How often do you hear: “What do you want to eat tonight?” Well, if you live around
Pensacola, you are in luck. Our local culinary scene continues to improve. For those of us who
consider ourselves oenophiles, a meal without good wine is just food. The Pensacola area has
some great restaurants, but where can you get both great food and a wine experience to match?
Let’s explore why you would want to order wine when you dine out, define restaurant wine and
discuss what makes a wine program worth your time. Then, I will share my top picks and why
they are doing it right. So, call the babysitter (or dog sitter) and let’s go out tonight!
There are two main reasons why you order wine at a restaurant. First, wine lists at good
restaurants are not random. They are created with some thought behind them. Distributors and
Chefs collaborate to curate wines that should pair with the food. Therefore, when you order a
dish at that restaurant there is a wine, or two, that will pair with it. That can make ordering wine
at a restaurant much less stressful than trying to pair a wine with a dinner that you are making at
home.
The second reason is the selection. All distributors have their Restaurant List comprising
of wines that are not available to the public. Most big wineries make “restaurant” level wines
aimed at catering to all levels of restaurants, from fast casual to the finest of dining. So, the only
way of getting certain wines is at a restaurant, making many “restaurant” wines exclusive.
Now for the fun. Here is how the best wine and food restaurants were picked. I asked
about 100 people what restaurants came to mind when they wanted a nice dinner with a good of
wine. Next, I paid the top seven spots a visit with my very accurate food thermometer. Yes, you
read that correctly. I sat down with my thermometer and asked my server to recommend a glass
of red wine with my meal. I highly recommend following these steps when ordering
restaurant wine. If your server says “Well, a lot of people really like this one.” Warning! You and
I are not “a lot of people!” We all like different things and when I hear that kind of comment, I
know the staff has no wine training. At this point I flip over to the cocktail menu.
But let’s say the server does have a recommendation. Great! I order a glass of that red
wine. Now, watch the server and try to see where they pull that bottle of wine from. Was it
already opened? If so, how long? Opened or not, was that bottle just sitting out on the counter??
Rule#1 in Wine: Do not serve hot wine! I am not going to name this restaurant
but it is one of my favorites. When I ordered my glass of red wine for this story the server
walked over to the back of the bar, grabbed the bottle that had been sitting out on a counter and
poured my glass. The wine in that glass was 82F, un-drinkable! At $15 a glass, that’s a
fail! All red wine should be served no warmer than 68F.
So, which restaurants got it right? The following restaurants had a good wine list, could
recommend a glass of wine, serve it within the correct temperature range, and finally, that
recommended wine did a good job of pairing with my meal. In no particular order: Pearl & Horn,
Union Public House, The East Hill Wine Bar, George’s, and Iron. There are many that came
close yet missed one of the criteria, and this list is not stagnant! People and knowledge move
around, so if you use my method chances are you’ll enjoy a glass of wine that elevates your
entire dining experience. Cheers to that!
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"Alex the Wine Hunter" founded Gulf Coast Wine to show how fun and accessible wine is. He has a WSET 2, is a former Special Operations pilot and currently flies as an Air Force Hurricane Hunter.