For wine pros, there’s something inviting about a long wine list. Curating a wine menu with thousands of choices seems like an opportunity for exploration, discovery, indulgence, and—yes—flexing. Both the writing and perusal of an epic wine list can be a rewarding intellectual and emotional experience.
But for guests, however, long wine lists often feel overwhelming and intimidating, even perhaps a little old-fashioned. We’ve all heard of the paradox of choice, in which having too many options can feel paralyzing.
“Writing a small list is more challenging than creating a 3,500-SKU list, because you have to make sure there’s something for everyone who walks in the door,” says Savannah Riedler, the wine director at Lilo in Carlsbad, California. “If you have fewer options that’s a lot harder. You have to be really disciplined, and always consider how each option will pair with the style of food. But it can make the process of choosing wine easier, and ultimately better for both the guests and the staff.”
There’s something to be said for building a finely honed yet still-complete wine list. But tailoring the selection to 100 SKUs of wine or less, while still offering a range of style, regions, and price points, is easier said than done. Here’s how wine pros are getting big results by thinking small.
Find the sweet spot between the familiar and the new
With smaller lists, there is less room for error when it comes to selecting the wines to feature. At Parallel in Portland, Oregon, the list hovers between 80 and 100 bottles, forcing sommelier and co-owner Stacey Gibson to make selections with precision, without worrying about oversights.
“My goal was to offer something for everyone, from people who don’t really drink a lot of wine, to super wine geeks,” says Gibson, who runs Parallel with her chef husband Joey Gibson. “For me, that means offering recognizable regions and grapes, while also offering lesser-known varieties from places that most people won’t recognize.”
Gibson highlights wines from the local Willamette Valley and the benchmark regions most people are familiar with, while also providing carefully considered esoteric grapes that are still versatile. As they can offer exceptional value, lesser-known grapes and regions are arguably just as essential as the tentpole Pinots and Chardonnays.
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