Pro Tips: a new series on Joy the Baker wherein I ask my expert friends loads of questions about their field and get the nitty gritty for all of us. Previously: Ask A Financial Planner
Today I’m talking with one of my very best friends, Whitney Adams. Whitney is a sommelier, wine writer, wine traveler, and YouTube sensation. I love Whitney’s approach to wine: it’s playful, practical, not too stuffy, and just totally down to earth. She’s made the wine world feel accessible to me, and I’m still drinking $15 wine… now it’s just good $15 dollar wine.
I asked Whitney some layman’s questions about ordering wine at restaurants and finding a good bottle at the grocery store. Here are her thoughts. They’ll be helpful to all of us when we’re staring an entire aisle of Kendall Jackson straight in the face.
First let’s talk about ordering wine in a restaurant. What’s a reasonable price to pay for a bottle of wine at a restaurant?
Whitney: A $20 dollar bottle of wine at the wine shop will be around $50 at a restaurant (although markups vary), so I like to hover in the $50-75 dollar range at a restaurant because that will get me a solid bottle of wine that won’t break the bank. If you’re buying a $30 bottle in restaurant, that’s probably a pretty cheap bottle of wine out in the world and why even bother to pay the overhead for it?
How do you order wine if you’re intimidated and feel like you don’t have a wine language?
Whitney: If the restaurant has a sommelier or wine director, ask for them. Don’t be afraid to have a conversation – that’s what they’re there for! And it’s more likely you’ll end up with a better wine than if you just blindly pointed at the list and picked something random. First, be clear about what you want to pay. Don’t be shy about your budget. It’s also helpful to know if you want to pair wine to your meal, or if you just want to drink something delicious. Give them as much direction as possible. Tell them what you usually drink and enjoy at home and have a few key examples on hand, like California Pinot or rustic Italian reds. Even if their list has neither, they will hopefully be able to find a great alternative.
Tip: ask for a taste of one or two of their wines by the glass (the bottles are already open) as a litmus test so you can say, “Oh this is too dry for me.” or “I want something lighter and less fruity than this.”
When is it appropriate to bring your own bottle of wine to a restaurant?
Whitney: There are a few times it’s appropriate. Like, if it’s a special occasion and/or you have a bottle that you’ve been saving? Bring it! If that restaurant doesn’t have the same wine already on the list, go for it. Just check their corkage policy so there are no surprises.
I also love bringing interesting bottles to hole in the wall (but delicious) mom and pop places like Chinese dim sum or spicy Thai or Korean BBQ. These places tend to have very low or no corkage fee and won’t be offended if you bring more than a few bottles to play around with, especially if their list strictly consists of “white” or “red” wine and light beer.
But wait… is it super tacky to bring your own wine to a restaurant?
Whitney: It can be slightly tacky to go into a restaurant that has a great wine list and bring in a meh bottle of wine because you’re trying to save money. Depending on the price of the bottle, after corkage, you might not even save that much.
If the wine is something special to you and you think it would pair well with the food, go for it. If it’s a really awesome or special bottle, it’s nice to offer a taste to the sommelier. We love when that happens.
Bottom line, just don’t show up to a restaurant with some Trader Joe’s Lambrusco.
As a sommelier in a restaurant, what do you wish people asked you?
Whitney: My dream customer is someone who asks me to share what I like with them, someone interested in what’s getting me excited and wants to hear about why it’s so cool. They are open-minded and adventurous and they trust me.
Now let’s talk about grocery store wine. HOW do you approach a grocery store wine aisle and find a good bottle of wine?
Whitney: Honestly, I don’t shop for wine at grocery stores. There are so many amazing wine shops in Los Angeles that it would be a crime. You can find much better values in the $20 and under price point at independent wine shops. That being said, not everyone has access to wine shops with good selections where they live. And there are times when I travel that I don’t either. So when I need to get wine at the grocery store, I stick to imports in the $10-$15. Anything pricier and it’s not worth the extra cash. Because any wine in the grocery store isn’t really gonna blow your mind, so don’t let it take your dollars too. You can definitely find a decent Spanish or French red in the grocery over a California red at the same price.
