Consumers just need a little TLC

Some people get a bit stressed when it comes to choosing a good wine.
By PETER M. GIANOTTI
LONG ISLAND NEWSDAY
Wine has been around for about 7,000 years. Trouble picking a good bottle is of more recent vintage.
"People feel intimidated," said James Dunne, who teaches culinary arts and hospitality management at New York Institute of Technology in Central Islip, N.Y.
"You walk into a liquor store all ready to buy, and then you feel like you've walked around a mall for six hours till you're foggy," and go for a familiar, well-marketed bottle or one with a pretty label.
"People just want to go into a restaurant or wine store and be able to buy something."
So, to the list of history's unnerving documents, ranging from a tax audit to a draft notice, many Americans would add a wine list.
Although more Americans for the first time say they prefer wine to beer, 39 percent to 36 percent, according to a recent Gallup Poll, terms such as "appellation" and "tannin" still seem part of a different language. Even today, there's a mystique to it, with all that swirling, sniffing and spitting, and those frequently unclear labels.
And restaurant wine lists can run from the single sheet at a local joint, providing no more than a name and a price, to leather-bound books with thousands of choices, such as the one at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor.
"You're afraid of either feeling stupid or having the same old experience," said Louisa Thomas Hargrave, an educator and founder of the winery that started the industry on Long Island in 1973. "I think people have a really hard time getting information," she said. The same topics are constantly rehashed.
Express yourself
Hargrave advises consumers to "be prepared to say what you like and what you don't, and what you like with food, because wine and food are what it's about."
Diners often read a wine list right to left, looking first at the price. That makes some sense. Generally, the very high end and in many cases the very low can be safely avoided.
A wine list often has high markups, and a restaurant is no place to start your wine education.
"I'm a fan of a small wine list that gives me great bang for the buck, something truly right for your food," Dunne added.
While it's smart to save the big investment for a wine at home, rather than paying the restaurant markup, also be aware that some restaurants may offer wines you might not be able to find anywhere else, making the price a comparative bargain. It all depends on your budget and interest.
The other wine-list question: What goes with everything?
If you're a group of four, each ordering very different dishes, and don't want to spend a fortune pairing wines with each of them, avoid the extremes: for example, brooding Barolos and lush Bordeaux, or airy chenin blanc and fizzy white zinfandel. More versatile reds include Beaujolais, Chianti and lighter merlots; easy-drinking whites include Muscadet, pinot blanc and pinot grigio. You can find them for less than $20.
An adventure
Pairing food and wine should be fun, not difficult. Instead of sticking to the old rule of white with fish and red with meat, be flexible and think more about lighter wine with lighter fare, and richer wine with richer food. Pinot blanc works with sole, chardonnay with lobster; Chianti with red-sauced pasta, cabernet sauvignon with a porterhouse steak.
More restaurants, fancy and chain, now make respectable wine recommendations to go with different courses, too. While formal sommeliers, who oversee wine service, are increasingly rare in the metropolitan area, they can be of considerable assistance, especially with older, pricier wines. But you also can face staff members who barely know which one is red and which is white, and nevertheless make recommendations from sketchy lists. Go into a restaurant with a few ideas about the type of wine you've enjoyed, and what were some good years for it. The vineyard is basically a farm. Every crop isn't great every year.