For pros and the civilian wine cognoscenti, that’s the moment to earn our keep with the crew. But I’d wager that few responses are more frustrating than when the staff comes back with, “Tell me what you like and the style of wine you’re looking for.”
The subtext? “We don’t have a written wine list.” In the current era of wine service fashion, it’s become a frequent refrain.
To be fair, for casual wine drinkers looking for some guided exploration, the menu-less trend has its advantages. Tell ‘em what styles you like, have recommended tastes poured, and pick your poison. Fun and interactive, right? Not always.
An important caveat: Any operation maintaining a small enough selection—say under 15 options, give or take—gets a pass on any criticism. That’s manageable. Also with immunity are wine shops with large inventories that offer tastings. They’re a different beast.
For the rest, though, I believe offering a complete written list should be de rigueur. But before the excoriation commences, let me unpack the wine list-free concept—and why it has the potential to drive wine folk up the wall.
The case for an unwritten wine list
Before I break down why they’re a pain, let’s look at why an operation might opt for an unwritten list in the first place.
To be clear, there are plenty of wine-list-free locales that offer exceptional quality. They include a number of hotspots around the world—like Sauced in Brooklyn and Nashville, Lisbon’s Insaciável, and the lauded Les Enfants du Marché in Paris—all of which boast vetted wine programs highlighting interesting and praiseworthy producers.
From a behind-the-scenes perspective, the unwritten system enables operations to assert more interactive control over their inventories.
“It allows them to push specific products and guide customers towards a curated selection,” says Erling Wu-Bower, partner at Underscore Hospitality and chef-owner of Maxwells Trading in Chicago.
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