Wines for the Weekend: Restaurant wine lists
Categories: Life & Style, Front Page, Real Estate News
hiWine with your meal; it’s meant to be. But sometimes finding one in a restaurant can be a daunting task. In the bad old days your server would drop a big old leather-bound volume on your table with your menu and leave you without a clue. Sure, you could look for the cheapest wine and think you’re getting a bargain, but that would be a huge mistake. Or you could find a well-known or recognizable brand and pay way too much for it. Or you could ask to speak to the sommelier, who may or may not know what they are doing but certainly would not know your taste or desires unless you both are expert communicators. And then you’d have to wonder if he or she was trying to “up sell” you into something more expensive.
Well fortunately the times are changing. First, you can do a little homework before going out by looking for the restaurant’s wine list on their website. Most places will post at least representative bottles and prices along with their menus so you can work on your wine and food pairings in advance and spend more time at the table with your dining partner(s). So thanks again to the wonders of the Internet.
But even better is the latest trend in wine list layout: listing the wines by their characteristics. I have to think that this is due to the interest that today’s chefs and chef-owners are taking in their cuisine and how to enhance their flavors at the table. Wine was always meant to complement food, either by creating an interesting contrast of flavors, or providing a palate-cleansing refreshment of the taste buds, or marrying the food flavors with the varietal flavors. Certain pairings have become classic: Chardonnay with shellfish, sauvignon blanc with goat cheese, Sauternes with foie gras, Cabernet Sauvignon with steak, Pinot Noir with… well, almost anything.
In many of the better restaurants, and I don’t mean just the expensive ones, the chef and the manager/sommelier have been working together to list the wines by their flavor and weight. I can think of several in Coral Gables, the Design District and on Miami Beach that now list white wines as “crisp” or “weighty” or “rich” or even “fruity”. They might give you two or three categories just of crisp white wines, ranging from a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to a Spanish Albarino. Then move on to a list of weightier, more acidic food-friendly Rieslings or Gruner Veltliners from Alsace or Austria; and finally offer you several styles of chardonnay, including the newly popular “un-oaked”.
A restaurant list like this will also take you through all sorts of red wines, from the lightest in both weight and flavors for salmon and tuna or roast chicken (Beaujolais, Burgundy, Grenache, Pinot Noir), to the heaviest, thick with strong tannins to cut through that well-marbled New York Strip (Syrah/Shiraz, Merlot, Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon).
This will be a great way for you to get to know which wines are to your liking and why. So next time you are dining out, do a little homework and then look for this new style, food-friendly wine list.
Let me know what you find. I always welcome your questions and comments.
Thanks for this info. It all sounds good, but will the waiter know which wines are meant to go with which food? And do I want a spicy wine with spicy food, or just the opposite? I love Pan-Asian as well as Cuban food.
Steve, You are welcome. Most waiters are very familiar with their chef’s cuisine and have probably even tasted it. They or their manager will have had a chance to experience different diners choices with each dish. Ask them to describe the flavors to you and see if you can make a match. As for spicy food, there are very few spicy wines, but good choices usually come from Alscae, such as riesling, pinot gris, (pinot grigio in Italy) or gewurztraminer, which does have some spice. But these three also have great acid to cleanse your palate and keep it fresh for the next bite. And with heartier Cuban fare, I like an Argentine Malbec or Spanish temparnillo. Go and enjoy!
I like looking for new restaurants that are wine-friendly. I fould a great one called Bin No. 18 at 18th St and Biscayne Blvd. They have a wonderful wine program that is almost like retail and they do organize them by taste. Prices are reasonable and the food is excellent. Lunch and dinner. Do you know it?
I like looking for new restaurants that are wine-friendly. I found a great one called Bin No. 18 at 18th St and Biscayne Blvd. They have a wonderful wine program that is almost like retail and they do organize them by taste. Prices are reasonable and the food is excellent. Lunch and dinner. Do you know it?
Mark, You have found one of the true gems in the Miami dining scene. Chef Owner Alfredo Patino has cooked at many of our best restaurants including Biscaya Grill at the Ritz Carlton in the Grove. His philosophy of marrying wine and food along the lines of flavors is exactly what I’m talking about, and his wine list is superb value. Check out their menu at www.bin18miami.com.
Chris, it was a nice article in the Miami Herald today. Was it competition and how did you do? Were you in control all the time, that huge flame looks like hard to handle…
Sorry,last comment was mine but I don’t know what’s happened…
Thanks Darko. That was an interactive cooking event as part of a large fund raiser for two very worthy Miami charities: Camillus House and The United Way. It was a weekend full of wine, food and friends. No competition, just lots of fun and good eats. and I was in control. Maybe I’ll show that photo in my next post.