Restaurant tasting menu wine pairings

[GordonCooks]

I've enjoyed many a tasting menu and am usually inclined to have the sommelier pair the wines if I think it's a value. If I’m interested in drinking a particular wine - I choose food that will be complimentary. I'm usually dining with my girl so the chance to sample 6-8 pours is attractive. If I’ve never been to a particular restaurant – I would ask the sommelier what wines they featured in the pairing and the cost.

Has anyone had any particularly good/bad pairings and were they a bargain/rip-off ?

[Suzanne F]

I thought that the $65 wine pairing we received at Jean Georges was very good and a good value -- at least in that it saved us the pain and suffering of having to agonize over a list with many unfamiliar bottles. Not every wine we had was to our taste, but overall we got to taste some we would never have imagined. So we learned a lot.

Even if they did rip us off -- now we know some new wines to try that are not terribly expensive (the silver lining to that possible cloud).

Sip here for description of our meal and wines

[tommy]

i always enjoy the wine pairings a babbo (NYC), as i know little about italian wine, and they seem to put a lot of thought into the food/wine relationship. oh, wait, that wasn't funny.

[GordonCooks]

I thought that the $65 wine pairing we received at Jean Georges was very good and a good value -- at least in that it saved us the pain and suffering of having to agonize over a list with many unfamiliar bottles.  Not every wine we had was to our taste, but overall we got to taste some we would never have imagined.  So we learned a lot. 

Even if they did rip us off -- now we know some new wines to try that are not terribly expensive (the silver lining to that possible cloud).

Sip here for description of our meal and wines

I think an advantage to that scenario is exposing you to a inexpensive wine that drinks as well as a more expensive counterpart. Keep that info on hand for your next trip to the wine store.

[Christopher]

I worked as a Captain and orchestrated many tasting menus paired with wines for each course and have had a great number of these experiences as a diner as well.

For my tastes this is not the best way to enjoy a meal as even when it is done well with solid matches throughout the dinner there is a certain fatigue on the palate as one moves through the different wines. I much prefer to have one or two bottles of wine to bounce the many courses off of to see how the wine changes with the food. I have learned more this way and discovered some improbable matches that I might otherwise have missed.

[nightscotsman]

I'm realatively inexperienced with wine and not a little intimidated by wine lists, so I really appreciate a pre-set list of wine pairings with tasting menus. I get to try new things and I get the benefit of the sommelier's carefully considered expertise (I hope) rather than an off-the-cuff recommendation at the table. The only downside for me is I'm an alcohol lightweight, so after a couple glasses of wine - let alone the 4 or 5 that come with some tasting menus - I'm completely looped and in no shape to drive home. So unless someone else is driving, I usually order an aperatif cocktail and pass on wine with dinner.

[Liza]

I very much appreciate the wine pairing list at Union Pacific - they list each dish and the wine they suggest to pair with it. This allows the diner to choose or make changes, and I'm sure it helps wine sales.

[mogsob]

The wine parings are March are fabulous -- you can decide on the value.