Fabulous Food!

Beyond sampling and approving wine, asking for a description of a dish your uncertain of, asking for wine recommendations, knowing to work from the outside in with cutlery or tipping 15-20% there are little nuances to dining out that can make an important occasion or meeting go more smoothly and enjoyably.

Always make reservations when going out to dine to name the number in your party and make any specific inquiries about menu, prices, special access or arrangements in advance. This will allow you to avoid disappointment and have some advance knowledge of the menu before you go. It might be important to you that the meal ends with port and a cheese selection. So, don't wait until the moment arrives only to find nothing of the sort is offered. Many of our reviews include samples of what is offered on the menu and you can always ask the restaurant to fax you a wine list or sample menu.

Diners tend to find the pairing of wines with their food the most perplexing task when eating out. However, this part of dinner should prove simple armed with a bit of knowledge.

First you should remember that we are not all expected to be wine experts. A good restaurant will have waiters that understand the restaurant’s wine offerings and will often have the services of a sommelier (wine expert) at your disposal. Make use of these people! Experts love nothing more than to be asked for their advice and will usually provide it in spades, in a range of prices. If you have a particular price in mind you might point out an example on the wine list and ask if that seems like a good choice. The wait staff will immediately get your drift and find a selection in your range.

If you prefer to order on your own that's fine. Keep the following classical rules in mind: Dry white wines pair well with seafood and dry red wines are a standard accompaniment to meat dishes. Also, rich wines go with rich foods in either category and lighter wines pair best with lighter foods. So, for example, you are have ordered steak au poivre (steak with pepper sauce). You would want a rich red like a Cabernet Sauvignon. If you are having Shrimp Newburg (a richly sauced seafood dish) you would want a Chardonnay. In the whites a Sauvignon Blanc would match a simple poached fish dish and in the reds a Merlot would suit a simple veal dish.

Finally, a few more simple rules will make you comfortable. Order with authority and confidence. Hence, even if it's a shot in the dark, you may have made a serendipitous choice and your partners will applaud your savvy. On the other hand, if the choice is less than perfect, your guests might assume they have yet to have acquired your superior taste! Secondly, don't order the most expensive wines on the list or the cheapest. In a good restaurant, the wines will all have been selected with care. You can assume that most of them will be decent. Price is never an assurance of quality. Thirdly, avoid Burgundy wine because of the great variability in quality from year to year and from one winery to the next. Cabernet Sauvignons are fairly consistent in quality and the Bordeaux's are good selections for a mature wine. American Pinot Noirs are almost foolproof choices.

Amongst the fortified and dessert wines you will find Vermouth, Sherry, Port, Marsal and Madeira. So, when would you order these? Vermouth on ice or blended with ice is most often an aperitif to go with an appetizer. A good selection here is Noilly Pratt. Sherry is an ideal wine for Tapas (Spanish), or any sort of appetizer. Sherry can also be served after dinner, like a Port, with cheese or just coffee. Port is classically served with Stilton cheese and walnuts and the end of a meal. Port is traditionally served with Stilton cheese. Stilton and other blue cheeses set up a counterpoint of complementary textures and flavors, but cheeses like Cheddar and Glouster are also good. In addition, walnuts, chestnuts, cashews, and hazelnuts help bring out the best in Port. Desserts based on strawberries, raspberries, cherries, currants or similarly full-flavored fruits, are a natural ally of Port. Marsala is a fortified Italian wine similar to Port and can be used in much the same way as can Madeira. Don't be afraid to experiment!

So you've wined and dined at West Islands best and now the bill arrives. How much should you tip? Quebec wait staff are taxed on their income from tips regardless of whether or not they actually receive them. Keeping that in mind, a regular tip is 15% of the bill before tax. Excellent or exceptional service can be tipped at 20%. A tip can be reduced by a few percentage points for a bill inflated by alcohol due to the fact that alcohol service does not represent a great deal of extra work for the wait staff. It is always unfair to avoid tipping or leaving just a token amount. If you are angry or upset with some aspect of the service you should speak to the staff. Never penalize wait staff for things that might have annoyed you but were not their fault.

Bon apetit & enjoy your stay!

