AnuvaBlog

No one means to become a wine snob, it just sort of happens. One day you wake up and find it hard to just enjoy a casual glass of wine with out analyzing it from a critic’s perspective.

 

The other day for lunch I ate a Chez Pauline in Recoletta. http://www.chezpauline.com.ar/chezpauline.htm  Known for tea and not for wine, was clearly my error and not theirs. All the same I asked what wines I might enjoy with my croque madame and leafy green salad.

I was offered two options; Norton Classico blanco or tinto. http://www.norton.com.ar/  The same internal struggle stirred inside me again. I wanted a glass of wine, and ignored my conscience.

 

Yes, I have had the displeasure of drinking Norton before. And yes 10 pesos per cup seemed awfully high, possibly more than the cost of a bottle in the supermarket. But, I refused to let myself be snooty and decided to give it another go.

 

Norton Classico taste like stems and nail polish remover. Not even delicious boxed wine juice. Yet people like me still order it and drink it begrudgingly. I enjoyed my sandwich and after 2 sips left the glass stare me in the face for the rest of the meal.  Filled to the brim and mocking me, “yes you should have ordered beer” I thought about a question someone asked during a tasting.

 

When ordering wine in a restaurant when is it acceptable to send it back?

Only if the wine is flawed.

 

If you chose a wine and did not like it, it is best to drink it but not order it again. Like my Norton which may be the worst wine in Argentina, shame on me for falling back into it’s tannic acidic trap. Each wine is an experience, and you won’t love everyone you try.

 

However if you suspect your wine is flawed consult your waiter or sommelier.

What do I mean by flawed or “corked”?

 

If a wine tastes “off” or damp, funky, moldy like wet socks, you probably received a corked bottle. It is not often that this occurs, but it does happen for many numbers of reasons; oxidation, sulphur, sediments etc.  Check out this article on the Wine Doctors website for more information http://www.thewinedoctor.com/advisory/tastefaulty.shtml

 

In proper conduct the restaurant should take the bottle back and bring you another bottle of the same wine. Chances are the second bottle will not have the same error.

 

This goes for wine shops as well. Don’t pour that bottle down the drain. Take it back to the store you purchased it at and asked for a new bottle. Imagine going home like a carton of milk. Ready to enjoy cereal your pour and find sour curdled revulsion. Anyone would have just cause to return and ask for a replacement.

 

As I finished my meal and signaled for the check I saluted sir Norton for having tricked me again. He knew complaining about his corner cutting charms would only bring disappointment in another inherently disturbing glass.

Barbara Keck’s astute observation that wine by the glass has not seen a price reduction where many other food and dining related items have is right on the money. This creates a conflict for me personally as a wine merchant and as one who likes to buy wine by the glass.

As a wine merchant, I have to argue for continuing to price wine per glass at the cost of the bottle. The risk for the restaurant or bar is simply too great to run losing money by opening bottles and leaving them half-full. We know that even if one invests thousands of dollars on Argon or Nitrogen gas systems, wine will not be good to serve to the public after about a week. Especially places that specialize in having extensive wine lists will put themselves at great risk if they do not cover the cost of opening bottles.

On the other hand, as a consumer I have to take issue with this strategy. This would imply that since 1 bottle serves just over 4 complete glasses, that there is a 300% markup on the price of a glass of wine. As a consumer I say HOW RIDICULOUS! Especially in tough economic times how can that be justified. Well, like I said, it is justified in the risk that the restaurant or bar is taking in opening the bottle.

Now if we want to stimulate bottle turnover in this environment of volatile markets and crises, what bars and restaurants should do is reduce their price by the bottle. Their prices now are totally unjustified as there is no risk involved on that type of purchase. When a customer buys a bottle, the restaurant is guaranteed a profit. I have seen bottles in wine bars and restos go for as high as 7 times the wholesale price. This is outrageous. Not to mention that the industry standard for restaurants is to markup about 150% from wholesale prices where retailers are only marking up 50%. This means that a 10$ bottle retail would go for about 20$ in a restaurant (this would be at about 8$ per glass).

If restaurants were to reduce their bottle prices to only a 100% markup, where their 8$ glass wine goes for 16$ instead of 20$, they may assure themselves of more turnover and at least the same profit if not more. Of course, I’ve never owned a restaurant…