The role of a restaurant's wine list

[Roy Hersh]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/dinin ... st-be.html?

We all have quips, gripes and pet peeves when it comes to restaurant wine lists ... the good, the bad and the ugly. What are some of yours?

[Carl D]

I think this comment in the article sums up my feelings:

I have no problem with an entirely Greek list at a Greek restaurant, as long as somebody can answer questions intelligently.

As long as someone in the restaurant can talk intelligently about the wines and how they relate to the food, I say bring it on!

[Brian C.]

I'm someone who wants to see stuff I don't recognize. There are too many places here that have boring wine lists. That's a much bigger crime to me than a really obscure list, anyway. Some people are more comfortable drinking Opus One or Silver Oak whenever dining on an expense account at a steakhouse. Good for them. I'm not surprised to hear that some of them might feel like a fish out of water at the more adventurous places.

It goes without saying, but the worst crime of all is to have ridiculous markups. Many times I have passed up wine in the restaurant because I refuse to pay those prices. I will pay up sometimes if I think I'm getting a real education, but otherwise, forget it, iced tea it will be.

The wines should work with the food, regardless of the obscurity. I love obscure, but it has to have a purpose. And somms and wait staff should be able to offer guidance in this regard. Good food and service are most important, but the wine list can make or break meriting the extra star. If I see a restaurant with a killer wine list, it's a sure sign that the meal is going to be killer also. If it is a boring list, and/or ridiculously marked up (being both is the kiss of death), then I am much less inclined to go there.

[Moses Botbol]

I like to see wines that are well priced and have age on them. A list of all 2009 and 2010 whatever is not very exciting. I expect to see wines native to the cuisine of the restaurant. Wine brought out at the right temperature really sets the tone for good expectations.

[Brian C.]

Moses, I just ran across info about a place in Boston called Troquet, speaking of wine lists. http://passionatefoodie.blogspot.com/20 ... -wine.html Have you ever been there?

[Moses Botbol]

Moses, I just ran across info about a place in Boston called Troquet, speaking of wine lists. http://passionatefoodie.blogspot.com/20 ... -wine.html Have you ever been there?

I have been there once a while back and they do have a good wine list, but I had no idea on the prices listed in that article. I wonder if that's still the case?

Anthony's Pier 4 (in Boston) has some incredible wines at great prices, but the food... not so much. AP4 is the place to go just for wine.

[Brian C.]

I think Troquet's cellar clearance is every August. No idea if they still have 1970 Croft VP offered at $50 a bottle.

[Eric Menchen]

I'm fine with obscure labels, and prefer them over the mainstream stuff; but yes, the staff needs to be able to tell me about those wines. If you want mainstream wines, eat at Outback Steakhouse. The one disadvantage of the less common names is that I don't know if it is a reasonable price or not. What does a bottle of Scholium Project’s 2009 Prince in His Caves go for at retail? Well, there is the smart phone and wine-searcher for that

Recently had dinner at a Cucina Urbana in San Diego, and enjoyed it and the wine we had. They sell bottles for take out and by the case and claim they are selling at regular retail prices. You pay the same price for a bottle in the restaurant, plus $8 corkage for whatever you buy. I appreciate that concept and even though we weren't going to drink much, I bought a bottle and shared it with Marijke as well as two other people sitting at the bar next to us.

[Marc J.]

I also enjoyed Anthony's Pier 4 (as far as the entire experience goes), although the food is a bit disappointing. Locally, Valentino's has a superb wine list and the staff is very knowledgeable about the wines. Top notch food & top notch wines...it doesn't get much better!

[Ray Barnes]

Locally the mark ups are very high and more often than not, the quality of the wine is far below that of the food. When a recent vintage Dom Perignon was listed for about $320, I decided to dine elsewhere. Fortunately, the BC regulations have changed 2 weeks or so ago, now you can bring in your own wine.

[Paul Fountain]

If a restaurant's food is particularly authentic to a country or region, then I don't think it is unreasonable to have a wine list that matches the food focus. I'm happy to take a punt or talk to a Som in circumstances where I know nothing about the wine. For me, that tends to happen in Italian restaurants. The caveat, is that I'm not likely to spend too big on a bottle I know nothing about but I'm more than willing to give something a go. Then again I've usually got an idea of how much I'm prepared to spend on a wine before I set foot in a restaurant. I almost never order a wine when I'm out, that I have bottles of in my cellar.

What really disappoints me is when a list is too safe and made up solely of larger well known commercial releases. In that case I might order a beer, although if the wine list is that bad, then the beer list will probably be worse.

[Moses Botbol]

Moses, I just ran across info about a place in Boston called Troquet, speaking of wine lists. http://passionatefoodie.blogspot.com/20 ... -wine.html Have you ever been there?

Going to Troquet tonight. Sad thing is I only know one other wine drinker who's willing to go with me. I figure 2 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of port is as much as we could drink. Will report back on what we got.

[Moses Botbol]

Moses, I just ran across info about a place in Boston called Troquet, speaking of wine lists. http://passionatefoodie.blogspot.com/20 ... -wine.html Have you ever been there?

Going to Troquet tonight. Sad thing is I only know one other wine drinker who's willing to go with me. I figure 2 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of port is as much as we could drink. Will report back on what we got.

I went last night with a friend had the following wines:

1964 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste
1979 Ch du Cayrou Cahors
1966 Ch. Cos d'Estournel
1985 Ch Vaugelas
1970 Croft Vintage Port

[Brian C.]

So how were the wines, Moses? And how were you able to post so early this morning? I can't imagine what the day after feels like.

[Moses Botbol]

So how were the wines, Moses? And how were you able to post so early this morning? I can't imagine what the day after feels like.

I was there with one friend and later on Elys came by to have one glass of wine and some port. I am feeling it today, but I am a morning person so getting up is no big deal.

The Cornas was corked, but everything else was great. All had good color and no off notes. Heck the GPL still had some fruit in it. The Vaugelas had the most tannin and paired with my beef dish the best. The CdE and GPL were just classic mature BDX that were best served by themselves. Croft did not have as much heat as I would've expected. We finished the meal with a cheese plate and the port, but we decanted everything at the same time.

[Brian C.]

Wow, sounds fun. I can only imagine what other goodies they had. I assume everything was $50 or less, and only for month of August? I assume you meant Cahors instead of Cornas, btw.

[Moses Botbol]

Wow, sounds fun. I can only imagine what other goodies they had. I assume everything was $50 or less, and only for month of August? I assume you meant Cahors instead of Cornas, btw.

Yes to everything. That was the only bottle of port at the time.