fine dining - wine markups.

H

Hobieperson

Active member
I went to a fantastic restaurant for my wife's birthday. I dont drink much, but I did let the server choose a single glass of red for me. like a pro, he paired a glass with my main course. he brought the bottle to let me see the choice. (duly noted)

the first sip was like a full choir of angels hitting a high note in my mouth. beautiful. I asked him to show me the bottle again, and this time, with permission, I snapped a pic.

months later, I remembered that glass, and so did my wife. looked up my phone pic and went shopping. I got 4 bottles at $50 each. I think I paid $35 for that glass. haha..

I'm hitting that same restaurant again next month with some family. I cant wait to see what they show me this time. phone camera ready!! the glass was a lot, but if I factor in all the wine I dont like - money saved. :D
 
Hobieperson said:
I went to a fantastic restaurant for my wife's birthday. I dont drink much, but I did let the server choose a single glass of red for me. like a pro, he paired a glass with my main course. he brought the bottle to let me see the choice. (duly noted)

the first sip was like a full choir of angels hitting a high note in my mouth. beautiful. I asked him to show me the bottle again, and this time, with permission, I snapped a pic.

months later, I remembered that glass, and so did my wife. looked up my phone pic and went shopping. I got 4 bottles at $50 each. I think I paid $35 for that glass. haha..

I'm hitting that same restaurant again next month with some family. I cant wait to see what they show me this time. phone camera ready!! the glass was a lot, but if I factor in all the wine I dont like - money saved. :D
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Well, heck Hobie! Post the picture of the wine!!

Lee
 
Here. I live in Sonoma county and work Napa county- basically ground zero.
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Hobieperson said:
Here. I live in Sonoma county and work Napa county- basically ground zero.View attachment 83821
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I buy the Chappellet Mountain Cuvee all the time. It's one of my regular go-to's. Here it sells for $35-40 a bottle, depending on the store. With my usual 20% discount, I get it for under $30. The Mountain Cuvee is what's referred to as a field blend. It means that each year the blend is a little different, depending on field conditions. Its wonderful to see it vary from year to year. That means buying a new vintage next year could be different from what you had last year.

My favorite wine from Chappellet is their Pritchard Hill Cab. I have a couple bottles in my wine cellar that I save for something special.

Most restaurants use a 2 to 3 times markup on a bottle. Then they sell the glass for 1/3 to 1/4 of the bottle price. Since there are 5 glasses to a standard 750 ml bottle, if you are going to have more than 1 or 2 glasses, you are better off buying the bottle.

Folks are usually surprised to find that the second cheapest bottle on the wine list usually has the highest markup, and the most expensive have lower markups. The second cheapest is also the biggest seller, no matter what it is - that's the one the restaurants make money on. No one wants to look cheap, so they don't want to order the cheapest. They step up one level to the second. Restaurants know this and use it.

The higher end wines usually are better buys. We went out with friends and were ordering bottles of wine for the table. Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cab was on the wine list at $170. It was half price Thursdays, which is not uncommon in my area. So the Thursday night cost on the bottle was $85. The price in the stores for that wine is about $70-80, so as far as restaurant wine prices go, it was a great deal.
 
Well, I wouldn't mind having "a full choir of angels hitting a high note in my mouth". I'll look for it - thanks Hobie and Kathy!

Lee
 
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