|
How to Judge a Good Wine List
A wine list is not just a list of wines.
The best wine lists have a lot of thought behind them. So how
can you tell if you are holding a great list in your hands?
This guide will tell you all you need to know.
Look for Originality
It is a well known fact in the industry that some wine lists
are written by the wholesalers. This occurs when the restaurant
simply abdicates responsibility for its own wine list and hands
it over to a distributor. The distributor naturally loads up
the wine list with wines from it s portfolio and sprinkles a few
other big brands in there for good measure. Boring!
Worse still are wine lists “bought” by the big wine companies
that are equally loaded up with their own products. “Buying a
list involves discounts, premiums, special pricing – all
designed to shift product rather than provide you the guest with
a memorable wine experience. A bought list is often presented
in a folder with the wine company’s logo on the front. A dead
giveaway!
These lists are unequally balanced towards the products of
the distributor or that particular wine company. They also
indicate a complete lack of interest on the part of the
restaurant in their wine service.
Other lists are simply a collection of famous names that do
not reflect the personality of the particular restaurant.
A good list will provide interesting selections that match
the vision of the restaurant.
Compatibility
Australian cabernets and chardonnays should not dominate the
wine list at a Spanish tapas restaurant – the wines should be
predominantly Spanish. Seafood restaurants should not be
weighted towards full-bodied red wines in favour of
fish-friendly whites. In general, wines should complement the
food with which they'll be served.
Depth
Many wine lists are formulaic. You will see four wines of
each variety without much thought as to how those wines should
be made up. At the very least, they should represent the best
wines from a particular area, or be interspersed with wines of
that style that provide some complexity and interest (how about
a wooded sauvignon blanc amongst the unwooded ones? Or a
Coonawarra Shiraz instead of the cabernets?)
Good wine lists look beyond the obvious. Not only will you
see the usual roster of Cabernet Sauvignons, Shirazes, Merlots
and Pinots, but you will see less common varieties such as
Cabernet Franc or some of the Italian varieties.
Furthermore, all truly great wine lists have vintage
depth. These older wines are often at the end of the list in
the “Cellar Reserve” list. Some lists have multiple different
vintages of the same wine in consecutive years – great for a
table of four or more who want to do vertical flights of a wine.
Length
A wine list does not have to be War and Peace. Often, a 30
page list says more about the economic good times than the
scholarly approach of the restaurant to wine. An excellent short
list often takes longer to assemble and requires more thought
(ever tried composing a sonnet?)
Price
It is widely known in the restaurant trade that the mark ups
on wine help to keep food prices down. Nearly everybody does it.
Ever noticed that a main course is rarely over thirty dollars,
but wine can run into hundreds of dollars?
A good list tries to avoid this practice. The high end wines
are not marked up as much as they are in other restaurants. The
pricing should be attractive rather than extortionate.
Support
A large part of a winning list is not printed on the list.
It is the knowledgeable wine waiter or sommelier on the floor at
all times. It is the well trained waiter who is unobtrusive and
attentive. It is the quality glassware that is spotlessly clean
and shaped for each wine style. It is the storage facilities in
the restaurant that are at the correct temperature.
An Example
So what kind of wine list would impress even the most jaded
palate? Well, Legal Sea Foods restaurant in Boston had a list
that provoked this response from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Hedonists” column:
“It is studded with wonderful
wines, from a broad cross-section of the world’s finest wine
regions. Older vintages, new releases, they’re all there! But
what makes this list particularly stunning is the fact that
Legal Sea Foods prices their wines extremely fairly, with some
being offered at less than retail. As President and CEO Roger
Berkowitz states on the company’s website, ‘I pledge you will
pay less for the wines on Legal’s list than for those on any
other establishment’s. After all, I want you back.’
So, what kinds of wines appear
on the list? There is a large selection of wines offered by the
glass, including flights for those looking for an education, an
excellent list of half bottles (including 1999 Louis Latour
Corton Charlemagne for $47 and Trimbach’s Riesling Clos Ste-Hune
for $68), and an outstanding list of bottles. Extraordinary
bargains abound, like the 1990 Dom Pérignon for $150 (they have
a number of vintages), the 1990 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame
for $89, the 2000 Catena Chardonnay for $25, the Château
Ste.-Michelle Canoe Ridge for $37, and countless others. What
other restaurant in this country offers 20 year old
Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles from Domaine Leflaive for $75?
The list’s reds are also remarkable (great California Cabernet
selection and prices, for example), yet this restaurant’s
greatest dishes call for white, which is a shame because I would
have loved to down a number of them (particularly the great 1985
l’Eglise-Clinet at $150 or maybe even tasted the 1992 Chave
Hermitage at $44 to see how it’s held up).”
If a wine list can provoke a response like that in you, then
it would be well on its way to greatness!
A great wine list in this country should be an encyclopedic
guide to both the great classics and the new wave wines of
Australia and the world. It should have depth, breadth and
fascinating interest, and be backed up by enthusiastic staff
trained in the art of fine wine service.
|