Pairing your wine with the perfect out door Montreal West Island grill:

For the West Islander, a holiday barbecue means it's beer time. Teetotalers stick with soda, lemonade, or iced tea. Maybe some margaritas; daiquiris don't hurt either. But few people seem to think of wine when they fire up the grill. What a shame! There's something about the outdoor setting, the atavistic pleasure of an open fire, and the masculine image of the grill that, for too many people, says this is no time to be putting on airs and fooling with wine glasses. But wine should never have become associated with pretense in the first place, and wine can be the perfect accompaniment to a West Island barbecue and not so filling as beer, nor so potentially embarrassing as multiple margaritas.

For red wine lovers of the West Island:

Anything coated in barbecue sauce, with its smoky, spicy, and typically sweet flavors, admittedly poses a challenge for wine pairings. A young, bold, fruity and spicy red wine, such as Zinfandel, American Syrah or Aussie Shiraz, or a French Côtes du Rhone should stand up to the barbecue flavors--Zinfandel, being from Montreal myself with the French influent maybe a St. Emillion, for Dollard des Arm day. Chianti and Barbera, with their higher acidity, will also handle tomato-based sauces

Grilled meats, like steak, can work with a wider range of reds, including young Cabernets. And hamburgers should be fine with just about any red wine--just pick your favorite (although I wouldn't suggest opening anything too old or complex--the wine's subtleties will probably be lost). Beaujolais, just slightly chilled, is a popular choice.

There's one hitch with red wines, though: come barbecue season, in most of the Canada, it's too hot. In hot weather, red wines lose their aromas, seem flabby on the palate, and aren't refreshing. Moreover, spicy foods cry out for a mouth-cooling beverage, which is one reason beer is so popular.

Two Montreal West Island cool solutions:

Crisp, intensely aromatic high-acid white wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc, work very well with grilled flavors. Sauvignon Blanc (sometimes called Fumé Blanc) is great with grilled vegetables and shrimp, and is the best wine with tomatoes. Off-dry (slightly sweet) Rieslings and Gewurztraminers should pair nicely with spicier and sweeter barbecue flavors. Chardonnay, however, is probably not your best bet.

Or, try my current, all-purpose barbecue favorite: dry rosé, a summertime treat. Good rosés combine the crispness and refreshment of white wine (serve chilled) with unusual and intriguing flavors--some of the red fruits typical of red wine, but also notes of tea, orange rind, strawberries and--aptly--watermelon. Look for rosés from the southern Rhone, Languedoc, and Provence in France, Rioja in Spain, or such American examples as Bonny Doon's Vin Gris de Cigare or Zaca Mesa's Z Gris. Too long out of fashion because of their association with cheap, sweet blush wines, rosés are for me perfect summer wines.

As for those blush wines, if they are what you enjoy, don't let anyone stop you. Some say White Zinfandel is the ultimate wine for hot dogs!

Pairing what works for you?

Texture: Match “power with power;” light-textured food balances better with lighter-bodied wines, while heavier dishes demand fuller-bodied wine. It’s not just the amount of alcohol or kinds of flavors involved; mouthfeel plays an important role.

Cooking methods: Poaching, searing, grilling – each method changes the intensity of the dish and emphasizes different textures and flavors; knee-jerk pairings deserve reconsideration when a different cooking method comes into play.

Complement or Contrast: A contrasting wine – high-acid white with a richer dish – cleanses the palate and invigorates the appetite; a bigger wine which complements the richness makes for a meditation from one bite to the next.

Dominant Flavor: The protein is not always the dominant flavor in a dish; keep the sauce – especially traditional, high-in-fat sauces – in mind when you’re choosing the wine.

Keeping wine in order: Whether alone or with food, you’ll get the most out of your wine drinking if you keep some things in order; otherwise the wines may suffer in comparison of their predecessors. So:

• Dry wine before sweet wine
• Lower alcohol before higher alcohol
• Sparkling wines before still wines
• Younger wines before older wines
• Light wines before full-bodied wines

Finally, when you order a bottle of wine to go with a multi-course meal – or when everyone has ordered something different – keep an eye out for crossover wines – wines that can pair with two or three different dishes. New World Sauvignon Blanc, Indigenous Italian whites, California Pinot Noir, and Southern Italian reds are all good examples of versatility.

I hope this will help on your next culinary adventure!