10 Tips for Discovering Value on Restaurant Wine Lists

Quick: Look at the Pinot Noir section of this wine list and find the domestic values.

It's not that easy, is it? Unless you really know what you're looking for and have quick familiarity with the street prices of the wines on the list you'll probably do what I do: Have a quick look at prices of the less expensive bottles and bail because the markup is 3 times retail or more.

Let's focus on the California Pinot Noir section of this list. Castle Rock is readily available at retail for $9.99. At $35 that's a 3.5X markup. The Belle Glos Meiomi is a favorite but I have a hard time paying $45 for a wine I see for $16.99 all over town.

However, notice what happens as you push further down the list. The 2008 Paul Hobbs Russian River Valley Pinot Noir at $59 is actually a very good price for an outstanding wine that's been hard to find at retail ever since it landed in Wine Spectator's Top 10 list last year.

And the 2009 Rochioli Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is an absolute steal at $65. I've been looking for Rochioli all over town - and all over the Internet - for months and was thrilled when I found it for $60. A $5 markup over street price in a restaurant for a wine I've been really looking forward to trying? Amazing.

I was going to knock out a quick post saying "Hey! I found a great deal on Rochioli Pinot at Legal Sea Foods in Burlington, MA". But I thought this would be a good time to share some tips on how I determine whether wines are a good deal with a particular focus on navigating restaurant wine lists.

Here are 10 Tips for Discovering Value on Restaurant Wine Lists:

1. Narrow Your Focus

I don't like spending a long time agonizing over whether I'm buying the best value on the wine list. It's rude to disappear mentally from the table just when everyone is getting settled in. And it's no fun. I like to focus on one category that's likely to pair favorably with the general style of cuisine at the restaurant, give the list a look and quickly decide whether to go by the glass or by the bottle.

2. Avoid Pricey Categories

Probably the most uncomfortable thing, especially when you're picking the wine but not picking up the bill, is determining how much is too much. The best way to stay out of trouble is to avoid pricey categories. Unless you're determined to impress someone with a wine from a big-name producer or elite region seek out the more affordable categories.

3. Keep it Mainstream

If you're ordering wine for a mixed group, I'd avoid trying to impress with your knowledge of obscure grapes. Never underestimate how much people like great tasting luscious wines that pair well with food. Unless you really have an angle on a crossover wine that's crowd friendly and a little off the beaten path, stay with food-friendly classics like Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc - depending on the style of cuisine at the restaurant of course.

4. Develop a List of Value Producers

Take Napa Cab producers like Buehler, Honig, and Chappellet. A lot fewer people have heard of them than say Sterling, Mondavi, and Caymus. These lesser known producers tend to put out an excellent product at their price points and since their names aren't as recognizable they can sometimes be had at lower markups than their more famous peers.

5. Ask for Targeted Help Finding Values

I think most of the time, when servers are asked for a recommendation off the wine list, the question is framed in terms of "what's good?", what would go well with a certain dish, or a general request to help find a wine that's aligned with the style of wine one prefers.

If you know the category of wine you're interested in try asking: "What are some of your best values on  domestic Pinot Noir by the bottle?" Answering this question effectively requires a familiarity with street/purchase pricing that  your server may not be familiar with. If they seem in doubt and offer up a visit from a  person more familiar with their purchasing decisions take them up on the offer.

6. Ask for the Reserve List

It may seem counter-intuitive to ask to see a list of the expensive stuff when you're looking for value but in my experience this is where the better values often hide. Like retailers, restaurants are often offered closeout pricing on back vintages. Similarly if they have an extensive wine program may be looking to clear inventory.

Not recommended: Trying to play let's make a deal. Unless your server/wine steward/sommelier/GM offers up a treasure that's not on the menu I'd consider it poor form to try to haggle.

7. Start with Spectator

Wine Spectator is a great way to improve your familiarity with top producers. One thing I like about Spectator is that they list the winery-provided production level and release prices for each wine they review. I use this as a starting point when filtering for value. If the production levels are too low (say less than 300 cases) it's unlikely the wine will be available without a lot of work. When production levels get higher (say over 5,000) it's more likely the wine will be across the country.

