Did any one have to teach you to want to drink milk with Oreo cookies?

Have you ever tried Oreos with orange juice? Eech! The chocolate wafer has the bite of dark chocolate (a little bitter), but the creamy white center is oh so sweet. (Incidentally, I open the cookie first and scrape out the cream with my teeth and dunk the cookie part in the milk.) The milk is alkaloid; it balances the bite of the chocolate and complements the sweetness of the sugary white cream. Matching wine with food is just about the same thing? complementing or enhancing different food tastes.

Knowing what tastes good to you is the first principle of enjoying wine. Knowing what wine to order with your meal takes a little more education, but it still boils down to that one important fact: does the combination of food and wine together taste good to you?

Do you find ordering from a wine list intimidating? Do you feel the waiter is judgmental? Do you feel like a cheapskate if you order the least expensive wine on the list? Do you order red wine if you're ordering meat and white wine if you're ordering fish? Do you ever flirt with ordering a dessert wine to finish a great meal?

If you answer yes to any of the above questions, it's time to make a Grape Escape from wine list anxiety and enjoy the experience. Even great experts I've met at blind tastings emphasize the sensual enjoyment of wine as what makes it the beverage of the new millennium, not the snob appeal of high-priced fancy French labels.

I prefer reds to whites, regardless of what I'm eating. "I can find a red wine to go with anything" is my motto. Forget about white wine for fish and red wine for meat; that rule has become archaic.

Tuna, salmon, grouper - any firm-flesh, rich-tasting fish - will definitely pair well with a red. I love a Tuna au Poivre with Lenz Merlot. Gristina Pinot Noir '98 or a crisp Palmer Chardonnay '97 goes well with a grilled trout, snapper or maybe a stuffed flounder. Wolffer SagPond's rose was chosen as the number # 1 best rose by The Wall Street Journal's "Tasting Column" and is fabulous with lobster or a saut?ed scallop dish with orange sauce.

If I know I can buy at bottle of wine retail for $15 less at any wine shop, it would definitely not be the wine I would choose from a wine list! Would you?

Enjoying wine should be as much about discovery and less about ordering name brands. The only way to really understand wine is to taste, taste and taste more! I firmly believe a well thought out wine list should have a good selection of wines in the $25 to $50 price range. Don't be afraid to look at the prices first... if you're not comfortable with the wine selections you can find in your price range, skip the vino and order a martini!

Familiarize yourself with current "best bets" in wines. Currently the hot wine producers are Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Washington State and, of course, Long Island! They are earning reputations for good wines at gentle prices and being compared to some major wines from Bordeaux and California.

If you see a wine on the list you know you can buy at your local wine shop for eight bucks and the restaurant is selling it for $25, don't order it. Restaurants are entitled to a healthy mark-up on wines, generally from 2 to 3 times cost. Big chains have enormous purchasing power and can buy wines cheaper than most restaurants. Taste something you won't find everywhere.

Be adventurous... If the varietal is one you enjoy (Chardonnay, Pinot Meuniere, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, etc.), if the label looks intriguing, the price and year seem right, go ahead and order it. Make note: if you are willing to spend big bucks on Bordeaux,the best recent years are 1989, 1990, 1995 and 1997.

Remember this is all about drinking wine, not brain surgery.

A good wait person can be your ally when presenting the wine list. Ask questions and solicit opinions. Don't act like a smart ass! Let the server know what you prefer and want to spend. The person who selects the wine should be given the opportunity to taste and give the nod of approval (even when you are female and your guests are male!). Your guests are poured less than half a glass, your glass is filled to the same level, last. One bottle of wine will pour approximately five glasses of wine at the appropriate level. The server should be attentive and make sure all the glasses are topped off during the meal. I hate it when I have to fill my own glass, and I let it be known when I tip!

Dessert wines are getting more and more popular... A glass of port can really cap the dinner. Port is gentle, has a wonderful warmth and has such an air of tradition and elegance. Like all fine wine, port matures and improves in the bottle with age. Port is a fortified wine (with grape brandy) so it is both strong and sweet. It works well with a rich cheesecake, praline torte or a great cigar!

Icewines are a relatively new winemaking phenonomeon, first appearing in Germany and Austria in the l950's. Ice wine is another sweet alternative to celebrate the end of a great dinner. Ice wine is generally made from 100% Vidal, but instead of being picked at ripeness in October the grapes are left to hang on the vines until freezing solid. The resulting wine is wonderfully balanced with ripe fruit flavors and enticing aromatics. Expensive, but a real taste experience.

Name dropping... Some yummy dessert wines to scout out are Duck Walk's, Aphrodite, Pindar's Cabernet port and ice wine, Pellegrini's Finale, Bedell's Eis, Paumanock's Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, or ask for suggestions at your favorite wine shop.

If you've read this far, you are indeed on your way to becoming a true lover of wine. Be brave, be bold and keep tasting! Don't let anyone intimidate you, and be aware of your own sensory perception of what you taste. The Long Island wine country offers you the greatest tasting experience: 24 wineries with premium wines all waiting to be tasted. Cheers!