Red Rules

If you’re unexpectedly called on to order the wine in a restaurant and you don’t feel comfortable doing it, one easy out is to say, “All right, I’ll order the white. Who is going to order the red?”

White wine is generally easier to order than red, and in most group situations in which someone wants red wine, he or she often wants the joy of picking it. This lets you pass the list on without losing face.

But if you should get stuck in that awkward situation--red wine is called for, you’re holding the wine list and no one else volunteers--don’t panic. Though it’s more difficult to choose an appropriate red wine than a white, there are a few rules that will simplify the situation.

* First, determine how many people will be having red wine. You can figure that there are between five and six decent-sized pours from a bottle. If you try to get eight glasses of wine from a bottle, each person gets about three ounces, a short pour.

* Unless you know the tastes of your dinner companions, it’s a good idea to ask what sort of wine they like. One basic way to find out is to ask, “Well, should it be Bordeaux or Burgundy?” If they say Burgundy, look under that name in the wine list, or order a California Pinot Noir. If they say Bordeaux, your guests want a heavier red, either a French Bordeaux or a California Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.

* If those having the red wine are eating seafood, choose a lighter red wine, such as a California Pinot Noir or a French Beaujolais.

* Game calls for wine with an earthy, hearty flavor, such as a Rhone.

* Rich and spicy foods such as pasta in tomato sauces do better with Zinfandel or Chianti.

* Zinfandel also works fine with well-seasoned chicken.

* Prime rib is Pinot Noir territory.

* Steak is easiest to match, because any dark red wine will do; I prefer Cabernet.

Now we get to the details, which is where things get tricky.

* When you’re not sure what to order and where price is an issue, the best value on a wine list is usually Beaujolais. Most Beaujolais isn’t expensive. You should pay about $20 to $25 for most wines designated Beaujolais-Villages (bo-zho-lay veel-AHZH).

For a more complex, deeper wine at not much more money, seek out one of the 10 Cru^ Beaujolais, which carry the names Brouilly, Chenas, Chiroubles, Co^te de Brouilly, Fleurie, Julienas, Morgon, Regnie, St.-Amour and the biggest and most complex, Moulin-a-Vent (moo-lan-ah-VAHN).

At most, you’ll pay $30 in a restaurant for these cru wines. Don’t pay more for an older one; usually they are best young and slightly chilled.

* Another lower-priced red wine, priced roughly the same as Cru^ Beaujolais, is red (NB: not white) Zinfandel. Lighter-weight versions are often made a little like Beaujolais, soft and fruity. Sonoma County makes more elegant Zinfandels than most other regions, and the wines are more likely to work with food.

The key to any Zinfandel, however, is whether the grapes were picked excessively ripe. This can be hard to determine until the cork is pulled, but there is a handy clue: the alcohol content, which is listed on the label. If the alcohol in a Zinfandel exceeds 14.5%, the wine may be hard to match with a wide variety of foods.

* Perhaps the best all-purpose red wine is Pinot Noir, but the pitfalls here are myriad. Still, there’s one good thing: Though some of the best Pinots are hideously expensive (and some of the most expensive are aberrantly flavored), some of the best food-oriented Pinot Noirs are quite reasonable in price. On the other hand, some of the best-known names in Burgundy make extraordinarily dull wine, yet such wines still command a very high price.

The best California Pinot Noirs come from cool-weather regions. I prefer those from the Russian River in Sonoma County, the Carneros district, Santa Barbara County (in particular the Santa Maria area) and the Anderson Valley region of Mendocino County.

Retail prices for most of these wines run between $15 and $25 a bottle, so restaurants will charge $30 to $50 for them. Sure, that’s not cheap, but because of its flavor and structure, a good Pinot Noir (pee-no NWAHR) will suit a wider range of foods than most other young red wines.

* You can get about the same textural smoothness from some Merlot (mare-LOW), but it’s a little more of a gamble these days, with so many wineries making Merlot, many are a bit coarse. Generally, the more expensive wines are harder to drink young (which is the very reason most many people turned to Merlot in the first place).

I prefer cool-climate Merlots from places like southern Sonoma and Napa counties, the Carneros, the Columbia Valley of Washington state and California’s Central Coast. Merlots from warmer regions have a cooked fruit (or jam) sort of flavor, and are full-bodied and as much like Cabernet Sauvignon as anything.

The average restaurant price for a decent Merlot should be about $22 to $28, but some places are asking a lot more for wine from this grape because of the recent surge in popularity.

* Chianti is a good, tart red wine really made to complement food, and usually it’s not terribly expensive, perhaps $20 to $32 on most wine lists. Choose one from the excellent 1990 vintage; 1991s and 1993s are slightly better than 1992s.

* For steaks, chops and much richer foods, Barolo and Barbaresco are usually good choices for wine lovers, but newcomers to wine may find these wines awfully tart and astringent--especially in younger vintages, which are usually all you find on wine lists. (Well-aged Barolo from the great vintages of 1978, 1982 and 1985 may be found on great wine lists, but be prepared to pay substantially for them.)

* Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular red wine on American wine lists, yet younger versions are hard to match with the foods we are eating these days, which tend to be lighter and less like the steak-and-potato meals of the past.

Still, because of the popularity of Cabernet, most lists have a profusion of them, and most lists are overwhelmingly tilted toward younger wines.

In that case, shy away from 1988 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon from California; really hard wines. Those from 1989 and 1990 are already showing some bottle bouquet and are good choices. Though 1991 was a great vintage, the wines are still a bit coarse, and 1992s are so young they may take the enamel off your teeth.

Older versions may be available on better wine lists, and of them I love 1987s, a great and overlooked vintage.

Splurge of the Week

1991 Joseph Phelps Insignia ($50)-- It was in 1974 that Joe Phelps, a Colorado building contractor, decided that calling his flagship wine Cabernet Sauvignon was too limiting since it meant he had to make the wine at least 75% from that grape. And he knew that occasionally blending was the best way to make a wine complex.

Some years the wine was primarily Merlot, other years Cabernet Sauvignon dominated. This year’s Insignia (80% Cabernet, 10% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc) may well be the best ever made.

Winemaker Craig Williams has never made a deeper, more powerful wine, yet once you get past the intense blackberry and cassis nose, there is tremendous fruit and depth in the aftertaste. Some Insignia wines of the past have been hard and tannic. This one is better balanced, and though 5,000 cases were produced and the price is high, it is “flying out of here,” says a winery spokesman.