Determine the current attention level of the diners. This may sound odd to you, but it's based on experience. Diners are more attentive to the first wine than the last one. Interest is focused and alert for a wine appertif, so this is generally when we order something unique or special a vigonier, Cotes du Rhone, syrah, for instance. Once the food arrives, we often shift to something with more weight.
Food can offset tannins and acid.
But if we need to order a second round of wine for the table and the focus is heavily on conversation, we actually downshift to a wine that is still good, but not as pricey. If you follow this strategy for the table, then your objective is simply to find the best wines on the list. Unlike many of Brian's cus tomers, we are not afraid to order the cheapest wine if we are familiar with the it and know that it fits our strategy for the table. For instance, the cheapest white wine could be a crisp California sauvignon blanc or an Italian pinot grigio. Most people, including us, like forward fruit flavors and the expensive, tight cabernet sauvignons from top producers just aren't mature yet.