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I got a Cotes Du Rhone Villages GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) wine as a gift and would like more. Other than checking the wine list at restaurants on-line before arriving, how do I order a similar type? Do I ask for a GSM wine and see what they've got, or are they going to look at me like I'm crazy? It'd be worse if I tried to pronounce the 3 grape varietals. J'ai besoin de l'aide!
Any Cotes du Rhone red wine will have grenache, syrah, and mourvedre (with some exceptions that are probably not useful here). You could simply ask for a suggestion for a wine from the cotes du rhone at a restaurant. You could also just tell the waiter that you like red Rhones and request suggestions based on that. There is no guarantee that another Rhone, although it will have the same grapes, will be as much to your liking.
While you may feel uncomfortable at first, a good waiter should make you feel comfortable asking questions about a wine list and should be able to offer you suggestions based on something that you like. You can tell a waiter that you aren't very knowledgeable, but had a red from Cotes du Rhone Village that you really liked, and that should be enough of a signal to get you a good recommendation (also feel free to offer your wine budget, a recommendation may be easier with that information for the waiter).
The wine list may not obviously show that a wine is from the Rhone, because it may refer to a more specific region, like Chateauneuf-du-pape or Crozes-Hermitage.
Additionally, there are wines produced in other parts of the world that make use of those grapes, some of which are inspired by the flavors of Cotes du Rhone. Shiraz in South Africa and Australia, California & Washington Syrah, Australian Grenache, Spanish Garnacha, or the wine of California's Rhone Rangers may also interest you.
Just an FYI, while its not important at all, the pronunciations are basically:
groo-nash (shortened oo, kind of like "grew," but cutting off the 'w', and short a--like the 'a' in "caw")
sir-ah
moor-ved-ruh (kind of hard to explain how -re sounds in French; I've never actually heard the grape pronounced in English)
most cheaper wines from the South of France (Midi, Rhone, Languedoc, Rousillon) will have similar flavor profiles. Some will have more fruit, some more acid, some more savoriness. For better or worse, wine isn't like a mass-market beverage like Coke or Pepsi that's consistent in flavor from year to year or region to region. This variation is part of the allure of wine.
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