The Kittle House in Chappaqua, New York has a wine cellar that is a temporary home to more than 70,000 bottles and lists approximately 6,000 selections. Paris’s wonderful la Tour d’Argent, overlooking the Seine River and Notre Dame Cathedral, has a wine ‘book’ that is 400 pages in length and manages a cellar of more than 450,000 bottles. You can certainly find a bottle worth drinking on either of those lists. Creating a wine list that includes largely ‘the greatest hits’ of the past half century (or more) is not difficult, however, it is expensive.

I have navigated and reviewed literally thousands of wine lists over the years. Many of you have done the same. And, as I have aged, whether a result of ‘wine list fatigue’, or simply a greater interest in conversing with dinner companions than reading a wine tome, I have come to appreciate a wine list that is both short and well cultivated.

In the June 2019, issue of the Wine Spectator, Harvey Steiman, who has certainly reviewed more wine lists than have I, has come to the conclusion that shorter may be better. His revelation, like mine, came slowly. His began in the mid-1990s when dining at the wonderful Plumpjack Café in San Francisco. Plumpjack offered just 90 wines on its list (although you could bring a Plumpjack Wine to the restaurant with virtually no corkage fee). The wines were carefully chosen to accompany the unique menu offered by the restaurant, and offered a range of prices that could accommodate every budget.

Steiman’s employer, The Wine Spectator, has also begun to recognize the value of smaller lists. The 2018 “Award of Excellence” list awarded 250 lists with “fewer than 100 wines”. For many years the Award of Excellence rewarded lists that offered the greatest number of ‘blue chip’ wines.  Now, the goal is to reward lists that “focus on value and interest”. Likewise, in 2018 the “annual World of Fine Wine” list of restaurant awards included a category for best ‘micro’ lists.

The key according to Steiman, and echoed by me, is that whatever list we are reviewing has been created through a process of “diligent research”. A simply rule of thumb…if you spot wines on the list that you can purchase at your local grocery store…it is likely that the restaurant wine buyer is not doing the research.

Wine blogger Megan Kavanaugh offers specific suggestions for those building a list. Offer a variety with an option for every “diner’s taste buds”; understand that focus is essential, a restaurant “should be a cohesive brand. Just as the music should work with the décor, the wine list should be in harmony with the dining menu”. Make the wine list user-friendly. Restaurants should consider establishing a digital wine list to improve the diner’s experience.

Those who ‘curate’ a wine list should put themselves in the place of the consumer. What does a restaurant wine consumer want to know? For instance, what is a wine’s flavor profile and how does a particular wine work with the dishes those at the table are considering? Don’t price gouge. A restaurant is certainly entitled to make a profit on their wine sales as well as their food. The restaurant pays rent and pays employees. The restaurant must purchase, clean, and replace stems, and they must pay for and carefully cellar wines prior to a patron’s purchase. However, for a recent vintage of a widely available bottle, an all-too-often 300% markup with an additional (and often high) bottle fee will simply not sell as much wine as a reasonable priced product tailored to the restaurant’s menu. Sommeliers should offer samples. A patron may be willing to spend a bit more when they know what they are buying.

However, the shorter list can be a risk for the restaurant. Matt Stamp of Napa’s Compline suggests that “Micro lists are less intimidating and easier to navigate, for sure. Also, there is no room for error. The micro list should exist just like a best hits playlist, with every option the best of its kind for value”. And, Stamp continues, that it should be “a list on one page, with a font that can be read”.

A shorter list permits a wait staff to be better educated to understand and interpret the list and in turn, better able to assist patrons in making appropriate decisions. And, for the restaurant, a shorter list “means less investment up front and more rotation of bottles”.

Which brings me a discussion of Charleston, SC.

Our new home of Charleston, SC is becoming a more ‘wine savvy’ location. Lettie Teague, a wine columnist for the Wall Street Journal suggests that “the Holy Cities” wine reputation is catching up to its food reputation. Beyond the now venerable Accent on Wine, there has been a multitude of new wine bars from the extraordinary Graft on upper King Street, to Josh Walker’s (formerly of Accent on Wine) Wine & Company on Meeting Street.

Hall’s Chop House has a wine list that would make any New York steak house proud, and Leon’s Oysters and Chicken on upper King offers a very manageable choice of ‘cheap’ and ‘good’ wine…and excellent frozen Gin and Tonics.

And, notably, Charleston restaurants have ‘manageable’ wine lists.

I need to add another pet peeve related to this discussion…wine lists that do not reflect the menu focus. You can certainly have a seafood restaurant with just a few Pinot Noir options, but they should explain (on the list) why the other wines chosen for the list would be excellent accompaniments to your seafood option. Steak houses should offer a selection of ‘big reds’ wines, and it would be nice to see a big Zinfandel on a BBQ list. That is not to say that the ‘traditional’ choice is always the right one, but a restaurant should at least meet minimal (and safe) wine expectations relative to their menu. Then the restaurant might challenge the patron’s to consider something unique.

Reviewing the wine list should not be a chore.

Luzon Rosado

My sister-in-law Lisa recommended that I occasionally include a less expensive wine in Vine and Spirits Report posts. She is right. Consider this one at less than $10.

Rosé (Rosado) is no longer just a Summer wine. And, the Luzón Colección Monastrell Rosado could be enjoyed year around.

Jay Gruber at Sterling Cellars in Mahopac, New York suggested the 2018 version of the Luzón when we visited a few months ago, and his recommendation was spot on.

For more than a century Bodegas Luzón has been both a leading producer and exporter of wines from Jumilla. Located in the south-eastern region of Spain, Jumilla is blessed with a continental climate and ideal soil.

The Luzón Rosado is 100% Monastrell for vineyards more than 20 years old. The mechanically harvested grapes are lightly pressed and fermented in a temperature-controlled tanks. The result is a well-balanced, medium bodied wine with a “delicate texture” and light cherry tones.

The winery recommends that you consider the Rosado as an accompaniment to fresh salads, seafood, white meats, and soft cheese. They are correct.

Available nationwide.