8. Consult CellarTracker

CellarTracker is most famous for its crowd-sourced wine reviews and cellar record keeping capabilities, but two of its most underrated features are how it lists Community Average Values and the Top Stores selling each specific wine. When users enter a wine into CellarTracker they can optionally indicate how much they paid for a wine -and- where they bought it. I look at the Community Average Value when seeking to determine whether a specific wine regularly sells for less than its release price.

Take for example the 2008 Sette Ponti Toscana Oreno. Wine Spectator lists the release price for Oreno as $110. However, the CellarTracker Community Average is just $59.61 which gives me a sense that the wine is frequently sold at deep discount.

The Top Stores feature can be helpful in finding retailers that offer a wine, but inventory changes frequently so it's not necessarily an efficient way of tracking down a specific wine at retail (more on that in a moment).

I find Top Stores most useful in getting a feel for whether a wine is sold predominantly via mailing list directly from the winery -or- is likely to be available at retail. Take for example the 2009 Rochioli Pinot Noir. The Top Stores on CellarTracker makes it clear Rochioli sells most of their wine directly to consumers via mailing list.

9. Scan Wine-Searcher

On CellarTracker if you click "$ Where to Buy" it takes you to Wine-Searcher.com. CellarTracker pre-populates the search with the wine and vintage you're interested in.

Wine-Searcher.com is the leading site for finding wine availability from retailers and wineries. Since wine isn't sold on Amazon.com, and shopping sites you might use to find other consumer goods aren't tailored to the complexities of wine (bottle size, vintage, confusingly similar bottlings from the same producer, etc) Wine-Searcher can be an excellent resource.

Their information is updated every day or two, and you can filter on the retailers in your state -or- who say they can can ship to your state. From this I can get a sense for the street price of a wine. For example, the 2009 Rochioli Pinot Noir can be had for around $60:


10. Taking it Mobile

Now, I'm not not proposing you do all of this searching at the table while you're making your wine selection. Building up your familiarity with pricing and availability via Wine Spectator, CellarTracker, and Wine-Searcher is a lot of work -- a lifelong endeavor really -- attempted only by the hardest of hardcore wine deal hounds. ;)

That said, A useful mobile application for getting a picture of a specific wine at a glance is Cor.kz. Search for a wine and it can tell you the CellarTracker crowd-sourced Community rating, the Community Average Value, Community recommended drinking windows, and the best prices on Wine-Searcher.com all on one screen:

If the wine has a barcode Corkz can scan it and if it is unique to the wine (which can be problematic) it can take you directly to a list of matching wines. Pretty handy.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Although I hope these tips are helpful, I can't say that I consider myself an expert wine list navigator. There are just too many categories out there I'm not familiar with and I'm sure I'm overlooking some great deals because I'm just not aware of the producers.

That said, some restaurants don't give us much of a fighting chance with massive markups across the board. Kudos to Legal Sea Foods for offering some fantastic wines at fair prices. Their VP of Beverage Operations Sandy Block does an amazing job finding flavorful delicious wines that pair well with the food they serve.

The '09 Rochioli Pinot Noir lived up to my high hopes. A classic flavorful California Pinot Noir that paired brilliantly with a variety of dishes. It was a treat to find, especially at a reasonable price.

But what was as interesting as the wine was seeing the variable markup levels depending on the price of the wines on the list. I'll take a closer look at wine lists in the future - I don't know that I've seen this trend so strikingly elsewhere. 

Question of the Day: What tips would you share for navigating restaurant wine lists more effectively?

I'd love it if you subscribed to The Wellesley Wine Press so we can keep in touch.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/Nyn7o40ZqeU/10-tips-for-discovering-value-on.html

online wine free wine italian wine wine gifts dry wine

Monticello Vineyards experiments with wine flavored cheese

At a Wine & Cheese festival in Carlsbad, Monticello Vineyard?s Stephen Corley approached them and indicated the winery might be interested in combining the Monticello wines with their Gouda cheeses. Monticello sent a case of their wines containing three varietals: Estate grown Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Continue reading

Source: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/napablog/monticello-vineyards-experiments-with-wine-flavored-cheese/

wine online online wine free wine italian wine wine gifts

Tasting Report: 2009 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir

Radio-Coteau (r?? d? ? - k? t??) adj. A colloquial expression suggesting ?word of mouth.? Region: Northern Rhone.
Literal Translation: broadcasting from the hillside.

