Dennis Guzman

HMGT 2402 – E553 [24118]

Prof. Dragorn

Spring 2020

3/31/20

Wine List Analysis

Wine, by definition, is an alcoholic drink that is typically made using fermented grapes, in which it has a combination of fermentable sugars, high acidity, flavor, and liquid content, resulting in a complex beverage that plays an enormous role within the hospitality industry. As cost for beverages tends to be pricier than the cost of ingredients, and wine is made individually with countless variation in wine components, wine is a fascinating topic to learn and explore into, getting an idea and taste of the many wines that originate from various parts of the world. Wine is typically prevalent within the fine-dining restaurant business, where wine lists are provided as soon one enters the restaurant. However, one may not be too familiar with wines, without proper knowledge regarding the types of wines, it may be difficult to select which wine to pick alongside your meal at the restaurant. For this reason, I want to compare the wine list of various restaurants, and research on the wines individually to get a better view and understanding of the various wines that are more than just “red wines” and “white wines”.

Beginning at Café Boulud, a French fine-dining restaurant located at 20 East 76th street, Upper East Side in New York City that is owned and operated by a French celebrity chef and restaurateur, Daniel Boulud. This fine-dining restaurant will be compared to P.J Clarke’s, a casual-dining restaurant that strives to deliver “fresh food, frosty drinks and good, old-fashioned conversation”.

Café Boulud’s Prix Fixe Menu (as it was the only online menu shows their wines) lists their distinctive wines that are quite limited but simple, as “Sommelier Selections”, with their full wine list that is available adjacent to Café Boulud, Bar Pleiades. Prices can range from as low as $12, with the highest as $40. There are only 2 options that can be picked if one orders from the Prix Fixe menu. The options are: Domaine Estelle Muscadet Sèvre Et Maine, Loire 2016, and the Jean Francois Gras Côtes Du Rhône, Rhone 2016.

As for P.J Clarkes (more specifically, the Third Avenue location of New York City), the wine list (listed under “drinks” on the website) is very plentiful, straightforward, and organized by that the drinks are categorized, ranging from sparkling, both white and red wines, to beer beverages, compared to Café Boulud’s quite confusing wine list and options. P.J Clarke’s offer a selection of white and red wines ether “By The Glass” or “By The Bottle”. A first impression upon viewing the wine lists was that there is a plentiful amount of options for both red and white wines, alongside sparkling and rose beverages.

Comparing and contrasting Café Boulud’s wine list to P.J Clarke’s wine list, both lists are similar by that both are options for white and red wines, obviously. In addition, both wine lists have the full information on the wines by name, grape variety, origin, and vintage of the wines. However, how are both wine lists different from each other? For one, how the wines are categorized and organized. Café Boulud’s wine list (besides the wine list from Bar Pleiades, as they co-exist within The Surrey hotel) is simpler, but too limited in what specific red or white wine is available. Generally, it is quite confusing to know the full wine list without going to the wine list of Bar Pleiades. P.J Clarkes, on the other hand, is clearer towards the customer, and more organized as the types of beverages (including wine) are sorted by category, such as red wines being listed less than one category in the wine list.

In conclusion, wine beverages are very prevalent in the fine-dining restaurant scene, as there are many fascinating variations of wine that pairs well with select appetizers and entrees. From the grape variety, origin, and vintage, there are a vast amount of wines to taste for your dinner. However, without the proper knowledge regarding wines, one may be confused on how wine is categorized, how to tell if a wine is red or white, and what types of food pair well with said wine. In addition, how a wine list is presented to the customer is crucial to help the customer understand what wines are available to choose from and what type of wines are there. A long list or just a section of a menu, and what information is presented on the wine list is what makes a wine list a make-or-break towards newcomers to wine or wine-enthusiasts.

References:

– Nickles, J. (2020). 2020 Certified Specialist of Wine Study Guide. Washington, DC: Society of Wine Educators .

– Café Boulud: Classic French Cuisine: Upper East Side, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cafeboulud.com/nyc/

– P.J. Clarke’s Restaurant and Bar: Third Ave. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://pjclarkes.com/location/third-avenue/

Laura Fung

Wine List Analysis: The River Café and Charlie Bird

New York City has a variety of casual dining restaurants and fine dining restaurants. Many of these restaurants sell alcohol beverages ranging from wine, beer, and cocktails. In most cases, fine dining restaurants will have higher quality alcohol compared to casual dining restaurants. In this analysis, I will be comparing The River Café and Charlie Bird wine lists.

The River Café is an American fine dining restaurant located at the waterfront of Brooklyn. While eating at this restaurant, guests can see the beautiful views of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. Their menu has a Michelin star rating and it features American cuisine with innovative cooking techniques and styles. As for their wine list, it is very extensive ranging from wines from France, Italy, California, and other regions. The River Café offers their wine by the glass, half bottle, or full bottle. I noticed how their wine list is very organized and detailed. The wines are categorized by countries and separated into white, red, sparkling, fortified, and rose. For example, for the white wines in France, each section in the list is separated by appellations like Burgundy and Alsace. Each page clearly states the type of wine, vintage, grape variety, price, and region of the wine. I also noticed how in the beginning of the wine list, the wines stated are concise and short, but as you read further the list becomes more organized by location. An attribute to this wine list is being able to offer many different wines. However, a weakness to this list is not being able to know what wine to choose from because of the many wines. Many people who dine at The River Café may not know or understand the different wines listed and what to choose from.

