M. Shanken editorial on wine prices

[Fat Guy]

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Main/Fea...97,1415,00.html

[Beachfan]

Lupa and Babbo are examples of restaurants doing it right.

[mogsob]

Agreed. But then again I am the consumer and consumers always are in favor of lower prices.

That said, I think the days of the multipage wine list are coming to an end. A good chef should be able to stock a nice selection of wines that are optimal for their food. Personally, I would take an innovative list such as the one offered at Etats Unis over the tome at La Cote Basque any day.

Surely the cost of keeping such a large cellar contributes to the high cost of the wine on the list (the more wine on hand for long periods of time, the greater the risk of spoilage).

[Steve Plotnicki]

Shanken is pandering to his readership. WS was the first to champion high prices when the stock market was headed north not south. In fact they began that whole auction watch page a number of years back where they tumpeted the lastest wild prices paid at auction with headlines like "82's rise another 12%." What Shanken is saying now is something the rest of us have been saying for nearly five years. There is no reason for the prices of wine to be so high. As I stated in our earlier discussion about BYO, the $270 I had to pay for a bottle of 1999 Meo-Camuzet Clos Vougeot at Lespinasse is outrageous considering they probably paid $60. And I use that number because I was able to buy it for $90. They should be selling that wine for $125-$150.

Mogsob - The creation of places like Veritas, Trouville and Washington Park seems to fly in the face of your argument. You can say that those places exist almost solely for the purpose of having a textbook like wine list.

[Ron Johnson]

Nothing diminishes my opinion of a restaurant more than opening the wine list to find a limited selection comprised almost entirely of California Chardonnay and Merlot all of which are marked up 3 times the retail price. Thats when I summon the "sommelier" and say, "Beer please."

[mogsob]

Steve P. -- Of your list, I have only been to Veritas. It is the exception that proves the rule.

While thumbing through a lengthy wine list is a favorite pursuit (much to my wife's annoynace), I find that most wine lists are seemingly put together haphazardly, without much thought to which wines would be best paired with the chef's food.

More critically, many wine lists seemingly pander to the lowest common denominator. How else can you explain the proliferation of merlot (and CA in general) on wine lists?

[rich]

I totally agree with Steve and I think his term of "pandering" is being kind. The WS' editorial policy shifts more times than a driver at the Indy 500.

[Rail Paul]

That said, I think the days of the multipage wine list are coming to an end.  A good chef should be able to stock a nice selection of wines that are optimal for their food

The trend of suggesting a wine for each item on a menu is continuing to grow. Although some folks have the expertise to parse a dense wine list for the precise match, many customers don't have that confidence. Offering a few choices at appropriate price points may move bottles and expose people to wines they might not have considered before.

A well tuned wine list will never replace a thoughtful sommelier, who may also be a threatened species...

[mickblueeyes]

I agree. I rarely ever order wine while dining out unless it is by the glass, which severely limits my options. I usually end up going with inexpensive Californians with a per glass cost equal to half the bottle cost. Might as well buy a pork tenderloin, some veggies and nice wine and sit at home.