish
red wine with beef.
White wines are served first with appetizers, moving to older heavy Cabernets or red wines later, and and ending with a sweet dessert wine (Sauterne) or a port wine. This is just a general guideline, most people will give you an idea what they want and how much they want to spend. Remember, a good wine is determined by vintage, not by price! Great recent vintages of French wines are 1982, 1996, 2000, 2003.
Great vintages for California wines are 1997, 1993 and 1994, 2001 and 2002.

Answer 4

The rule of thumb that red wine should be served with red meats and white wine with chicken, fish, and sea food is a basic rule that can help (though it is not always true... The sauces and other ingredients in the dish can influence which wine will goes best.

Read about the characteristics of the most common wine varietals and the food they go best with at this site: http://www.cheers2wine.com/food-and-wine.html

I would also ask the other servers at your restaurant which wines sold in the restaurants are favorites with the different type of dishes...especially whatever the popular dishes or specials are.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Ok white meat (chicken and seafood) white wine
chardonay and pinot grigio most common white wines
Dark meat (red) red wine
merlot, cabernet, pinot nior most common reds
They usually have house wine in most restaurants which means for every kind of wine the restaurant picks the brand so if someone says pinot grigio without a particular brand don't worry the bartender will give you the house pinot grigio if they ask for Santa Margarita pinot grigio it must be on the wine list
you'll do fine it may sound complicated but you will catch on quick--dont hesitate to tell people it's your first day if you get flustered-people are pretty understanding especially if they know that
Good Luck

Answer 6

Here's a great cheat sheet:

How to Pair Food & Wine

1. Decide what the main ingredients and dominant flavors of the meal are.

2. Select a white wine with chicken, fish, and seafood. These wines would include Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurtraminer.

Note: Chardonnay is best w/ strongly flavored dishes. The others are lighter & complement most dishes.

3. Choose Riesling and sweet Gewurtraminers if your meal is spicy. The sweetness of these wines can be drank quickly to offset the spiciness of the food.

4. Select a Red wine for beef and lamb dishes. These wines would include Barbera, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel.

5. Serve Barbera, Sangiovese, or Zinfandel with tomato based meals.

6. Choose Pinot Noir for salmon, duck, and mushroom dishes.
http://www.wikihow.com/Pair-Food-and-Wine

Another cheat sheet: http://www.winewebcentral.com/merlot/Pairings.htm

More links for later: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/wd_basics/article/0,,FOOD_10016_1746111,00.html
http://www.ehow.com/Search.aspx?s=pair+food+and+wine&Options=
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/drinking/wine

Good luck!

Answer 7

Actually, most of the wine pairing rules have gone out the window in recent years. I still sort of use them though. Dry whites with chicken, seafood, veal, and heavier reds like cabernet with beef, although pinot noir and merlot are hot right now. Any wine that says "demi-sec" is a sweeter wine. And when in doubt, sparkling wine/Champagne goes with everything.

Answer 8

For most seafood, white wines will do. Dry whites in particular meaning white wines that are not sweet. Seafood such as salmon could use a heavy white such as chardonnay, or light red wine such as pinot noir. Filet Mignon, definitely a big, bad, bold red like a Cabernet Sauvignon pronounced (kab-er-nay saw-vin-yawn).

Answer 9

Take your time and do your best to learn about wine and food and you could also ask someone who works at the bookstore for an advise on a good book on food and wine.

Answer 10

Check out Olive Garden.com...they have there whole menu on there website with what wines go best!