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By Alpana Singh as told to Sam Jemielity
The youngest woman ever inducted into the Court of Master Sommeliers, Alpana Singh knows wine like Bill Belichick knows football. The former sommelier at tony Chicago restaurant Everest, she now hosts her own TV show, the local Emmy Award-winning Check, Please! Her new book, Alpana Pours, is a funny, female-centric guide to wine and relationships. Playboy.com quizzed this sexy sommelier on what every guy needs to know about wine and women.
Use wine to break the ice
Wine is a perfect conversation starter on a dinner date. "Ask her about what kind of wine she likes," Singh says. "There's really nothing sexier than asking a woman what she wants and what she's into. Let her know what you like, and see if you have any wines in common." If not, don't worry. Tell the sommelier what you each like, and ask for a recommendation that you both might enjoy. "That shows that you're adventurous and you're willing to try new things."
Be suave about setting your price point
"On a date, you really don't want to give a price range for a bottle of wine," Singh counsels. "Like, 'Oh, you know, you're only worth 50 dollars.' [Laughs] With the sommelier behind you, you can point to a wine in your range and say, 'You know, I've had this wine and I really liked it' -- and point at the price -- 'so going with that, what would you recommend?'" A smart sommelier will keep recommendations in the price range of that bottle.
Talk about your wine travels
"Tell her if you've been to a winery in Napa or in France," Singh says. "Women like to hear that you're a Prince Charming who has traveled the world. They visualize coming along. It's romantic."
Talk about the time when you first had a great wine
Share your stories of discovering great bottles at a nice restaurant, or on a business trip or a vacation. If it was in a winery in some gorgeous corner of the French countryside, even better. "It shows that you're passionate, that you've got a zeal for life," Singh says. "Women love that a guy can talk about feeling emotion, and talking about wine is better than saying you cried watching E.T. You're still a man, but you're a worldly man, not a wimpy man."
Use wine as subliminal sex banter
"On a date, you don't want to get into the subject of sex, not right off the bat," Singh warns. "Wine lends itself to being described in very sexy terms. You're talking about how silky it is, how velvety, how it rolls around in your mouth. [Laughs] It perks women up. You can use wine as foreplay, and you don't seem like you're being a creep. It's subliminal."
Match food and wine as a new experience for her
Many people have never experienced a great food and wine match. "This is where by-the-glass ordering comes into play," Singh says. "Go outside the bottle environment, and ask the sommelier to pair a wine specifically for one course. If she's like, 'We already have wine,' just say, 'Let's try something else, you only live once.' You're opening her up to a new experience, and this is the stuff she's going to tell her girlfriends the next day."
When in doubt, pick out a romantic bottle
What are the most romantic wines? Singh picks pinot noir (try a burgundy, "it's very fragrant"), cabernet (go with Bordeaux) and, of course, champagne (she prefers rose or pinot noir-based bubblies). "Be unexpected, and have that joie de vivre," Singh says. "If you order champagne and she asks what the special occasion is, just say, 'You are.'"
Sauterne her on
"Always order dessert wine," Singh advises. "If you really like the girl, you can prolong the date. I don't know a single woman who doesn't like a dessert wine -- a great Sauterne or a great late harvest Semillon, or a port or a moscato d'Asti, which isn't too high in alcohol."
No date yet? Go to wine tastings
Unlike meeting women at a bar, you know that you have something in common with a girl at a wine tasting. "If you've got a pretty woman next to you, you can talk to her about whatever you're tasting," Singh says. "It's an automatic icebreaker. Plus, at wine tastings, people are usually very relaxed, and it's a hedonistic environment."
Don't overdo it
"If there's one thing I would emphasize to guys," Singh says, "it would be to use wine as an icebreaker. Then let the conversation go off onto other subjects from there."
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