How important is it to go to a wine store?
Whitney: Going to a wine store is all about the experience. You’re exposed to wines that are carefully selected and sold by people who are passionate about them. You can walk into a wine store and have an actual conversation about what you like and what you don’t like, even in the simplest terms, just to get started. It’s about experimenting, but you have a higher chance of getting something you’re actually going to like because someone helped you through. And if you keep coming back, you can let them know what you did and didn’t like from the last stock-up. The staff will start to really get your palate and know what to recommend.
When you’re buying anything in life, where you buy something is a huge part of it and half the battle. Going to a place that already has good stuff, your chances are great you’re going to get something that makes you happy. And a good $12 bottle of wine is hard to find, but a wine shop does all the hard work of finding that bottle and carrying it in their limited shelf space.
If you’re wanting to step up your wine game and go beyond a cheap weeknight whatever wine, a good price range to get into at a quality wine shop is $18-25. That will take you to tier two and open up a whole new world of really great wines. I rarely spend more than that and drink some awesome stuff.
How can we improve our palates?
- Don’t get stuck in a wine rut. Try new things and be adventurous.
- Stock up. A lot of wine stores will offer discounts on half or full cases.
- Keep record of what you drank. Take photos of wine labels and/or notes about the wine (I like the Delectable app) and share them with the folks where you buy your wine.
- Go to tastings! Anytime the wine shop offers tastings and opens up lots of bottles at once, take advantage.
What are three ways to say Cheers that will make us seem more cool?
- Salute (sah-lew-tay). Because there’s a sexy Italian living inside all of us.
- Santé if you wanna get French with it.
- Prost. It’s one of my favorites, learned during a wine night of epic proportions in Vienna.
Recourses:
Whitney A on YouTube. This is what you need for approachable wine words and tips. Also follow Whitney on Instagram!
Punch. Some of the best wine journalists in the country write for Punch and they have their finger on the pulse of the wine world.
Eric Asimov is the NYTimes wine critic. He knows what’s up.
Wine Folly for maps and regional stuff, food pairing guides, cool infographics. It’s great for beginners.
photo: Whitney Adams
27 Responses
I have a question about a bottle of wine I bought in Paris 39 years ago It has never been opened. I am curious about its value and if one can still drink it.
It is Cabernet D’ Anjou bottom of label says “Chateau de Tigne”
Hi! What are a couple of good red and white wines for cooking? I don’t drink wine by the glass, but I do like cooking with it!
This is a really cool series that your doing!
Thanks,
Aimee
Love this! My husband is currently studying for his Level 2 Sommelier certification, so this is right up our alley.
We also own “Wine Folly” and I, as the less wine-savvy of the two of us, find it a really helpful and fun resource :)
The art! Who did the art in the email??!!!
This was so interesting. I’m always love learning more about wine (with the exception of the markup).
I love this! Thank you for this series. I just love wine, especially red. I want to get better at understanding the wine I am drinking, like is this fruity or nah, different regions, etc. We are going to Slovenia/Croatia next spring and I cannot wait to drink all the wine!
Great advice, great article, thanks!!
For people worrying about price, my friends and I like having wine parties where we all bring a bottle (or two) at a certain price point (usually $15 not more than $20) and try them with some delicious snacks and play board games. It’s a fun night, not overly expensive, AND you get to try a bunch of new wines without buying each one of them.
love the article – but what is that crazy picture behind the wine bottles?? I love it!
Totally agree about going to wine shops (if you have them nearby). Joining the wine club at our local shop has been a horizon-broadening experience, since we get to try wines we would never have thought of otherwise. A++ would join again. And for people living in no-wine-shop places, can you join an online club where the wine is shipped to you? Hopefully that’s legit…it would be sad to have to buy wine only from a state-run liquor shop!
