For a restaurant whose name means wine vault in Portuguese, Adega makes choosing a bottle all part of the experience. With a glass-encased, temperature-controlled wine room displaying 1,200 bottles ranging from a $32 prosecco to an $800 Champagne, it let's you uncork your inner sommelier. "We encourage guests to go with a label that they haven't tried before," says wine manager Steve Greenwald. "It makes your dining experience more memorable." He offers the following tips on choosing a suitable vino.
Take the table's temperature: If your dining companions' preferences differ, meet in the middle. "A nice compromise is a lighter red or rose," Greenwald says. "People who primarily drink white wine will drink a lighter red like a pinot noir."
Enrich your dish: "If you're ordering a creamy pasta dish, avoid buttery, oaky chardonnays," he says. You want a wine with a higher acidity like a sauvignon blanc, which helps cut through the richer butter sauce and cleanses the palate. "Bold reds like cabernets complement fattier dishes, like a rib-eye."
Listen to your server: Staff receive weekly wine training to ensure they are optimizing wine-meal pairings. "We also have an interactive tablet that has full tasting notes, prices and descriptions for guests to look through," Greenwald says.
