The essentials include fairly simple guidelines.

• Acidic foods such as tomato-based sauces require acidic wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Albariño, Grüner Veltliner or Soave for whites and Barbera, Dolcetto, Chianti or Pinot Noir for reds.

• Rich or fatty foods such as butter sauces (hollandaise) need richer, more full-bodied wines with acidity such as Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon to cut through them and heighten flavors. Fats also bind to tannins, thereby limiting their astringent feel. Other wines such as Barolo, which have both acidity and tannic structure, can be ideal accompaniments to dishes such as osso buco.

• Salty and smoked foods are balanced by acidic and fruity or off-dry to sweet wines such as Riesling or Chenin Blanc or a Gamay for reds. The smoky or salty notes are diminished, while the flavors are enhanced.

• Sweet foods including chutneys that accompany savory entrées need wines that are just as sweet, or the wines’ flavors disappear. That is why Rieslings and wines from the Touraine such as Vouvray wines or Chenin Blancs from South Africa are excellent accompaniments to Indian foods. Not only will the wines’ flavors not disappear, but their residual sugar offsets spiciness.

• Sweet desserts need wines that are sweeter than they are, but the best wines also have high acidity and thus further bring out the dessert’s flavors. Sometimes it is a little boring to have merely a sweet sauce with a sweet dessert, and such is the case with sweet wines. It is imperative that the sweet wines have acidity and even tannins to make the pairing more interesting and less unidimentional. Sweet white wines such as Sauternes and other botrytized wines fit such billing, as do the many varied Madeira and Port styled wines.

• Bitter foods, especially greens that are high in chlorophyll, can present challenges if the wines have been oak treated or have tannins or any bitterness, and are best accompanied by acidic wines that are either dry or off-dry.

• Moderately spicy foods are best paired with light off-dry white or fruity reds. Spice will bring out the tannins in wines, so oaky Chardonnays or full-bodied tannic reds should be avoided.

• Foods high in umami, the recognized fifth taste, such as dry-aged meats, dried mushrooms and aged cheeses can cause wines high in tannins to taste more bitter and even metallic. To compensate, it is best to ensure that there is a fatty element such as a butter sauce that will bind with a wine such as a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot. Otherwise, red wines made from Tempranillo or Sangiovese may be more suitable.

Using these few principles and learning the characteristics of wine varietals and appellations will enable the server to make good pairing suggestions, but that does not ensure the sale, which is also what good service is about. The server needs to be able to provide the guest with a memorable experience. This entails providing food and beverage recommendations that the guest may be unfamiliar with, but willing to try based on the server’s recommendation. So the first objective of a great server is to determine the guest’s preferences in terms of tastes for food and beverages. It is always astonishing to hear a server approaching a table for the first time and asking guests: “Would you care for a beverage?” They don’t ask their customers if they care for food. Just as unprofessional is having servers ramble on about drink specials, especially wine, without bothering to ask whether the guests even care for wine.

Great servers know how to elicit information from their guests, who are either open to new experiences or are unsure of potential selections, by asking a few questions that will determine whether they are hyper-sensitive, sensitive, tolerant or hyper-tolerant tasters. Questions such as how they like their coffee–black, black with sugar, with cream or with cream and sugar—will give strong indications of their taste preferences.

This is particularly true for wine salesmanship, where there are many different styles and selections to choose from. Tolerant and hyper-tolerant tasters are more likely to enjoy full-bodied wines with pronounced tastes, while sensitive and hyper-sensitive tasters are more likely to enjoy more delicate and low or non-tannic wines. Providing a wine that the guest will enjoy is the key element to fine wine service.

Edward Korry is an associate professor and chair of the Beverage & Dining Service Department in the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.