How to order Wine at a Restaurant?

Wine Part 5 brought to you by Quamut:

How to order Wine at a Restaurant? I sat and thought about it for awhile and some might disagree with me on this one but I think that ordering wine is the trickiest alcohol to order when in a public setting.

Here is my thought. Beer although there are a lot of flavors people usually will only have a few choice on tap and they don’t vary in age of the beer and beer drinkers typically know what they like. Hard alcohol is the same, there are a variety of choices but the flavor stays consistent and so do peoples choices in what they drink. Wine on the other hand is different because you first have two choices White or Red. Then from there you have to pick between the Wine Varietals (Chardonnay, Muscat, Pinot Noir etc), then the year, price, country of origin and or body of the wine. Some might say that I am wrong and maybe I just don’t know enough about beer or hard alcohol, but its my blog so I am going with it.

Ok, now where was I…let’s see I was talking about How to Order Wine at a Restaurant? They say that the first question before you even pick your wine is to think about if you want a glass or the bottle. So I guess if you are their alone you might want a glass (or a bottle if you want to have a good time). Here are some things Quamut says to ask yourself.

1. If your table wont drink a full bottle
2. If you want more than one wine during dinner
3. If you and your dinner companion(s) are ordering foods that are difficult to pair with a single wine

Then the next thing after you realize you are getting the bottle because lets be honest its cheaper that way is to think about the type of wine you want. There are two different choices House Wine or a Wine List. House Wines are the wines that you ask for and you don’t give them any other description other than you want Red or White wine. Quamut says that House Wines are usually acceptable but never extraordinary. This is because a mass amount of people need to like it so a lot of times its nothing too special. Typically its served in a Carafe (wide-necked vessel that holds a bottle’s worth of wine) for house wines.

Then you have the Wine list, this list can vary between 15-150 types, you never really know. The wine list will then have the following: name of the wine, the winery that produced it, the vintage, and the price. They are usually separated by White Wines and Red Wines. Quamut suggests that you pick a wine you have never drank before but you know the type of grape variety, you may also tell the person serving you what you like and have them suggest something for you. If you are at a fancy place you can always ask the Sommelier.

The wine serving Ritual is as follows:
1. The waiter presents you the bottle (check to make sure it’s the right one)
2. The waiter will remove the cork for you (make sure the cork looks fresh and the wine isn’t rotten)
3. The waiter pours a little into your wine glass (sniff and taste the wine)
4. If the wine is good so tell the waiter to filler-up! Haha

Brought to you by Quamute

This is a problem/solution brought to you by Jenna

Problem: My friends boyfriend likes to flirt with me and make me feel extremely uncomfortable

Solution: Avoid him like the plague (thanks Jo)

Just Call me Norah Jones

I woke up today feeling like it’s the month to make a change in my life. I thought today was a good day to get out and try something new. Today was a good day to open my eyes to something I have never done before. (Reading my first sentence I want to make it clear I am not addicted to anything or have any bad habits) I am not sure if it is because we had a 3 day weekend so I got a lot of rest but I woke up thinking “wow today is the day”.

While taking the elevator up to the third floor where I work I was asking myself “What can I do today that’s different” and “What can I do to be more productive today?” Then I sat down at the front desk and my excitement and enthusiasm for the day went from 10 to 5 in a matter of one phone call. At work we deal with politics sometimes and I had someone call in (because yes I switched days now I am at the front desk on Tuesdays) and ask me why we didn’t make a stance against some Bill and went on to explain how mad she was that we said “no opinion”. I listened to what she had to say and then I told her I would tell someone how she felt. I felt a little guilty because the problem is no one here could help her, that decision was made by a board of directors made up of volunteers, but I just gave her an email address to complain too and she went on her way.

It is ok though because things turned around because I got a lot done at work and then after work I had piano lessons (yes if you want to know, I am going to be the next Norah Jones). I am also planning a new work out program to get big GUNS. My goal right is to be able to arm wrestle people and win. (Right now I am lifting the pole but soon I will be putting weight on it). That being said I am realizing that it’s not so much changing life but some little things in life.

I am going to start with a problem/solution section for my blog. Today’s problem and solution is brought to you by my friend Anna.

Today’s Problem: Mikes Hard Lemonade used to be me and my friends favorite drink back in high school. Now I don’t think any of us can take down one of them because they are so sweet.

Anna’s solution: Add a shot of Jose Cuervo into the Mikes Hard.

Thank you Anna for supporting my Problem and Solution segment and if anyone else is interested in shooting me a problem and solution please contact me.

Public Market Center

I have to apologize for not writing a blog recently. It seems like the days are just flying by and I don’t know where they go. The funny thing is I have a few people who I check their blogs daily and I always thing to myself on the days they don’t write 1. Why didn’t they write today and what could they be doing right now that was more important that blogging? The other thing that has been preventing me from blogging is I have been working on that video post I promised and it is just taking me a little big longer than expected.

Last but definitely not least I have been having computer issues. My computer is not charging properly and shuts down on me all the time. IT’S DRIVING ME CRAZY. Not only annoying but its frustrating and needs to be fixed but I am waiting till it crashes totally before I go into Geek Squad and have them tell me its going to be hundreds just to find out the problem and then hundreds more to fix it. (If you own a MAC I know I know)

Long story short I am attempting to be a more proactive blogger because I really do love blogging. I know maybe only 10 people will read this but so far no one has told me to stop so I am going to keep going but I am encountering minor road blocks in my way.

Now I will write on a little segment I like to call “Wednesdays at the front desk”.

Me: (Company Name) How can I help you?
Woman: I need you to find me a good choir or gospel choir. I am going to be passing away soon and I want them to sing at my funeral.
Me: (It my head) My first thought was wow what would I do if I knew I was going to die? My second thought was I would not be calling us. My third thought and maybe should have been my first thought. That’s really sad, I am sorry to hear that.
Me: (What came out) That’s horrible, I am so sorry.
Woman: That’s ok, I am at peace with it. I have been a singer all of my life, I sang down in Southern California and well I don’t trust my kids or sister to find me someone good.
Me: (In my head) Typically I wouldn’t help this case because it has nothing to do with what I do, but since she is dying its hard to say no.
Me: Ok well let me see what I can do for you. Do you have internet access?
Woman: No
Me: Ok well let me find some numbers for you to call, how much are you willing to pay?
Woman: As much as it takes, I want people to walk away and think “wow that was great” and I know my kids won’t make that happen they will find someone cheap.
Me: Ok well here are a few numbers I found for you, I hope they work out.

Next Call:
Me: (Company Name) How can I help you?
Man: I used to work for you, I am walking and I am three blocks away. Please let BLANK know that I am coming. Hangs up
Me to my CoWorker: I had a man on the phone, I think he is either out of breath or has been drinking.

Turns he was just old. Haha

Ok, more to come soon, promise!!!