Post-Gazette Read, ask questions, and use restaurant resources, such as the wine steward, when selecting your beverage.

By Elizabeth Downer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Do you find the process of choosing a wine from a restaurant wine list about as much fun as a trip to the dentist? Would you like to learn a few tips for making the whole restaurant wine experience a pleasant part of dining out?

One of the best tools for navigating a wine is reconnaissance. This is easier than you might imagine with today's technological miracles. Many restaurants these days have Web sites. Some feature both menus and wine lists.

If there is no Web site, phone the restaurant and ask them to fax you a copy of the list. This will allow you to review it at your leisure and to do some background work on individual wines. I usually like to see if the wine has been reviewed by a major publication or has won any awards. To do this, I go to the winery Web site and read the winemaker's comments about the wine and any press reports they post.

If I am not familiar with a particular vintage's quality rating, I will check out the vintage on a chart. I like the Robert Parker chart, which covers all regions of the world from 1990 to 2005 http://www.erobertparker.com/info/vintagechart1.asp. If I have time, I also like to check the retail price of the wines I might be interested in ordering. To do that, I go to www.winezap.com.

The selection process will be vastly simplified if you know which producers, grapes or wine styles you prefer. There are six primary grapes found on most wine lists. It helps to think about the characteristics of each variety when deciding which wine to order.

Riesling: This grape is best when it is dry or off-dry, which is the case with most rieslings from cool climate zones. This is especially true of rieslings from Germany, Alsace, France and New York's Finger Lake region. The flavors are of orchard fruits, from apple and pear to citrus and stone fruits, paired with floral aromas. The desirable acidity of riesling leaves a lemony impression in the mouth.

Riesling is a perfect match for sweet fish such as cod or skate or with scallops or shrimp. Riesling is a phenomenal match for chicken with a creamy sauce, roast pork or with slightly sweet, spicy foods, such as Thai dishes.

Sauvignon blanc: This grape has a distinctive grassy character. When it comes from a cool climate such as that of the Loire Valley in France or the Marlborough region of New Zealand, it probably has not been in oak and will be lean and crisp. When the wine is from the Bordeaux area of France or from California, it will be fruitier and somewhat heavier than the first style. Frequently, it will have spent some time in oak barrels.

The taste and aroma of the cool-climate sauvignon will be of tart apples and green grass while the fruitier sauvignon frequently has more melon and stone-fruit flavors mixed with grapefruit and lime. Well-made examples of both styles will have a lively acidity.

These wines are a good choice with fish and anything served with a fruit-based sauce. Try them with pasta in a white cream sauce or with a salad with chevre cheese.

Chardonnay: This is a grape that covers a lot of ground and styles. The cool-climate version, as evidenced in white burgundies, is elegant and refined but still full of fruit. Ripe apples, pears and quince are frequent references. Chardonnay from warmer climates, such as California and Australia, also tastes of fruit, but usually they are tropical fruits such as mangos, pineapples and oranges. Oak is usually a factor in chardonnay and adds tastes and aromas of vanilla and butter.

For the past decade, chardonnay has been the white grape equivalent of "flavor of the month" and in the process it has become overly commercial, a bit dull and generic. If you plan to order a chardonnay, try to identify one which has been made by a small, highly-rated winery.

Chardonnay pairs wonderfully with chicken, fish, and shellfish and fruit desserts or nut tarts.

Pinot noir: Pinot noir grows best in cool climates. It is the only red variety grown in Burgundy's Cote d'Or, where it has been famous for centuries. It is typically aged in oak, but wine makers adjust the amount of new oak used in the process according to the quality of fruit. Their aim is to enhance the fruit flavors without overpowering them.

The wine presents a silky texture with scents of red berries and spice. This elegant red wine can easily be paired with fish, chicken and lighter red meats. It is especially nice with turkey, pork, veal and light cheeses. For a special treat, try it with barbecued meat or poultry. The fruit and acidity are well suited to a sweet barbecue glaze.

Merlot and cabernet sauvignon: These grapes flourish in moderate climate zones and are so similar in character that they are often blended together. Styles vary from uncomplicated to super-intense, and this will usually be reflected in the price. The warmer climate zones produce a heavier wine, but all exhibit strong fruit flavors.

Merlots tend to have lighter tannins than cabernet sauvignon, which means that they can be more approachable at an earlier age. The dominant aromas in both grapes are of dark berries and plums. I frequently notice vegetable scents, such as green beans or bell peppers, in cabernet sauvignon from Bordeaux and from California. From oak barrels, the wine will exhibit vanilla and or spice aromas.

This is the perfect wine to accompany lamb or beef chops or roasts and is also wonderful with strong cheeses. Cabernet sauvignon is my wine of choice with chocolate desserts.

Syrah: Syrah or shiraz grows best in moderate to warm climates. The gold-standard for syrah comes from the Rhone Valley in Southern France. It results in a full-bodied wine with flavors of red and black berries, plums, raisins and figs.

Often, syrah will also smell of clove and cinnamon or black pepper or chocolate. Shiraz from Australia frequently shows a jammy quality that smells like your grandmother's kitchen did when she made plum jam or baked a raspberry pie.

If you like big, powerful wines, shiraz will be a good choice for all stews, red meats and strong cheeses.

It is usually the case that New World wines (from North America, South America and Australia) are less expensive than European wines, so if you are concerned about price, keep your search in the new wine areas.

If the restaurant has a resident wine steward, by all means use him or her. Mention your favorite wines and say that you would like something in the same style.

Do not hesitate to talk about price. It is helpful if the steward knows what you would be comfortable spending. I guarantee the steward will identify the wines on the list that meet your guidelines in style, grape variety and price. I have made some great wine discoveries by letting the steward help me select a wine.

The bottle you order should be brought to the table before opening for your approval. Before the corkscrew goes into the bottle, look to see that the cork is not bulging above the rim of the bottle and that there are no signs of leakage that would indicate the wine had been stored in an overheated area.

Giving the cork to the buyer is not just a pompous gesture. The cork can tell you a lot about the wine. The longer the cork, the more expensive the wine.

If the cork is damp on more than the bottom inch, I worry about leakage. If the dampness goes all the way to the top of the cork, I will suspect a serious problem. Save the cork; if there is leftover wine, you can re-cork it and take it home.

When the waiter pours a small amount of wine to taste, I will swirl and smell it to determine whether the wine is healthy. The only acceptable reason for returning a bottle of wine is if the bottle is corked. "Corked" means that the wine will smell of wet newspapers or cardboard which is a sign of trichloroanisole, or TCA, the result of a deceased cork. These days, that is a rare occurrence. Less than 2 percent of bottles suffer from TCA.

It is not acceptable to send a wine back if you find it too acidic or sweet or rough or tannic for your taste. It was your choice, and the restaurant does not owe you another bottle.

Of course, you can entirely avoid wine-list trauma by bringing your favorite wine to the restaurant. The only Pittsburgh restaurant I know that does not allow patrons to bring wine is Hyholde in Moon.

As a courtesy, you should first call the restaurant in question to get approval. You will be charged a "corkage fee" (in Pittsburgh normally between $10 and $15 a bottle), which helps to compensate the restaurant for the cost of glasses and service.