The best way to ask for more wine

At a restaurant ''winemaker's dinner'' last week, I was poured six tiny glasses of wine to go with six little food plates. I'm quite a tall and well-built fellow, and there's always plenty of wine and food to go around at my beefsteak-and-burgundy club dinners, with bottles left on the table. How do I politely ask for more wine at an event I've paid plenty to attend?

Unlike you, I'm quite short and have never, to my knowledge, been described as well built, but I am a thirsty individual and I share your pain. It is indeed dispiriting to book and cough up for what one hopes will be a Bacchanalian feast, only to be served a procession of what Marco Pierre White might describe as ''tepid knick-knacks'' accompanied by thimblefuls of wine.

I go to quite a few wine dinners and at most the food is plentiful and the wine flows freely. But I have also attended a couple where everything has been - shall we say - a little austere. The only thing supplied in abundance has been talk, with long stand-up spiels between courses from a winemaker or sales representative. By the time they've finished chatting and you're about to start eating, your miniature glass of wine has been drained. That's fine if someone comes around and pours again so you can sample the wine with its designated dish. If they don't, however, you fail to enjoy the food match, and it's frustrating to find that pre-booking a taxi for the trip home was entirely unnecessary.

I think the trick is to ingratiate yourself, early on, with the person pouring the wine. Catch his or her eye, explain how much you like the wine and ask if you could have a little more.

Do this a couple of times and by halfway through the dinner your waiter will have figured you're a soak. Duty demands that she ensures everyone else at the dinner gets their minimum pour but - unless she is of a peculiarly sadistic persuasion - she will take the hint and leave unfinished bottles on your table.

You should, of course, offer these bottles to your tablemates and others around you. Don't feel bad about asking for more - winemakers who take part in these occasions are often supplying their wines to the restaurateurs at discounted prices because they're hoping to make direct sales.