Lucy Feng Wu

Professor Goodlad

HMGT 2402

March 29, 2020

Wine List Analysis

For this analysis, I will be comparing a fine dining wine list and a casual dining wine list to see their similarities and difference. The restaurants I chose for this analysis are River Café and Blue Ribbon.

River Café is a Michelin-starred restaurant in Brooklyn. River Café features a classic American menu paired with one of the most outstanding wine list in the world. Some interesting details I noticed in River Café’s wine list is that the first page is the cover with the names of the Wine Director, Head Sommelier and the two Sommeliers of River Café. Also, at the bottom of each page it has a legend that indicates the level of sweetness of each wine starting with one star for slightly sweet and increasing for sweet, very sweet and extremely sweet. I noticed this list has 18 pages which is surprisingly short compared to others fine dining restaurant.

Blue Ribbon is a dining room and friendly well known for being a late night restaurant that opens from 4pm to 4am. Blue Ribbon offers brasserie seafood, American dishes and beverages to pair with the food. Looking at Blue Ribbon’s wine list, I noticed that it is very easy to read and very straightforward wine list composed of 4 pages. As for the beer and cider section of this list, it has the percentage of alcohol of each beverage besides their names.

Moving into the similarities of these two wine lists, I have noticed that both lists first section is wine by glass and both of them listed champagne and sparkling wines first, white wines second, rose wines third and red wine at last. Also, both section are very similar in format because both lists name the wine starting by the grape variety.

I have noticed more difference than similarities in this analysis. The most notable difference is the large variety of wines that fine dining restaurants wine lists have and the price are different from casual dining restaurants. Another difference is that each wine lists section of wine bottles are arranged differently. Blue Ribbon’s list separated white wines and red wines and segmented them by grape variety. On the other hand, River Café separated white wines and red wines from France and segmented them by country and grouped them according to each wines specific region and appellation.

In conclusion, fining dining and casual dining restaurants has similar format for wine list. However, fining dining has a larger selection of wines than casual dining which give them the opportunity to group wines by country, and for French wines, by region and appellation. Also, River Café wine list is suitable for people who know about wines since the section of French wines does not include their grape variety.

The two restaurant wine lists that I will be comparing is Restaurant Daniel and Roberta’s. I decided to choose these two restaurants because I have been to both of them, had some wine at Restaurant Daniel but not Roberta’s. Restaurant Daniel is a high end french cuisine based two Michelin starred restaurant, whilst Roberta’s is a pizza joint in Brooklyn. They are both wonderful restaurants in their own unique way serving what makes them special.

At first glance, the wine list that Roberta’s provides on the website shows more wines altogether than the wine list provided on the Daniel website. But having visited Daniel previously, I know that the wine list at Daniel is actually very extensive and is provided not on a menu, but in a book because of how many wines they hold. Another observation is that Roberta’s doesn’t have a cocktail and bar menu while Daniel does, and they also have beer which I don’t see on Roberta’s list. As for format of the lists, I believe Daniel’s definitely looks more classy and easy to read whereas the font on Roberta’s menu isn’t very clear to the eye making it very unappealing. 

Some similarities of both the wine lists include specifically in the champagne tab where most of the wines are labeled as NV or non-vintage, indicating that the wine is made from grapes from multiple harvests. Winemakers do this to mix and match and achieve a blend of a specific flavor and taste. Another similarity I noticed is that they order the wines in the same way from champagne to white to red. I believe restaurants do this to maintain a good order of the lists and to show consumers light to heavy options. 

Some differences I noticed as mentioned before definitely includes the format of the lists. I think Roberta’s can do a much better job at making the list look more appealing despite being a smaller restaurant than Daniel so that they can sell more wine. With the average percentage of beverage sales in restaurants being 30%, they can definitely market their extensive list of available wines better, it is without a doubt that the current list looks a bit confusing. Another difference I notice as a consumer is the prices provided online but as I have said before, I do know that Daniel has a much more extensive wine list that they provide but with what they provide and what I can work with online, Roberta’s definitely has a much higher price point overall for their wines. 

In conclusion, I believe restaurants should definitely showcase their wines well online for consumers to see. Wine is such an important part of a meal that people may want to research what the restaurant provides before going their first.