Don't be intimidated by the wine list when you dine out. There are four common features that will help you decode it so you can impress your friends, guests or a dinner date. Thanks to the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), we have the elements in the order they are likely to appear on a restaurant's wine menu.

Producer
The producer (or bottler) can be a single wine estate, a cooperative or a brand. Look for words such as "Tenuta" (estate), "Castello" (castle), "Azienda" (company), "Cantina" (winery), "Poggio" (hill), "Vigneto" or "Vigna" (vineyard), "Fattoria" (farm) and "Produttori" (producers) to help you identify the producer.