By Christine Ansbacher

Wine by the glass has changed in recent years from “house red and house white” to a much more robust selection of good to great wines. Ordering wine by the glass is no longer a way to have a cheap wine, but now an opportunity to taste unfamiliar wines without having to buy a whole bottle. Here are a few suggestions:

Treat the wines-by-the-glass list as a tasting menu. If you and your dining companions can agree, order a variety of wines by the glass and taste all around.

Ask for an empty glass. You will be able to share and as a side benefit you will be able to allow the wine fill to be at the proper level in order to swirl the contents (about a third full) while still getting the value of the full glass sold.

If you are with a group of six or more, ask for a tasting pour (generally an ounce to an ounce and a half) of two or three wines by the glass. If the restaurant sees that you are about to order a significant amount of wine, they likely will accommodate your request. This will also help you decide which wine the group might like by the bottle.

If there are wines by the glass that are also sold by the bottle, compare prices. Wines by the glass should be one quarter of the price of a full bottle. If they are significantly above this amount, wines by the glass are overpriced.

Ask when the bottle used for the wine by the glass you are considering was opened. Be especially wary on a Monday if you are at a casual restaurant. Wines that were corked on a Saturday night will have lost much of their aroma and freshness by Monday night. This shouldn’t be an issue at fine restaurants where the staff is taught to retaste all the open bottles before every service period to ensure they are fresh.

Try to avoid the extremes of the price range. The cheap stuff may be truly awful and the top of the line may be ordered so infrequently that the bottle from which it is poured may have been opened four to five days ago and will taste lifeless.

Christine Ansbacher, DWS, CWE is a wine expert and the author of Secrets from The Wine Diva: Tips on Buying, Ordering and Enjoying Wine. To order her book and see video clips of her on TV sharing practical tips that will save you time, money and aggravation go to www.thewinediva.com/wine-book