There's nothing better than going out for a lovely meal and sharing a bottle of good wine. But choosing and ordering a bottle in a restaurant can be quite intimidating at times!

So here are 3 Wine Time Tips to help you in those moments...

If you're in a restaurant and there’s a bottle that takes your fancy, but you're a bit afraid to invest because you don't know if you'll like it, here's what to do!

See if they do it by the glass and ask for a little tester. If it's not quite right, ask for another tester of something else, then when you find one you like you can be confident to order the bottle. It’s no skin off their nose, as the bottle’s already open and pourable to others. It means you will end up with a bottle of something you are happy with and know you will enjoy! Give it a try next time you’re out for dinner, the right waiter would rather you invest something you like and order another.

If you order a bottle and it comes out with a screw cap instead of a cork, do you panic that the quality isn't going to be good? No need! If anything, a screw cap can guarantee more freshness and avoids any chance of oxidation, or cork taintage. It's just the old school or more traditional winemaker/producers that sometimes prefer to stick with the lovely sentiment and slight oxidation of a cork. You can get premium, fine wines with both a cork and screw cap, and how it is sealed doesn't determine the quality!

What to do when the waiter asks whether you would like to try your wine? The only reason we try wine at restaurants is to check whether it's corked or been oxidised, and that would really only happen if the bottle was sealed with a cork. So really, if they ask when it's a screw top, you're only trying it to see if you like it, but you can still do the 'See, Smell & Sip' tasting to be sure!

What you do is give it a check for sediment or haziness then swirl & smell it, and if it was corked it would smell of soggy dog or damp cardboard, if not, it should smell floral or fruity and most importantly lovely. Then just have a quick sip, check it's not horrible and vinegary, if so it might have been oxidised, if not... let's hope you like it! ENJOY!

Thanks for reading Wine Time Tips!

Any questions or comments just jot them down below, I'd love to hear from you!

Image by Wine Time Tips