Charlie Bird is a casual dining restaurant located in Soho serving a “Italian-inspired, American-executed menu”. Charlie Bird offers seasonal outdoor seating on a patio and a private dining room for special events or large groups. The wine list is limited to only one page and it lists sparkling, white, and red wines. First, it starts with wines by the glass. Each wine listed has the producer’s name, grape variety, country, vintage, and price. The sparkling, white, and red wines range from $15 to $20 for a glass and most of the wines are from France. I noticed that the sparkling and white wines are combined and separated from the red wine list. On the bottom of the wine list, it shows twelve bottles of wine to drink before 5 o’clock. This is a unique attribute to drawing the consumer’s attention to look at those bottles listed. Since it is a casual dining restaurant, there is not a lot of assortment for wine which may be considered a weakness to the restaurant. Depending on their guests, some may not look at the wine list, but look at the cocktails and beers because it is a casual restaurant.

The River Café’s and Charlie Bird’s wine lists can be similar and different in some aspects. One of the similarities I noticed was the information that is given for each wine. Both wine lists provide the viewer with the type of wine, vintage, price, and country concisely. It can be easily read on the list what kind of wine it is. Another similarity from both wine lists is that they offer wines by the glass, half bottle, and full bottle. This may be common for most restaurants, but specifically seeing this from a fine dining and casual dining restaurant is interesting. The main difference found from the wine lists is how The River Café’s list is wide-ranging while Charlie Bird’s list is limited. We can see a large variety of wines from almost all over the world offered at The River Café. At Charlie Bird, there is about 22 wines in total on their wine list. Another difference is how the wine lists are presented. Based on the online version of each restaurants wine list, the list for The River Café wines are categorized in an orderly manner depending on the country it is originated from. There is not much color and the design is simple. The list for Charlie Bird is bold and bright in yellow and is organized by type of wine and by glass or full bottle. Since River Café’s list is much longer in length, it is expected to have more organization than Charlie Bird’s. Lastly, the wines from The River Café’s list are most likely to be higher in quality because it is coming from a fine dining environment. The quality of the wine from Charlie Bird may not be the same standard as The River Café’s list.

Comparing two different restaurant’s wine lists gives an opportunity to see how wine lists are brought together and what is offered depending on the type of restaurant. Many observations can be made including the attributes and weaknesses of the wine lists. Being able to see these comparisons and differences can expand how we see wine lists in different restaurants now.

References

Charlie Bird. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.charliebirdnyc.com/

Wine Program – Long Term Cellaring – Connoisseurs – Brooklyn, New York. (n.d.).                       Retrieved from https://rivercafe.com/wine-program/

Christy Hemphill
Prof Goodlad
HMGT 2402
3/25/2020

WINE LIST ANALYSIS

Wine – A fermented product of grapes. The typical grapes we consumers know about are our green grapes pitted or seedless and the same thing with our red grapes. Come to find out, there are a variety of 700 grapes and counting around the world and these grapes are specialized in the process of producing wines. Those grapes produce wines that are red, white, rose (pink) and sometimes orange. Some wines are cheap and some are very expensive depending on how it was processed, the vintage year, soils, and the aging of the wine. Customers drink wine for celebrations, some consumers do it for the cultures, pairing with a meal, and for relaxation. The famously known countries for making wine are in France and Italy and it is bottled, and sold around the world. Little do people know, there are wines made from Germany, Portugal, New Zealand, Africa, and Asia. I fell upon two restaurants with a wine line from almost every country.

The Blue Ribbon Brasserie is a casual, comfortable restaurant with many locations in the New York area such as Brooklyn, SoHo Manhattan, and Las Vegas. The Blue Ribbon Brasserie located in Brooklyn, Park Slope is a family-friendly version of Soho’s locations with a lively night twist. Their menu has a little bit of proteins, and meats, but it truly favored seafood as their main dish. With a menu such as there’s, I’m sure the consumer would like a glass or a bottle of wine for their meal. The wines list for Blue Ribbon Brasserie is fairly short; two pages to be exact. The wine list contains a full page of red wine, a full page of white wine with four options of rose. What I noticed about this establishment was that the majority of the wines they are selling was from Spain and Italy. The wine list showed the name of the grape, the grape’s region, along with the price per glass and per bottle. The wine list also had some wines from France, California, and Argentina.

Batard is a five-star modern European restaurant that’s located in Tribeca NY. Batard restaurant advertised their expensive list of 800 wines from around the world. The wine list contains 54 pages and within each page, it has an introduction of each wine from each country, with the region, year, and cru of the wine. Bartard wines has a page of bargain burgundy which is the top 20 wines of our burgundies that is priced for $80 or less. Rully Premier CRU ‘GRÉSIGNYG’ michel briday 2014 was one of the wines that was advertised for the price of $72 dollars. What I admire about Batard is that they have a background summary which explains the appellation control statement (AOC), a brief summary about the vineyard, posted pictures, and explained in depth the grape and the flavor of the wine. “The dense and flavorful Aligoté is not to be overlooked, nor is the Domaine’s reference-point Passetoutgrains, a deft and delicious blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir, all from the village of Nuits”. (Page 4 Wine Selection). The wine list showed all the regions in Chablis, Champagne, Burgundy, Cote D’or, Beaujolais, and the list goes on. With Batard restaurant, it shows the importance in their wines and where it was produced in its country.