`Wine List Analysis
Trinity A. Clemente
Profesor Dragorn
New York City College of Technology
For my wine analysis assignment I will be comparing and contrasting the wine lists of the River Cafe and PJ Clark’s. The River cafe has quite a reputation for its expensive and tasteful wine program. I had the pleasure of selecting a wine pairing to accompany my chefs tasting when I dined at the River Cafe last year. Before I begin my comparison it will be beneficial to my readers to share some information about the background of the restaurants. The River Café opened in June of 1977 by the Brooklyn docks. The owner is currently Michael O’Keeffe. It took twelve years to gain approval in 1974 to even begin building the restaurant because of its unique location. New York Government officials advised Mr. O’Keeffe that putting a restaurant on the Brooklyn waterfront was extremely dangerous due to flooding. The River Café has been celebrated with numerous awards and achievements including a Michelin Star.
PJ Clarks is less widely known for its wine list and is also casual dining. The drink menu online is broken up into much simpler categories than that of The River Cafe. Their categories are White, Rose, Red, and then subcategorized into ordering by the glass and ordering by the bottle. PJ Clarkes has multiple locations in the U.S and I noticed there was little to no variation in the wines available at each location. One thing I do like about their wine menu is that the regions for each wine are emphasized and italicized.
To begin my compare and comparison, I was unable to find any similarities in the wine selections of the two restaurants. I was hoping that because the river cafe has an extensive selection that I would be able to find one wine that they both carry. This can be due to the high standards of the river cafe in comparison to a casual dining restaurant. The River cafe wine program lists the prices of wine and has options for everybody with the price ranges of their wines. PJ Clarks did not have their prices listed on the menu. The river cafe also has their wine broken down in to many categories to count including country, region, and an extensive and pricey madeira list which they are famous for.
My takeaway from this assignment is that not all good wines have to be so expensive, and that a wine list can be an important part of any restaurant/menu.
References
Menu: P.J. Clarke’s Restaurant and Bar at Lincoln Square. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2020, from http://pjclarkes.com/menu/lincoln-square/
Wine Program – Long Term Cellaring – Connoisseurs – Brooklyn, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2020, from https://rivercafe.com/wine-program/
Hi Trinity!
I totally agree with you in the fact that “not all good wines have to be so expensive.” From my retail store analysis I learned that because the wine might look fancy, doesn’t mean that they are super expensive. So some of good quality wines are very affordable!
good summary.