The biggest advantage a date lends versus a job interview is, the choice of venue is yours.  This is easily the single most important aspect about a date, outside of course, whom you have picked to accompany you.   Location will set the tempo for everything.  I suggest someplace where conversation can flow naturally and without excess ambient noise.  Romantic words are often whispered, not shouted.  You want to show class, and maybe even a chance of something new.  Remember, the place you pick says a lot about who you are.

With this in mind, I suggest wine tasting as a perfect first date.  Assuming your date drinks wine, a classy wine tasting venue lends itself to quite possibly be the perfect first date locale.  Try to find a location that has a warm setting, preferably candlelight and comfortable furniture.  Making your date feel at home, outside of home, will be an immediate advantage.  If the location has a seating area with couches and fine tables, I would suggest making reservations in advance for that area.

Wine tasting has advantages you may not think of in advance, but will come to appreciate.  One clear advantage is, you have something to do in-between those long awkward silences.  Instead of putting your foot in your mouth, try a nice vintage port instead.  Second, you will always have a safe topic of conversation.  Asking your date how they like the current wine selection or perhaps asking them if they want to try another wine style, is a great transition from silence to conversation.  Most of all, the effects of multiple glasses of wine will undoubtedly loosen the inhibitions of your date, and quickly break the tension that seems to hover over first dates.

One mistake to avoid, don’t act like you know everything when you are approached by the sommelier.  A sommelier deals with wine for a living, and often they have an encyclopedic knowledge of wines.  Defer to their expertise and let them do the talking for you.  Ask them questions about the wines you are sampling, better yet, ask your date what type of flavors they enjoy, and have the sommelier bring you flights that match their tastes.  If her taste preference is fruity or dry, your sommelier will find something to her liking.  Showing your date you are willing to put the resources of a skilled professional to work, just to satisfy her flavor palette, will make her feel pampered and special.  Now how can you go wrong with that?

Flight:  Tasting of multiple wines to compare then side by side.  2-3 oz.  6.5 7-oz for normal full glass.