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Restaurant wines - 3/8/2008 6:32:36 PM

La Bets

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Joined: 3/6/2008
Status: offline

Any tips for choosing wines in a restaurant? How about house wines?

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RE: Restaurant wines - 3/8/2008 8:16:46 PM

Serge Birbrair

Posts: 1493
Joined: 4/23/2006
From: Boca Raton, Florida
Status: offline

The rules I go buy:

1) if prices are decent - check the new wines

2) if prices are with high mark ups - stick to familiar wines

3) If prices are insane - San Pellegrino, Martinies or even Cosmopolitans make more sense than paying 400% mark ups.

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Having a good day? I can spoil it! -

(in reply to La Bets)

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RE: Restaurant wines - 3/10/2008 3:28:07 AM

Colonel Lawrence

Posts: 1953
Joined: 4/24/2006
From: Arabia
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http://www.cellartracker.com/forum/House_wines/m_18734/tm.htm

(in reply to Serge Birbrair)

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RE: Restaurant wines - 3/10/2008 1:59:14 PM

jamscreator

Posts: 313
Joined: 9/10/2007
From: Indiana USA
Status: offline

Most of the time I like to try new wines at a restaurant. Admittedly, part of the reason is that I don't want to pay thrice what a wine retails for that I already have in my cellar. I like to try the "house" wines from time to time, but I insist that the person suggesting it to me must be a good salesperson and know what they're talking about (or what they've been told about the wine by their boss).

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Jeff Lawson

"Drink what you like, and like what you drink."
-Robert Mondavi

(in reply to Colonel Lawrence)

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RE: Restaurant wines - 3/10/2008 2:03:10 PM

grafstrb

Posts: 408
Joined: 11/6/2007
From: Los Angeles, via Minnesota
Status: offline

I typically scan the list of "wines available by the glass" for wines who's prices I am familiar with, to get a sense of the markup. Almost always, all of the "wines available by the glass" are plonk, and not worth ordering, at any price. I then move to the "wines by the bottle" list, to get an idea of how the markup is on the bottles. Typically, I won't pay more than 2X retail at a restaurant...this strategy, admittedly, often precludes me from ordering wine when I go out. Ideally, a restaurant will have their wine list available for viewing online - if it can be viewed online, I check it out before going to the restaurant. If the markups are too high, I inquire as to corkage -- generally, I'm willing to go along with corkage of $25 or less.

If the list is priced in such a way that I feel I'm not getting totally screwed by ordering off of it, I will...
1. look for a wine that I've wanted to buy, but haven't yet had the opportunity to do so; or
2. look for a wine I have in my cellar, but haven't yet tried, to see how it's coming along; or
3. look for a wine I've had in the past, and enjoyed; or
4. ask the somellier for his/her top 3 suggestions, and choose one of those.
5. I usually look at the food menu before ordering, so I have a sense of what kind of wine will best pair with the food I plan on ordering...the food is of utmost importance when I go out to a restaurant...if I merely wanted good wine I'd stay at home, and save myself the expense.

(in reply to Colonel Lawrence)

Post #: 5