Better Off Bottled?

CNN Money reported today that restaurant wine lists are huge rip-offs. I think we all knew this. But just in case you weren’t clear on the facts:

Restaurants mark up cheaper bottles by an average of three times the retail price, while the prices of higher end wines are typically doubled, says Ronn Wiegand, a master sommelier who runs the industry newsletter RestaurantWine.

Last week, I got to eat at the wonderful (and amazingly expensive) new restaurant Sage in Las Vegas’s new Aria / City Center complex. My friend and I picked a $44 bottle of Argentinian Malbec off of the wine list, and proceeded to enjoy two bottles, but I was aware that the bottle probably retailed for around $15. We made a decision to “not think about it.”  That said, we both felt we got off lucky with the $44. Mixed into the French listings was a bottle of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tâche, which was listed at over $9000. Per bottle. Ouch!

The CNN article continues, with tips about wine by the glass:

Think that’s rough? Prices for wine sold by the glass are tripled or even quadrupled, Wiegand says, since restaurants have to account for the chance that they won’t sell the whole bottle before it spoils.

I hate ordering wine by the glass, but occasionally, that’s all I want and I bite the bullet. If I’m with a group though, or if Kevin and I actually want the same glass, I’ll tend towards a bottle. Back when Tonic was Twist, I would always order a bottle of the Gruet Sparkling Wine from New Mexico as opposed to just a glass. The difference between an ~$14 glass and a $40 bottle seemed negligible when people were sharing. I recently noticed that Tonic still offers the Gruet on their list, so if I can ever tear myself away from cocktails, I might resort to the full bottle again.

Many restaurant wine lists have a sweet spot – that spot where you can find several bottles of wine in a similar price range that is actually affordable and not so far off from the retail price to give you a heart attack. At Sage, we found that spot in the Argentinian section. At the Wine Cellar at Las Vegas’s Rio, that spot was located in the Spanish wine section. So if you have to shop by price, look for the sweet spot.

Cheers to 1WineDude‘s Joe Roberts
for tweeting this tip!
Dollar sign used under Creative
Commons from OldMaison

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9 Responses to “Better Off Bottled?”

1. writetechnology says:

   February 3, 2010 at 9:13 am

   New on Wine-Girl.net: Better Off Bottled? http://bit.ly/cZQK2D

   This comment was originally posted on Twitter
2. CavatappoNYC says:

   February 3, 2010 at 9:54 am

   Better Off Bottled?: CNN Money reported today that restaurant wine lists are huge rip-offs. I think we all knew th… http://bit.ly/bjnBOW

   This comment was originally posted on Twitter
3. FindWinery says:

   February 3, 2010 at 12:41 pm

   $: Better Off Bottled?: CNN Money reported today that restaurant wine lists are huge rip-offs. I think we all knew… http://bit.ly/dv7CoW

   This comment was originally posted on Twitter
4. Tom Johnson says:

   February 3, 2010 at 7:47 pm

   In Louisville, which is not exactly a big wine market, the sweet spot is right around $100, where wine in restaurants is sold barely above retail. The restaurants make the money on the mark-up above wholesale, plus about ten bucks a bucks a bottle. I had a Beaucastel for an even $100 a couple of weeks ago.
5. Warren says:

   February 3, 2010 at 10:09 pm

   Follow th Australian example: Encourage BYO (Bring your own).

   We (often) bring our own wine and pay corkage for the priveledge of doing so.

   Works for all
6. JaHampshire says:

   February 4, 2010 at 3:31 am

   Better Off Bottled? | My Wine Education: CNN Money reported today that restaurant wine lists are huge rip-offs. I … http://bit.ly/bhLwWm

   This comment was originally posted on Twitter
7. Carla Gesell-Streeter says:

   February 7, 2010 at 6:39 pm

   I always know that the glass of wine I order is going to be overpriced, but sometimes a glass is just the right amount. At the Yachtsman Steak House at Walt Disney World last week, I wanted a beer (Sam Adams new Noble Pils) with my caesar salad, but then I wanted a glass of MacMurray Ranch pinot noir with my ribeye. I knew that $11 a glass was overpriced, but I wanted a Disney related wine and it’s one of my favorites. My dad even liked it when he tasted it!
8. wewuvwine says:

   February 20, 2010 at 11:00 am

   We thought this was an interesting find: ‘Better Off Bottled?’ – http://bit.ly/aT3Rl8 #wine

   This comment was originally posted on Twitter
9. Mariano says:

   February 23, 2010 at 12:45 pm

   This is a really cool blog! I wish I had found it sooner. Keep up the good work.