Master Grazia’s life skills

Silvia Pedrotti, head sommelier at Sager + Wilde in London

My main piece of advice when you’re trying to choose the best wine for your meal is to ask for help. It is literally our job to guide you, so don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask your sommelier or your server. Don’t worry too much about using words like ‘acidity’ or ‘notes’, just try to describe what you like in your own words.

My personal choice is to always go for a bottle over a glass. I’m Italian, so maybe I have a romantic idea of gastronomy, but I think wine is for sharing. Don’t be afraid to go for the house wine – most of the time, it’s good. You should be able to get a decent bottle for £30. That’s good value for money.

Don’t bother matching your food with your wine, just drink what you want. Don’t pay too much attention to where the wine was made, because you can get good and terrible wine from anywhere. Look past the most famous regions. You can get very good value Italian, Spanish and Greek wines, for example. My current favourite is called Ciello Bianco, from Sicily.

Most of all, please be adventurous and go outside your comfort zone – don’t just order the pinot grigio or chardonnay every single time. I get people who come in frequently and just order the same wine because it’s the safe choice for them, and I want to scream at them to explore. You should try as many different things as you can, in your price range. Set a budget if you need to and go for it. I had this older couple come in and ask me to recommend new things for them to try, and I was so happy they asked. It’s never too late to learn what you like to drink.