Wine lists
When you are a wino sapien, you often view the world through wine tinted glasses and an alcoholic haze. . . and so to the issue of a restaurant's wine list. I went to a local swish Indian restaurant with old friends tonight. Lovely decor, nice lighting and space, good tableware, pleasing food, very casual somewhat uninformed service and a very safe two page wine list. A list that would suit a generic restaurant full of generic customers. There were 3 types of wine on offer. Crisp aromatic whites (riesling, sauvignon and the token gerwurz), delicate (pinot noir) and full bodied reds (cabernet and shiraz).
Why then does a restaurant serving robust indian meals insist on having pinot noir and cabernet on their wine list - have they no idea of the utility of the wine? Do they want to perpetuate the impression that Indian food and wine don't match? It could of course just be that we live in democratic, pluralist society. . .
When will more wine lists be more utilitarian - with wines that match the food and challenge the customer. Perhaps one way forward is single menu with food items listed and wine recommendations after each item (Plus a separate list for the sad wine tragics and obsessives). The recommendations could be safe choices, followed by more challenging and unusual but complementary combinations. This might actually have the effect of making the venue and the customer think about both food and wine married together.
4 comments:
I think one of the many issues with wine lists is that many people simply do not want to think about wine that much and stick to what they know. That goes for the restaurant owners and the punters.
My local Thai place is run by a wine nut, but the list in the restaurant is very simple, big name only stuff. The bloke running the shop says that he had a great list a year ago, but he was the only one drinking anything other than big name gear. It is also easier for him to deal with one or two suppliers...
Shaggy,
Agree the big names and usual suspects often dominate a wine list. This is comforting for the average punter and also easy for the venue (supplier, recognition factor etc).
I don't mind if a list is made up mainly of the big sellers and names - as long as these are a good fit with the food.
The icing on the cake would be a hand full of more esoteric and unusual wines - either small local producers or old world new releases.
I wonder if having the food menu and wine list incorporated would encourage people to pick the selected combinations - this might help move some of the more unusual wines that are a good fit with the food.
One can only dream. . .
"casual, uninformed service?".... that's very kind of you... the service was TERRIBLE!.. must be the 4% unemployement that makes it hard to find anyone with an IQ over 40.
I'm no expert on the serving of wine, but is the wine bottle supposed to go "clunk" on the rim of the glass?. Is the waiter supposed to poke you in the back with his finger to say "D'ya want some wiiiiiyne?"
p.s. i thought the wine tasted a bit "grapey".
Granto
Grant,
Was trying to be nice, but you are right - the service (especially the wine part) was awful.
The two worst things in my mind were having to open the second bottle of wine ourselves and not been offered the right to taste and refuse the wine if it was defective.
PS - A wino sapien must avoid at all cost describing a wine as grapey! You need to find some other wanky terminology. . . We should start the education process. . .
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