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Hunt wrote:
> In article >, nils.
> says...
>
>>Hello;
>>These days, with loads of up tempo restos serving a huge number of tapa
>>sized dishes (as in, "Our 17-course menu degustation"), finding a wine that
>>will neatly cover all the said dishes is very close to impossible. Of
>>course, unless you are c 20 persons sharing the same menu.
>>Enter the Wine Menu. A selection of wines by glass, specially chosen by Our
>>Wine Waiter/Sommelier/Consultant/A Guy in the Barber Shop Who is Really
>>interested in Wines ...
>
>
> [SNIP]
>
>>Your input is deeply appreciated.
>>
>>Cheers
>>
>>Nils Gustaf
>
>
> Fortunately, I've had good luck with what I term "Sommelier's Tasting" menus.
> These have almost always accompanied a "Chef's Tasting" menu. From Charlie
> Trotter's, to French Laundry, to Aureole, to name a few, I usually try both,
> if available. In the last few years, I've only had one stinker and that was
> locally at a WS Grand Award Winner, where they removed the Spigleaus and used
> "restaurant-grade jelly jars" for the "Sommelier's tasting!" When I asked, I
> was told that the better glasses were reserved for those having "good" wine.
> Well, that was definitely the case, as none of these were "good" wines, and at
> US$65/person + the chef's tasting ~US$125, it was not acceptable. It seemed
> that the sommelier had gone into the cellar and was cleaning out the junk that
> salespeople had dropped off - nothing was good (in the jelly jars, who can
> really tell), and nothing paired with the food served. One out of maybe two-
> dozen is pretty good odds, or pretty good luck on my part.

I'm with Hunt on this, Nils. The concept of the "wine menu" (used in
the French sense of the word menu) is still a rarity here, and usually
found only in restaurants with a strong interest in wine/food pairings.
Charlie Trotter's in Chicago has been doing this for years, and when I
partook of it for my 40th B-day, I was duly impressed with both the
choices and the pairings. However, I most recently encountered such an
opportunity at the restaurant Janos in Tucson (great meal, BTW) and
declined it because Jean was not interested in the "tasting menu" and
would have been left to fend for herself, wine-wise. Instead, we opted
for two half bottles: a 2001 Zind-Humbrecht Wintzenheim Gewürz (Indice 2
- Thank you, Olivier!) and a 2002 Cristom Pinot Noir, thereby
allowing us both to avail ourselves of two different, versatile wines
for our meal.

Mark Lipton

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