the dreaded wine list

so, it is monday night and jill has a friend visiting from out of town and we are going to meet her for dinner. i made the reservations last night, after a futile search to find one of our favorite byob's that might be open on a monday night. jill changed the reservation to somewhere else.

how to manage wines from the wine list.

first, know your group's preferences.

second, check to see if the list is available on line so you can preview it and get an idea of the options. no luck tonight, they have their lunch, dinner, dessert, and drink menus posted but no wine list.

third, look for known producers and regions.

finally, match the wine style and varietal or blend to the meal everyone chooses.

tonight's list bore no resemblance to my last visit to this restaurant. how does one match wasabi, tuna, duck and plum sauce, and striped bass to a wine without creating a mouth puckering experience? a cab would be entirely wrong and merlot would not stand up to the wasabi. this was a meat meal with a twist and none of the white options were hefty enough to match it. i settled on two possibilities, a nuit saint george village or a california zinfandel. these are opposite ends of the spectrum- big and full bodied versus delicate and sublime. considering the wasabi and a good history i chose the zinfandel. i did not trust a large production village wine to partner with this meal.

tonight's wine was seghesio sonoma county zin 2008. there was a substantial mark up on this wine as it is readily available for about a quarter of this restaurant's price. this is a full bodied wine which begins with aromas of fresh red fruits. the tastes are of ripe red cherries, raspberry, and a hint of toast. the finish has plenty of chewy tannin. this is a readily available wine and in shops it is an excellent value. seghesio has a long history of producing quality zin's. i strongly recommend it, even if tonight it was the victim of a wine list mark up.

zinfandel from a reliable producer is a safe bet, and it is an american wine (in spite of its european origins, it thrives on this side of the pond). about 2 weeks ago i had a similar experience at 11 maple street in jenson beach florida. i followed my rules of reliable producer and predicable varietal- we had an outstanding turley zinfandel but the mark up was only about 30%. trusted producer, predictable grape, consistent region, and a restaurant with a reasonable price for an exceptional wine; i do not know what more one could ask for. unfortunately on that night the four of us had agreed that we only would have a single bottle for the table.

both of these zinfandels are excellent wines. i would recommend them without reservations over a broad range of vintages. tonight was two wines, and my perspective on how to approach the wine list.