How to Drink at a Wine Bar

Don't be intimidated—you're in the driver's seat!

Jonathan Cristaldi

The American wine palate is growing up, and so too are the standards for what constitutes a good wine-drinking experience at a bar. While most watering holes have a few bottles at the ready, to get the good stuff you’re going to brave a wine bar. The genre carries with it plenty of stereotypes—many of them born in the ’90s—about snooty sommeliers, marked-up prices, and dudes with mustaches pronouncing panino with an Italian accent.

Thankfully, the game is changing. Wine bars are shaking their fusty image, crafting quirkier and more individualized lists, and letting their hair down a bit. New York’s Terroir—which calls itself the “elitist wine bar for EVERYONE”—even hosts Heavy Metal Mondays with $2 shots of sherry and wine served out of skull cups.

Yet even as this new age dawns, navigating the unique pitfalls of the wine-bar ecosystem requires a bit of practice. The good news is that getting the most out of your vino experience simply requires having confidence in your own taste preferences, and keeping a few tips and caveats tucked away in your back pocket.

With that, here is your step-by-step guide to drinking at a wine bar, from choosing a seat to settling the tip.

Written by Jonathan Cristaldi (@NobleRotNYC)

The American wine palate is growing up, and so too are the standards for what constitutes a good wine-drinking experience at a bar. While most watering holes have a few bottles at the ready, to get the good stuff you’re going to brave a wine bar. The genre carries with it plenty of stereotypes—many of them born in the '90s—about snooty sommeliers, marked-up prices, and dudes with mustaches pronouncing panino with an Italian accent. Thankfully, the game is changing. Wine bars are shaking their fusty image, crafting quirkier and more individualized lists, and letting their hair down a bit. New York's Terroir—which calls itself the "elitist wine bar for EVERYONE"—even hosts Heavy Metal Mondays with $2 shots of sherry and wine served out of skull cups. Yet even as this new age dawns, navigating the unique pitfalls of the wine-bar ecosystem requires a bit of practice. The good news is that getting the most out of your vino experience simply requires having confidence in your own taste preferences, and keeping a few tips and caveats tucked away in your back pocket. With that, here is your step-by-step guide to drinking at a wine bar, from choosing a seat to settling the tip. Written by Jonathan Cristaldi (@NobleRotNYC)
You've arrived—where to sit?

The all-important choice of seating all comes down to your goals for the evening. If you're looking for maximum engagement, you'll want to put yourself front and center at the bar, right in the thick of things. From this perch, you can oversee the operation—which bottles are getting the most love? what are other people ordering? how are the wines stored?—and interact more freely with the bartenders. A little inquisitiveness and small talk may lead to a reward, liking getting poured a taste of something special that's not on the menu. If you're looking for a more casual experience, or you're rolling with company, a table might suit you better. Your server should be knowledgeable about the wine list, but likely won't be quite as well versed as the folks manning the bar.
Use Your Smartphone to Your Advantage

If you're drinking with friends and you’re the first to arrive, don't just twiddle your thumbs like a bozo or play Angry Birds—instead, take stock of the wine list. With some time to yourself, you can leverage the treasure trove of vinified info available through smartphone wine apps like Cor.kz, which lets you to look up community notes, ratings, and average prices from Cellar Tracker. Alternatively, if you want to impress with your “knowledge” once your date/friend arrives, find a wine from the list, like a Tempranillo or Sauvignon Blanc, and pull up the Approach Guides Wine App so you can memorize a general note or two about a grape varietal’s characteristics.
Bartenders vs. sommeliers

Know the difference. Not all bartenders at wine bars are sommeliers. Sommeliers have gone to school, taken classes, and received a certificate or diploma verifying that they are, indeed, certified sniffers and sippers of wine. If the place employs sommeliers, you know it's serious about its juice—don't be afraid to tap into this expertise (we'll get to that later). Unfortunately, it's not totally obvious who's a somm and who's not. A suit is a good tip-off (some stereotypes are true...), as well as a certain level of polish in hospitality. If you're really curious, here's a little trick you can use to find out: Ask for their Twitter handle like you're going tweet something rad, then check to see if there's a mention of their training in the profile bio.
Help them help you.

Regardless of official title, you can assume the person who's behind the bar or serving your table should know the pertinent details about the wines on the list. What they don't know, however, is your palate, and that's what's really important. Be confident in what you like, and any good server will do whatever he or she can to find you something you'll enjoy. If every wine on the list is foreign to you, offer up some details about your own taste preferences—for example, how you like your coffee (black or with cream and sugar?), or if you prefer a hoppy IPA or thick chocolaty stout beer. This information gives the cork-controller some direction when pouring you a wine or two to sample before committing to a glass.
Temperature and storage check

Even before perusing the wine list, do a little visual reconnaissance to see if the place is storing its precious bottles properly. Hopefully, you see temp-controlled refrigerators or cool dark spaces, because temperature is king in the enjoyment of wine—especially red wine—and these elements are indicative of the bar’s investment in the bottles they serve. Why pay $12-$15 per glass if the wine isn’t good enough to show at the correct serving temp? Generally speaking, reds should be served just below room temperature, or well below if the room is hot, otherwise they will taste more alcoholic and astringent than they should. Whites should have a chill on them but not be near freezing, otherwise you’ll lose delicate fruit and flower aromas.
Navigating the wine list

