Take the Mystery Out of the Wine List

Ordering wine in a restaurant can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. "Quit being afraid of wine!" wine blogger Nilay Gandhi writes for The Awl. "There's one truth to that wine list you're so terrified to negotiate: it's full of baloney." You can't go wrong by ignoring half of the vintages on it, which are "show wines. Stop ordering them."

So what should you order? Gandhi offers a simple mnemonic, R-O-C-K:

• Riesling: "Whether you're having salad, grilled mahi, chicken or porchetta, a decent bottle of riesling will invariably get you through your meal."
• Oregon: "No place in the world makes such a universally food-friendly smattering of reds and whites."
• Costieres de Nimes: "Fancy and unabashedly delicious" wines.
• Kermit Lynch: The secret handshake. "When it comes to importers, few have a palate as generous and welcoming."

(More wine stories.)