The world is full of wine, from red, white, and rosé. Some people may enjoy just a character in a wine. It could be a simple as the amount of sweetness, or it may also be as complex as the appellation. We, New Yorkers, are fortunate to have hundreds of restaurants providing wine for all people.
I will introduce you to two different restaurant that includes a wine menu. A casual dining restaurant called Carmine’s Italian and Del Posto, which is considered as a fine dining restaurant. Both restaurants are Italian but they also have their differences.
Carmine’s Italian Restaurant causality leans towards the vaudeville era. Its menu looks festive and a reminder of you being here for loud joy. The beverage menu holds everything from soft drinks, wines and beer. Their Trebbiano & Montepulciano is listed under Carmine’s Wine which would be considered as their house wine. Their sangria is listed as just Carmine’s Signature, it does not specify which wine was used for it, but instead which fruit they are using for the red and white. The red uses berries and the white cantaloupe. Finally, the last category of wine listed under Carmine’s Legacy Wines. The restaurant mentions that those wines are made by Carmine’s Italian families. You may chose from their white, Chardonnay, Trentino DOC by Lechthaler or Sauvignon Blanc, Fruili Colli Orientali DOC by Ronchi Di Manzano. There are 4 choices of red which included Amarone Della Valpolicella DOCG by SalvaTerra Winery. One of the reds was interesting as they introduced an American blend of Cabernet and Sangiovese.
Del Posto Restaurant menu format is very simple. It consists of 245 pages of the beverage list. The centered layout and the way it is categorized shouts fancy. Unlike Carmine’s, they do not introduce any wine that is not Italian. For the assurance of not being lost in the menu, it holds a table of contents on the first couple of pages. If the table of content is not as specific for a guest, the page that follows offers a table of content in categories such as sweet wine, port or in sizes such as half bottle, magnums, jeroboams and other large formats. If you would like to start a wine with your appetizers, it offers a list that will go with it. Their glasses of wine range from $12 to $45, the sparkling glasses from $20 to $40. Another category includes wines that are macerated on the skins, wine pairing and at the coravin glass and many other categories. Some are sold by bottle that range from $104 to a $6,000 1961 Grande Cuvée or a $7,000 2013 Masseto. If your pocket can’t every be empty, you may also order a $18,000 Tenuta Dell’ornellaia.
Rich or not, if I had the option to drink at either place, it would not be a frequent visitor at Del Posto. Their wine list is mostly for experts that want to experience some wine or just to add it to your I did it status. It is too complicated, and your meal might get cold by the time you decide which wine you want to drink.
(n.d.). Carmine’s Italian Restaurant | Order Delivery & Take-Out Now. https://www.carminesnyc.com/
(2014, August 4). Del Posto. https://delposto.com/
I totally agree with you when you mentioned that wine can be hard when it comes to appellations. Also, you made a good point; living in New York gives us an opportunity to try different wines because of the diversity in the city. Choosing Del Posto and going over a 245 pages wine list may seem hard but it will give you and us an opportunity to learn more about the different wines they offer.
Del Posto was going to be my choice for my dining class restaurant analysis, and so I was excited to read about it here. I like the descriptive way in which you showed the various wines available, as well as their very high prices. However, I do think that part of the long wine lists in fine dining is to make it part of the customer experience. I think it assists to create an interaction between the restaurant’s sommelier, the customer and the wine list.
This was a great comparison with the two famous Italian restaurants Del Posto and Carmines.
I’ve been to Carmine’s before and the menu is traditional Italian. I didn’t notice that they only offered wines from Italy. I guess it makes sense because they know what wine best suits the courses they prepare. I also think it’s unbelievable that wine is priced up to $18,000, I never heard of such a thing.
I had the fortunate opportunity to eat at DelPosto with both a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine. I fortunately did not have to choose the wine!
Hello all, I love this comparison, I have been to Carmines and Del Posto and I agree with many of your comments/points.