When you have great food on your menu, you want to make sure you have great wine to go along with it. But developing a wine list and finding the right balance between "wow" and "blah" can be tricky. And don't forget price. What better way to learn how to develop a great wine list than to talk to wine directors and wine educators. Here's what they had to say.
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As the wine director at Kenmore Square's Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks, Erin O'Shea chooses wines for her list that are fun, interesting and what her
customers is looking for. "While I don't go out at night and drink a
California Chardonnay, it's still very popular," she said. "We put some
of the more interesting white Burgundies or others on the list in hopes
of helping customers develop their palates. You have to educate,
otherwise where's the passion behind it?"
Developing a well-rounded but affordable wine
list can be a challenge, but it's one that O'Shea embraces. Starting
her career at Clio, she explained that it was easier to build a list
there with the average bottle of wine running about $85 to $90. But at
Eastern Standard Kitchen, a brasserie, the average is $30 to $40, with
only four wines over $100. "The challenge of being here is that I have
to totally refocus everything I've ever known about wines, and try to
build a list that's quality and value oriented, so I have to try that
much harder to find really interesting, serious food wines. It's much
easier to put a $100 Cabernet on the list - you don't even have to work
hard for that."
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Developing a well-rounded but affordable wine list can be a challenge, but it's one that O'Shea embraces. Starting her career at Clio, she explained that it was easier to build a list there with the average bottle of wine running about $85 to $90. But at Eastern Standard Kitchen, a brasserie, the average is $30 to $40, with only four wines over $100. "The challenge of being here is that I have to totally refocus everything I've ever known about wines, and try to build a list that's quality and value oriented, so I have to try that much harder to find really interesting, serious food wines. It's much easier to put a $100 Cabernet on the list - you don't even have to work hard for that."
When it comes to updating the list, O'Shea recommended that restaurants should keep their lists fresh and interesting, and she may change it once or twice a week. "We have a lot of regular customers, so I don't want them to get bored. I want them to see that I'm as excited about wine and trying new things as I want them to be," she enthuses. "People will be risk takers as long as they're encouraged." She wants to change the public's perception about their wine list, and explained that it should be eclectic, funky and interesting, with not a lot of safe choices. "I'll give you some, but not many! We'll have California Chardonnays and Cabernets, Washington State Merlots, but the idea is to get people to branch out and try new things."
The restaurant has a new chef and O'Shea is already very excited about the things they're working on together. "One day he had the wine list pinned to the wall and the staff was standing around looking at it. He's getting them excited about wines." And as he changes the food for the upcoming winter season, so too will the wine list change. O'Shea will phase out the Rosés and introduce some chilled reds. "I want people to see that red wines can be served cold and can still be delicious, interesting and fun."
The passion O'Shea has for wine is apparent when she talks about the wines she loves and getting people to try new varieties. Five nights a week she can be found talking to patrons at each table. Some have questions about the wines and some want to know the "method behind the madness" and why she's chosen what's on the list. Though she's not chasing a wine award, and stated that she has nothing against a restaurant that chooses to, her goal is to separate herself and have a wine list that's different and eclectic.
The biggest piece of advice O'Shea offered on choosing wines: "The easiest way to develop a great wine list is to know the food, since that's what drives the restaurant. You definitely need to have your blue chip wines - Cabernets, Merlots, Chardonnays and then build a ladder. Find your price points and start from there."
| The Grape Experience is a wine education and
consulting company that also runs the Wine & Spirit Education Trust
program, which is the leading global accreditation program for the wine
and spirits trade. Taught in most major cities throughout the world,
the WSET is a series of courses that culminate in becoming a Master of
Wine. Adam Chase, president of The Grape Experience, has worked with
restaurants to develop and update their wine lists, and the first piece
of advice he'd give is to look at the menu. "What's number one for a
restaurant is to have a wine list that complements the food, and to
make them stand out a little from other restaurants," he said. He
explained that restaurants that focus on food from specific regions
should have wines from the same area. For example, a Mediterranean
restaurant should have wines that come from Greece, Southern Italy, the
coast of Spain and Southern France. A fish restaurant should have a
variety, but may go a little heavier on whites. A chic restaurant that
caters to a young clientele should have the standard Cabernets,
Bordeaux and Burgundies, but the wine director also needs to be looking
at what's new, young and hip to drink, such as New Zealand Pinot Noir,
South African Chenin Blanc or a Riesling from Tasmania. |
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Chase stressed the importance of wait staff being educated about the wines the restaurant offers. "I think the wait staff needs to be intimately involved with the wine - that means they need to try it," he explained. "There are a lot of restaurants that give staff a cheat sheet telling them what the wines taste like, but you're not going to get them to talk about it the same way unless they try it."
By-the-glass programs are another way Chase suggested to develop a great wine list and to get people to try new wines. When restaurants offer different or interesting wines, customers may not want to commit $40 to try something, but will spend $8 or $9 for a glass. For those restaurants selling a large volume of wines by the glass, Chase recommended the enomatic wine serving system, a way of storing bottles for a few weeks without the risk of them going bad. When wine that's stored in the cooler comes through the pouring spout into the glass, the air in the bottle is replaced by nitrogen to keep it fresh. This system also gives control at the bar as to how much is poured. Giving customers the option to try a glass of something new opens the possibility that next time, they may order a bottle.
When it comes to changing the list, Chase explained that it should be done if it doesn't properly reflect and complement the food on the menu and if it's not as interesting as it could be. He used an example of a Japanese restaurant on the West Coast that wasn't selling a lot of wine. About two thirds of the list was reds, and most of it was Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel - not necessarily great wines for Japanese food. They may be ones that Wine Spectator loves or are very popular, but if you're eating sushi, you'll probably be drinking whites or Rosés. If the list is not as exciting as it should be, he said, "You don't need to change the entire list, but just a few things to give it a little more life." He suggested an Austin Hope Roussanne or a Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir from South Africa to make it a little different. Steakhouses tend to have lists that are so huge, they're books, yet there could be something missing. "If they have every major California Cabernet Sauvignon and three or four high quality Bordeaux, but there's no high-end Australian Cabernets - in this day and age, they should have that. And they should have Pinot Noirs from Santa Barbara, not just from Oregon and Napa."
In 2008, Chase expects to start seeing more dry Rieslings on menus, as well as more Pinot Gris which is the same grape as Pinot Grigio, but it's richer and fuller because it's riper. Lower alcohol lines may become more popular as consumers realize that alcohol levels can be high, particularly in reds. And he sees restaurants with more diverse lists, with wines coming from Chile, Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
Developing a great wine list needs to start with wines that complement the food on the menu and provide the adventurous and not-so-daring customers different options. It should reflect the wine director's passion for wine and keep it fresh and interesting for the customers. "Wine consumption in America continues to grow and people are becoming more educated about wine," said Chase. "If you're a restaurant with some life to it, your list should reflect that."
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