My rule is if you like it, it goes.
Otherwise a simplified general rule is:
Light for starters and dessert.
Match the color with the meat or it’s sauce.
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In Madrid Capital as well as Barcelona and all bars and the majority of venues, wines by the glass are commonplace and usually written on a blackboard …
It is very commonplace to have a wine by the glass from each of the denominations of origin.
Surely, that’s commonplace in most countries. I cannot think of a single restaurant in the UK that does not offer wine by the glass (except, of course, those places where they do not serve alcohol - usually for reasons of religious faith).
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I second the suggestion that there is no reason to be dogmatic about wine pairings with seafood (or any dish, for that matter). Nonetheless, some of my favorite pairings:
Pinot Noir with salmon
Unoaked chardonnay with halibut
Sancerre with oysters
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Once our host at a steakhouse dinner had us choose a wine before seriously considering the menu so there would be time for the decanted wine to breath. Fair enough, so we pick a pretty well-known young-ish Napa cabernet as you’d expect. Well then, he pitches a curve and suggests we order the legendary oversized lobster. Fair enough since he knows what he’s talking about and that’s a new one to us. Happy ending – good youthful California cabernet can suit real big lobster.
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Interesting. Where is this and what is the price level of the restaurant? I’ve only had that happen twice in my life. The first time was at a very upscale place in Laguna Beach where I happened to have met the sommelier before (as we owned a nearby wine shop at the time). That restaurant did this often I was told. I’d also shared a hard to find bottle we’d brought with us. (I still remember tasting the best first growth white burgundy that evening; possibly one of the best wines I’ve ever experienced.)
The other time was also trade related as we’d told our server that a partner/sommelier there was someone we’d been told a lot about by trade people we knew. The partner came by to meet us and followed up with a few tastes.
But I’ve never had that happen anywhere as just a ‘regular’ guest. Lucky you!!
The last time that we were offered by-the-glass wine pours to taste was on one of our last big pre-pandemic trips in January 2020. This was in Portland, Maine at a restaurant called Little Giant. Currently their wines by the glass range from $10 -$15. Since COVID struck, we’ve done little in-restaurant dining so I don’t want to rely on memory to recall specific earlier experiences.
We live in Massachusetts so we’re mostly here in the state and in Maine when we dine out. When we’ve been offered a sample, it’s been when we have asked for a recommendation for wine(s) by the glass. We are just regular folks without ties to the hospitality business.
LOL, maybe my husband and simply I look like we could really use a glass of wine?
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It’s not universal in the Boston area but is becoming more common. I wouldn’t expect it at most chains (e.g. no at Not Your Average Joes but yes at Legal Seafood). Within the past year or so yes at Sycamore, Branch Line, Saltie Girl, Bar Mezzana, and Boston Chops in Newton, Watertown, and Boston/Boston/Boston, respectively. All while dining outdoors 
.
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Thanks for chiming in with these useful examples. I’m glad to see that small tastes are possible in certain outdoor dining circumstances too.
I’m in NYC and its not at all unusual for a restaurant to offer a taste if you can’t decide between the various wines by the glass. If the place is wine focused enough where they have 3-4 reds, whites or more, I find that they will often offer you a taste to help you pick. Doesn’t benefit them if you order something you don’t like and you grumble about it. Just last week we went to a restaurant close to our apartment that we go fairly often to. The wine list there runs several pages. My wife wanted a rose and she ordered one by the glass. She took a sip and didn’t like it at all. The som immediately offered her a replacement. Service like that keeps us coming back. Much better for them to pour a few pennies worth of wine and have you pick something you like then pay $18 for a glass that you want to spit out and then go write a crappy review on yelp.
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