Tiptoeing Through the Minefield of Wine by the Glass
It pays to buy carefully when you don’t need the whole bottle
Posted: Apr 20, 2011 11:00am ET
Call me cheap, but I
hesitate any time a single glass of wine costs more than $10 at a restaurant.
Sure, I'll spend $15 or $20 for a glass, but not on a whim and not just because
it's the latest love affair of the restaurant wine buyer. At that price, I need
more certainty, or I'd rather just get a decent bottle and spend more.
Don't misunderstand: I think
wine-by-the-glass programs are better than ever. The savviest restaurants offer
a wider and more worthy selection, particularly as customers have been spending
their money more carefully in recent years.
But ordering by the glass is
often a minefield. All programs are not created equal, and it pays to buy
carefully. Some of the pitfalls are easy to spot. If vintage dates are absent
from the by-the-glass menu, that's an obvious sign the restaurant doesn't take
wine seriously. Order a beer instead.
Sometimes it helps to have a
little insider savvy. Let's say a by-the-glass list promotes a single winery or
carries multiple varietals, but only from two or three labels. There's a good
chance the restaurant has an agreement with a distributor eager to sell cases
for a large client like Constellation Brands (Estancia, Blackstone, Clos du
Bois) or Gallo (Ecco Domani, Barefoot, Mirassou). Such prepackaged lists can be
a mixed bag of good and so-so wines.
Here are some other things
to consider when ordering wine by the glass:
Do the math: The wholesale price of a bottle is typically
one-third below retail. So a Chardonnay that sells for $30 in a wine shop costs
restaurants and retailers about $20. The average restaurant markup is two to
three times above wholesale, so that Chardonnay may sell for $40 to $60 on wine
lists. That's a profit of 100 to 200 percent a bottle. However, chances are
that the restaurant barely broke even on that beautiful steak you ordered, so
it sort of balances out.
Easy money: The profit by the glass can be even higher than by
the bottle. It's not unusual for high-end restaurants to price a single glass
of wine at the wholesale cost of the entire bottle, or higher. So a glass of
that same Chardonnay—you got it—would cost $20 or more. That way, the owner at
least breaks even (the cost of service and glassware aside), even if the
restaurant doesn't sell the rest of the bottle and has to dump it.
Restaurateurs who truly appreciate wine aren't usually looking for the easy payday.
They're more interested in offering an interesting selection that complements
the menu. And they're more willing to work to sell by-the-glass wines so they
don't need high markups to cover waste.
Is older better? Sometimes a mature wine by the glass can be a treat
if it's a good producer and it's a Cabernet Sauvignon or another variety that
ages well. But often it's a fast way for a winery to unload old inventory. That
2002 Côtes du Rhône for $15 a glass may sound tasty, but it was a lousy vintage
that's past its prime and the restaurant got the wine for 10 bucks a bottle.
Show me the bottle: You know it's a wine-savvy restaurant when the server
brings the bottle to the table and pours your glass. Is that too much to ask
for $10? That way, you know it's the right wine and the vintage as billed.
Otherwise you're taking their word for it when the glass arrives and, frankly,
I often have my doubts.
Send it back: Be brave. If the wine stinks, ask them to open a new
bottle or request something else. I've had glasses that tasted like they were
opened a week ago Tuesday, or it had been stewing all day on the back bar of a
toasty restaurant.
Beware the autocrats: I'm as passionate about interesting and obscure
wines as the next wine geek, but it's OK to have a little familiarity in the
by-the-glass list too. I'll try that glass of Tannat the sommelier recommends
with dinner, but maybe I'd prefer a well-known Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc with
the appetizer. Life is short, throw me a bone.
Those are just a handful of
the issues. I didn't touch on service and decent glassware and any number of
things.
What are the issues that bug
you about wines by the glass? What have been your best by-the-glass
discoveries? Are restaurants doing a good job and how can they do better?
I have
the feeling that, even if you're not as cheap as I am, there's a lot of room
for debate on this one.
The biggest problem I encounter with restaurant wine is not the price, but the temperature. Nothing is worse than a warm cab...