I love, love, love this!! I follow Whitney on YouTube and so appreciate her approach to drinking wine. Thanks for sharing!!
Tchin! is pretty common in French as well
If anyone is interested, I bought an amazing bottle of Syrah at Trader Joes…. for only $5.99 the other night. It was on a whim, as I hear that sometimes Trader Joes sells overstock of good brand wines under their own label for cheaper. It was called Trader Joe’s Growers Reserve Syrah 2014. Our friends guessed a price point of $20-$30 before we told them what it was. My boyfriend went back for five more bottles.
This is so helpful! I am loving this series so far!
Very nice post and advices. Winestore is giving of course the special experience on top, maybe a bit of a trap in hands of a good salesperson over there :) So its good not to be afraid that we have a specific budget!
For ordering wine at the restaurant its always useful to ask, what is going well with food which is going to be ordered, so order first the food than the wine, works for us most of the time very well.
Great tip with taking a photo for the history of was already tried!
Thank you and Sa sdorovje (in russian) :)
I’m curious about the comment about buying imports over California wine. Is that a grocery store tip only, or do you actually dislike California wines? I’m definitely a wine amateur but have been happy with some California and Washington wines in the past. That said, I went to Spain this summer and now have a love for Spanish wines! ????
I feel like I don’t get the same experience living in Ontario (in Canada). Our wine and beer are mostly sold through the Beer Store and the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario). I have had a mostly awesome experience buying wine at the LCBO, but its not customized at all because not all of the employees have tried most of the wine, so you’re stuck trying to figure out what you want based on labels and the basic description that is sometimes below the wines, sometimes not. However, they do stock amazing Canadian wines (seriously, check out some Niagara wines from Canada – they’re amazing) and its easy to find your wine based on country.
Agreed! I’m super jealous of our American (and Albertan) friends and their wine stores….
I’m in PA in America and we can only buy wine at the liquor store, so the selection is always poor and disorganized. I wish I could buy nice wine :(
Totally feel you! When I visit Philly it’s so hard to pick good wine.
That is why many of us that live in the Philly region go to Total Wine in Delaware to pick up our wine.
I live in Ontario too. The LCBO does a fantastic job of sourcing a large variety of wines in different price points from all over the world. They buy in such vast quantities that the prices are generally good. Niagara has some great wines, true but I can buy fabulous imported wines for the same price and often less. Private wine stores would be awesome.
i absolutely loved this! i’m a novice wine drinker – been drinking wine for ages but it can get intimidating to try new things. This was really valuable and relatable info!!!
https://www.searedandshameless.com
“Zum Wohl” (to your health) is what you would say in a German-speaking country. (“Prost” is used when you are drinking beer.)
I just want to tell you how much I am enjoying this series! You always seem to have a creative surprise for us. I am older and primarily a plant based eater so I do not bake much. However, I always find your blog postings to be creative, fun, and kind. Thank you for sharing with us!
It is so frustrating to try to buy wine in the U.S. It’s so expensive! And a lot of it is just plain awful, even though it’s super expensive, because they’re boasting about being locally grown. Maybe local, but you can’t get decent wine from vines that are only a couple of years old. (I went to a tasting last week at a winery near me where the vines are over 100 years old.) Grocery stores are useless.
On the other hand, I found a great bottle of Burgundy in a small wine shop in the Midwest at barely more than what it would cost in France. And there was local plonk for the same price.
Slainte (s-lawn-t’cheh) is another one for you – it’s Irish for health (like the French toast).
It’s also Scottish too, although we would probably pronounce it a bit harder like s-lan-ge a-va (slàinte mhath) :)
Very interesting. Wine shops have really declined in popularity in the UK and it seems to be more of a place to buy wine for a special occasion rather than for an ordinary weekend – most people would tend to go to a supermarket (myself included) and not spend much more than £10 a bottle and you do get a pretty good range dependent on the size of the shop. We do have a good chain here called Majestic which you used to have to bulk buy from, but they would let you taste in store and host free tasting nights too!