For The Love Of Port

That was a real nothing article. There are plenty of reasons to put supermarket wines vs. unknown wines on a list. A lot depends on the clientele and where the restaurant falls in the dining experience. One thing with having supermarket wines is everyone knows how much they sell for at liquor store and people may hunt down the deals and avoid what they find to be too expensive.

When I look at a wine list; I go through based on price and then narrow down from there. Few restaurants get me excited about their list. Inevitably, most are overpriced and when served, they are train wreck. The red’s are warm as piss and whites are colder than American pilsner. Decanting is an afterthought, and cheesecloth is nowhere in sight.

I agree with the writer of the article. There are few things as frustrating as seeing a restaurant wine list populated with the common brands. To me it shows that they either don't care or that they think that's what the clientele really wants, and that's what will make them the most money. I like it when restaurants go off the beaten path for the more obscure varietals. Just the other night, for example, I had a glass of jacquere (from the Savoie region), which I can't say I've ever seen offered by the glass before. That likely showed that someone was striving for interesting.

I won't buy a supermarket brand from the wine list, and only rarely in the supermarket for that matter. I'm just interested in trying different things. If the restaurant wants to put those on the list because they have clients that will buy them, I'm o.k. with that, but if the supermarket brands dominate the list, it probably isn't a restaurant I'd go to; unless it happens to be a brewpub.

My guess is that their alcoholic beverage distributor made up that list for them.