I had a glass of wine recently at a cafe, and it reminded me that too much knowledge can be a detriment.
Buying wine either at a retail store or in a restaurant can be risky. Either you know very little about wine and are willing to accept being ripped off, or you know so much that you get irritated when your order is not what you expected.
The glass I had was a sauvignon blanc. It was $16. When it was served, it was ice cold and filled to the brim of a small glass. I couldn’t smell it because of its temperature. Nor could I swirl it—the glass was too full. I got an empty water glass and poured part of it into the water glass.
Even after it warmed up a bit, it didn’t smell like sauvignon blanc. One tiny sip proved that it had no flavor of sauvignon blanc either.
I returned it, looked again at the wine list, realized that it was atrocious, and ordered a beer. Which arrived so cold I couldn’t smell it.
Beverage service in restaurants these days can be awful. Many restaurants choose quality wines and overcharge for them—or they choose inexpensive wines and overcharge for them, too.
The $16 failed sauvignon blanc was a wine that normally sells for about $15 a bottle in a regular retail store or $12 in discount shops.
And restaurant owners now complain that people aren’t dining out as much as they once did. Gee, I wonder who they think caused this.
Then there are the retail stores, including grocery chains, that refuse to discount anything. Some wines seem to be discounted, but often such wines are actually closeouts.
Let us ignore special wines that we want to serve to impress guests. Let’s think about weeknight wines to go with simple dinners. For such occasions, my rule of thumb is: You can get pretty good wine for about $10 to $13, even at a grocery store.
- Try to find wines with lower alcohol levels. They tend to have more flavor and balance than wines with higher alcohols.
- Avoid any wine under $20 that carries the word “reserve” anywhere on the label.
- Avoid pinot noirs under $15 per bottle.
- Côtes du Rhône red wines and Beaujolais Villages around $15 are usually pretty reliable reds.
- If you are looking for a completely dry white wine, try a French Muscadet or Côtes de Gascogne.
- Looking for a slightly softer white? Try a California or South African chenin blanc.
- Several inexpensive sparkling wines are widely available, and Spanish Cava is among the best value for your money.
