There are certain guidelines to order wines at fine dining restaurants. Items on the wine list may differ among restaurants, yet the usual order goes in the way as champagne, white wine, red wine, and dessert wine. Wines on the list are normally classified according to names, vintages, and prices. They are also sub-divided into regions such as Burgundy and Bordeaux. Get to know more about the characteristics of wines from different regions, you will have more confidence to order wines.

Dining with guests who know wine, you'd better let them do the wine ordering. However, to avoid feeling embarrassed for ordering expensive wines, they will usually turn down your offer. In such cases, you may ask what they prefer about the countries or wine regions, and then select two or three bottles of wines for them to choose. They will appreciate your consideration for them. Nevertheless, some people would order some famous brands to show high respect to the guest.

But if you don't know much about wine, you'd better talk to a sommelier (a trained and knowledgeable wine professional at restaurant), telling him about the food you ordered and your preferences for wine. The sommelier will offer you choices. Never pretend that you know wine and make a bad choice on your own without listening to others. Always seek for an advice before you make your decision.

For a party of two, a bottle of wine (750ml) to go with the meal is perfect. However, if you have a red to go with the red meat for the main course and some seafood for the entree, you may order a glass of white wine to go with the seafood. If you don't drink much, you may order a single glass of red or white instead of a bottle. Six glasses equal a bottle of wine, of course, ordering a whole bottle offers you a lower price.

Roughly speaking, as red wine is medium to full bodied, it pairs well with food with heavier texture such as steaks, roasted meat, duck, and heavy cheese. White meat is lighter, so it goes well with white wine as the acidity enhances the crispness. In general, food with heavy texture pairs with wines of fuller body and vice versa. Yet, it does not mean that white wine must go with white meat and red wine with red meat. Different methods of cooking change the taste of food entirely, which is especially true when it comes to sauces. Therefore, the key is to try more wines, taste them, and trust your taste buds. Furthermore, fine wines pair with simple cuisines whereas fine dishes go with average wines. Food and wine should complement with each other, not the other way round. The order of drinking is white wines first, followed by red wines; young wines precede the old ones. At a restaurant or wine tasting party one has to drink a variety of wines, the same rule applies, white before red, light before strong, dry before sweet, and average before fine. You will lose your taste buds if you drink light wines after full-bodied wines or you feel bitter drinking dry wines after sweet wines. Don't take a mouthful and swallow without tasting, it is a waste especially for the fine wines. Taste wine in the right order and you will find the enjoyment.

A sommelier will take care of a bottle of wine, whether it is ordered in the restaurant or BYOB (bright your own bottle). He will first let the host read the label of the wine to make sure that it is the right bottle and then he will open the bottle in front of the host. After that, the sommelier will pour a small portion into the host's glass to let him/her taste. If you are the host, you don't have to feel uneasy or play cool, just be yourself, swirl the glass gently to breath the wine a bit, and smell the wine. If the aroma is okay, take a sip. If everything is fine, give a nod of approval to the sommelier for him to go ahead with pouring the wine to every guest. But if you smell something unusual, let the sommelier judge it. It is always safe to seek for a professional advice. The order for serving is ladies first, then the guests, you're always the last one to serve.

Temperature affects the taste and smell of wine. For the majority of white wines the serving temperature ranges from 8 to 10 oC, for red wines it is from 16 to 18 oC, and sweet wines it is from 9 to 12 oC. Low temperature locks the aroma of wines whereas high temperature enhances the acidity in white and makes the body of red wine rough. In addition, the shape of wine glasses plays an important role as every style of wines goes with its own shape of glasses. Moreover, some red wines need to be decanted, a process to let the wine breath. If you dine at a fine restaurant, a sommelier will take care of everything for you.

Mr Ronnie Chan is an accredited international Bordeaux Wine Educator of the Bordeaux Wine School (Bordeaux L'Ecole du Vin) on Bordeaux wine schools of the PRIME of the Hong Kong Management Association.