Sometimes I'm in the mood for a certain wine, order a bottle, then get around to looking at the menu and see something that is totally wrong with my wine. Barring always ordering by the glass at that point where the selections are worse, should you always peruse the menu first and switch your buds then?

My method is:

- order a glass of Champagne immediately

- peruse the menu and make selection(s)

- order bottle(s) of wine to compliment the food

Champagne is always a good way to start a meal,and it allows you something to sip while considering the menu and wine list.

Occasionally, I'll pick out the wine before the food, but the bubbly always comes first.

Every restaurant I go to I have an idea of what kind of food they serve so it's not brain surgery bringing a wine from my cellar or ordering off of their list.

Purple, yeah, I like your style...champagne does seem to get the tastebuds going. The wife's fav as well. But I'm with you most of the time. Menu/food first, then the wine asap to let it breathe while I'm making the final food choices.

If you are at a restaurant with a good glass selection, then I would say start with Champagne or Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc to help open your palette further. Then select a red wine that pairs best with what you order.

Unless you are with company that appreciates above average priced wine, go along with something like a modestly-priced Merlot or Pinot Noir. If you order a bottle that is more expensive, then that would mean you would get only 1 glass of something that you enjoy but that others at the table would treat like any other table wine.

I am not 100% positive whether I addressed your questions at hand. Please let me know.

I guess I'm going against convention, but I order a wine I like regardless of what food I'll be having; sometimes it's a complimentary pairing, other times, not so much.

For what it is worth....
in much of France, if you order a bottle of wine first, before you order dinner, it is considered a major breach of etiquette. It is not unusual for a waiter to refuse to take your order for a bottle of wine until everyone at the table has ordered dinner.

If the French consider it a breach of ettiquette, I'm all for it. I consider not bathing a breach of ettiquette.

In answer to the original question, I look at both the wine list and the menu before deciding on either the food or the wine.

I ALWAYS look at the wine list first. If a particular wine catches my eye, I'm very adaptable to revising my food selection to that. I won't ORDER the wine without at least seeing what I'll pair it with. However, the WINE usually rules.....

seldom order the wine until we know what we are eating.

My wife and I generally know what type of food we are in the mood for when we go out, and what type of foods the restaurant usually serves. So after a quick glance at the menu to see what there is I usually spend the bulk of the selection time on wine. Usually I pick a wine to go with the food I'm in the mood for then I pick the actual food that would go best with the wine.

quote:

Originally posted by Purple Teeth:
My method is:

- order a glass of Champagne immediately

- peruse the menu and make selection(s)

- order bottle(s) of wine to compliment the food

Champagne is always a good way to start a meal,and it allows you something to sip while considering the menu and wine list.

Occasionally, I'll pick out the wine before the food, but the bubbly always comes first.

This is also my method, it's a lot of fun and always works out well.

Must be sparkling to start I'm thinking most restaurants don't pour real champagne by the glass. At least the ones Iv'e worked at over the past few dacades.