1. The sommerlier pours. You sip. You hesitate. Good move. Never say yes to a wine until you're sure it's sound. Try it a second time. A third, minutes later, if you still have doubts. Like sex on a first date, you'll regret it if you're not sure.

2. So much should not be asked of a waiter: Stock market tips. Medical advice. What wine to drink with your meal.

3. With most wine-by-the-glass programs, restaurants try to recoup the price they paid for the bottle on the first glass they sell. Try to order a half-bottle instead. The virtue of ordering wine by the glass is that the restaurant should allow you a complimentary taste.

4. Here's what you do with a cork when it's presented to you: Nothing. No sniffing, please. If it has printing on it and the bottle is expensive, check to see that the information on the cork coincides with what's on the label. If not, you might have a counterfeit.

5. Save the slurping and gargling for Napa Valley tasting rooms and morning mouthwash. Try not to turn the stomachs of your guests with primitive rituals.

6. If you're ordering in advance for an important business dinner, don't forget to make certain the wines you select are in stock and available in sufficient quantities.

7. Make sure the wine you order gets to the table before the food. Wine without food is fine; food without wine is a disaster.

8. Don't be intimidated by huge, clunky, leather (okay, naugahyde) wine lists. They're your friends. If they've been around awhile, and most have, they almost always have beautifully aged bargains hidden away.

9. Decide if you love vintages or producers. Sommeliers love producers. They've met them. They dined with them. They consider them infallable, even in terrible years. I love good years, full of surprises from unknown winemakers. You get wines that taste of a moment in time, not of a high-tech cellar.

10. When tasting, don't allow the server to pour so little that it barely wets your mustache. This advice applies to men and women alike. When drinking, beware of servers who fill your glass to the brim, then announce that your bottle is empty and you need another one. That's not service; that's hard-sell.

11. If you've been brought the wrong vintage and you accept it after a taste, you have to pay, even if you believe the restaurant has done you wrong. If the server accidentally brings a more expensive wine than the one you ordered, you should be charged the price of the bottle you requested. Warning: Not everybody agrees.

12. If you call and get permission to bring your own wine to a restaurant, always ask the amount of the corkage fee. In a few Manhattan restaurants, it has soared past $100.

13. I don't care if the restaurant is pouring Chateau Latour into Minnie Mouse mugs, don't walk into a restaurant carrying your own wine glasses. It's more pretentious than wearing a monocle and spats.

14. Don't be a big shot. Nobody can get everything right when it comes to detecting problems in wine. Can you identify sulphur, volative acidity, brettanomyces, and/or T.C.A.? That's why sommeliers exist. If you hate the wine you've ordered and can't articulate why, don't be afraid to ask for help.

source:http://www.gq.com