I'm what I call a reverse diner. While most everyone else sizes up a restaurant menu upon being seated, I ask for the wine list first. Once I've decided which wine is calling my name, I take a peek at the menu and build a meal around the wine.

This is especially useful when visiting a restaurant with exceptional wine offerings. I'm there for the wine. The meal is merely the foil.

On a recent trip to Bordeaux, France, I had the opportunity to stay at a small but stylish hotel called Vatel just outside the city center. The hotel operates as a training center for young aspirants to the hospitality industry. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a few kindred spirits in the hotel restaurant, Les Tables Vatel.

As I sat down for dinner one evening, the host explained the menu options. He was most excited about an innovative three-course dinner option that included a glass of wine with each course. But there was a twist.

I was given a choice of four wines for the first course. Depending on which wine I chose, the chef would whip up a dish from the menu to match it. I was game and ordered an earthy white from the Rhone Valley.

A few minutes later, the first course arrived: grilled octopus that had been smoked slowly overnight and finished on the grill. From that moment forward, I knew I was in for a brilliant evening of discovery.

For the main course, I chose a glass of red wine from Portugal's Douro Valley. The chef proceeded to dazzle me with a roast pigeon with pepper sauce on the side. Served rare, the pigeon was tender and flavorful, as good as any pigeon I've had in France. And that includes Michelin-star restaurants. It was a heavenly match with the beautiful red from the Douro.

Finally, for the dessert course, I ordered a sweet red wine from the Languedoc region in the south of France. I was testing the chef's creativity and thought perhaps the wine would be served with a savory cheese. Instead, it was paired with a hot molten chocolate fondant cake. All I could think to say was "tres bien"!

Suffice it to say, I was dazzled by this novel dining concept. Offering wine pairings with a chef's menu isn't anything new. For many wine-savvy restaurants, it's a way to let the sommelier shine and boost wine sales at the same time.

Choosing the wines first and then asking the kitchen to respond is another matter altogether. The closest thing I have seen to this is an experience at Addison, a highly regarded restaurant at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar hotel in San Diego. For a party of four, I chose two extraordinary bottles of wine from the sensational wine list. The sommelier seized the opportunity to ask if I wanted the kitchen to build a menu around them. He didn't have to twist my arm.

On another occasion, while dining at Bistro Laurent in Paso Robles, California, I ordered a grand cru red Burgundy from Domaine Armand Rousseau, a legendary producer in Gevrey-Chambertin. The sommelier thought for a minute and then quickly proposed that he ask chef Laurent Grangien to prepare a special dinner around my wonderful bottle. It was another beautiful experience based upon my habit of choosing the wine before even looking at the menu.

I don't know that many restaurants would have either the inclination or the ability to imitate the innovative menu program at Les Tables Vatel, or follow the examples of Addison and Bistro Laurent. I do know most great chefs relish the thought of complementing their cuisine with exceptional wines that enhance the dining experience.

So next time you visit a restaurant that is proud of its wine cellar, you might give my approach to dining out a road test. You could well be pleasantly surprised by what happens next.

Follow Robert on Twitter at @wineguru. To find out more about Robert Whitley and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.