If the wine list is available online, check it out before you head to the bar; even a quick glance to see if the place is heavy on reds or whites, Old World (French, Italian, German), or New World (California, New Zealand, Argentina) can help you reduce the potentially immense amount of time you’ll take staring at wines you don’t know. Good lists will show a mix of value wines that are lower priced but high in quality, and premium wines that are higher priced and are smaller production or have garnered high ratings. Your task is to decide how much you want to spend and if the experience warrants breaking the bank over several glasses of wine versus ordering a bottle or two. Often, great value wines are tucked into a list because the wine buyer loves to drink them his/her self. Pick a price range and don’t be afraid to aim low, asking if there’s something really spectacular you should try for $35 or $45 a bottle. Conversely, if the wines all seem to be too recognizable and cheap, you might need to call it quits on the joint. If you don’t know anything about the wines listed, don’t be afraid to ask. Ask, ask, ask. Which brings us to the next point…
To ask or not to ask? Silly question, always ask!

Ask the stupid question, especially the one that seems “obvious,” as it will likely lead to discovery. Ask lots of questions and remember in turn to offer up as much information about your own taste preferences as possible. Have confidence. With good eye contact and strength in your voice, ask questions like, “Aren’t all Chardonnays buttery?” if you are afraid of being served a buttery Chardonnay. And, “What are Old World wines?” if you don’t know or aren’t sure. And, “I don’t know any of these wines, but I like Sauvignon Blanc. Help.” Well done. Now, it’s up to the bartender or sommelier to assuage your fears and engage in a short Q&A to either find you something safe and satisfying, or help you navigate to something new that could be appealing to you. Again, let them pour you a few tastes. Generally, it’s kosher to sample up to three different wines. Beyond that, you’re being too picky and unwilling to go outside your comfort zone, or you just look like someone trying to get a buzz on before committing to a full pour.
Glassware is king

Glassware, or stemware, should be a key deciding factor in your plans to ever return to the wine bar in question. Drinking good wine in a mason jar is like drinking a beer out of the dog’s water bowl. And anyone pouring wine in “European style” small wine tumblers has either never been to Europe or is just trying to save a dime (or both). Any respectable wine bar owner will tell you that glassware is crucial to the two key aspects of wine enjoyment: the aroma and the taste. You’re being deprived of at least one element if wine is served in improper stemware. One other tip: Take note if the glasses are hanging upside down—that’s bad as they can collect aromatic air particles that negatively influence the chemistry of a wine. Even worse is when glasses are hanging near or above where food is being prepped. If that’s the case, leave.
Wine and food pairings

Wine bars, more so than beer or cocktail bars, tend to have food—at least some cheeses and salumi, if not a full menu. This is because food and wine are a brilliant match, so you should certainly enjoy the two together to get the most out of a top-notch wine bar. Needless to say, food-and-wine pairings are an endlessly complex topic, but you can carry some rules of thumb with you as a guiding light. Most notably, pair similar style food with similar style wine—hearty and savory foods with robust and tannic wines; high sodium foods with high acid and mineral-driven wines; desserts with sweet wines. Again, these are “rules of thumb,” and thumbs are meant to be broken.
Patrons vs. prospects

There are two sets of customers at any wine bar: your friends and your potential friends. When you role with your actual friends, go in groups of two or three because at a wine bar, four’s a crowd. On the flip side, going it alone at the bar—armed with a notepad, pen, and some liquid courage—could lead to a conversation with a lovely dame sitting adjacent and might re-route your evening in a very delightful way. (This author ended up engaged after one such indulgent night of wine-bar hopping.) Take risks: send a glass of bubbly to a lady you’ve been eyeing, and send it with a note you penned reading, “I’m the sharply dressed chap at the bar, writing you a poem.” And leave it at that...but make sure you write or Google a poem while you've got time, just in case.
A word on tipping

Everything about tipping at a wine bar depends on the overall experience. You’re paying marked-up prices for wines you can generally buy yourself and drink at home. So, don’t forget that you’re paying for convenience, the experience of the staff (who hopefully know more than you), and the overall quality of your wine-bar outing. If you learned something new and had a superbly positive interaction with the staff, show your appreciation and tip at least 20%, as this encourages more of that good behavior. However, there's no shame in dialing back the gratuity when anything about the experience is under-par. If food was a heavy component of the bill, and especially when the experience was a bit off, don’t be ashamed to tip regularly on the food and a little less on the wine. There are two extremes of servers at wine bars: Those who are highly informative and take great care in helping you have the best experience possible, and those who simply pop and pour, but can’t tell you much beyond the fact that the wine is red. Reward the former with at least a 20% tip, and reduce that for the latter depending on his or her level of gruff incompetence.

How to Drink at a Wine Bar

You've arrived—where to sit?

Use Your Smartphone to Your Advantage

Bartenders vs. sommeliers

Help them help you.

Temperature and storage check

Navigating the wine list

To ask or not to ask? Silly question, always ask!

Glassware is king

Wine and food pairings

Patrons vs. prospects

A word on tipping

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