I can't say for sure where I first heard of Radio-Coteau but I'm glad I did. It may have been @DrncPno on Twitter that planted the first seed which in turn encouraged me to buy a bottle of their 2006 La Neblina Pinot Noir. Paired with a simple mushroom pizza on a Friday night that wine was simply amazing. Not an off note in the bottle. Purely delicious.

Their focus is on Pinot Noir from the North Coast of California (Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley). They also produce Chardonnay and Syrah.

Their wines sell in the $40-$55 range which is one of the things I love about California Pinot Noir: You can buy wines from top producers at entry-level Napa Cab prices.

Stylistically, I think their wines are similar to Dehlinger's: Balanced and pure yet unabashedly new world. Proprietor Eric Sussman spent time as an associate winemaker at Dehlinger - as I learned in this excellent informative piece from Terroirist - so perhaps the similarities are more than coincidental. Both Dehlinger and Radio-Coteau produce Pinot Noirs with Goldridge fruit.

I hopped on their mailing list last year tried a couple of Pinot Noirs from the highly regarded 2009 vintage. They were as distinctive as they were impressive. Here are my thoughts:

  • 2009 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir La Neblina - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (2/19/2012)
    A beautifully balanced yet powerful and flavorful California Pinot Noir. The wine is unfined and unfiltered yet beautifully radiant in the glass. Wonderfully aromatic immediately upon opening with classic aromas and flavors of bright cherries, black tea, sweet spice, and cola. Silky mouthfeel and long finishes that stays with you long enough to want to take another sip. Tremendous stuff and a very good value at $42. Highly recommended. Enjoyed it quite a bit more than the 2009 Radio Coteau Alberigi which was dominated by orange peel. (94 points)
  • 2009 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Alberigi - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (12/4/2011)
    There's a lot here to like but the orange peel aromas and flavors were overly dominant for me at this point which makes it hard to go nuts about the bottle I tasted from. (91 points)

    And here is my note for the 2006 I mentioned earlier:

  • 2006 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir La Neblina - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/18/2010)
    Really enjoyed this bottle. What struck me about it as being memorable was that it didn't have an off note or aroma in the entire bottle. And the amplitude was spot-on as well. Classy stuff. Enjoyed thoroughly with a mushroom pizza. (92 points)
Posted from CellarTracker

Their 2010s are just being released to mailing list members. Like other Sonoma Pinot producers they're saying the vintage was challenging but successful. In general I'm buying 2010 California Pinot Noir, but trying to be selective. 2009 was a tremendous vintage and there's still inventory around. And there's always another great vintage right around the corner.

For more information on Radio-Coteau visit their website and sign up for their mailing list. You can occasionally find their wines at retail as well.

Question of the Day: Have you tried Radio-Coteau? If so what did you think? If not, what are some California Pinot Noir mailing lists you'd recommend?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/P-OzH9VG-x8/tasting-report-2009-radio-coteau-pinot.html

wholesale wine wine wholesale the wine library type of wine wine type

The tools for wine tasting success

In a MASSIVE oversimplification, animated largely by its dichotomous elegance, I suggest that there are two different approaches to wine tasting & sharing the experience. It isn’t really about palate as I believe that pretty much anyone can taste wines. It isn’t background and upbringing, although experience over time does help. In fact, I believe that [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheWineConversation/~3/gIFNiVdPEic/

port wine wine spectator wine list cheap wine sweet wine

OTBN 13: A Night of Regret & Discovery

Although I was an avid and longtime reader of Dottie Gaiter and John Brecher’s weekly Wall Street Journal wine column, I never have participated in Open That Bottle Night (OTBN). Started in 2000, the event was created as an excuse to open a special wine that remains for whatever reason languishing in your cellar. I [...]

OTBN 13: A Night of Regret & Discovery originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/FUsu7Y9Hwbo/

wines and spirits wine store wine making california wine wine shops

Follow My Wine Reviews on Pinterest

When I first got started on Twitter I had high hopes of posting frequent reviews there but it never really worked out. It was partially due to the 140 character limit but the transient nature of the medium ultimately kept me only reviewing wines there as part of an organized Twitter live tasting. But with [...]

Follow My Wine Reviews on Pinterest originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/8_sv68XT8FU/

wine tasting white wine wine white wine cellar cabernet