Comments on: Wine: Ripped off and Ticked off

By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:47:33 +0000

It really is just an unfortunate mess, liquor is the worst- An $11 bottle of Bacardi costs about .57 cents an ounce yet you pay $5.50 for a shot, that would be like $110 per bottle if you drank the whole bottle at the restaurant- compared to an $10 bottle of Terra Blanca that costs about .50 cents per ounce yet you pay $8 for 5 ounce glass- only about $30 for a bottle. Same with beer- you pay $5 for a glass that cost the restaurant about $1- but lets not even begin to think about soft drinks. However- when it all boils down to it with taxes, wages and other expenses the average restaurant only sees a bottom line of 5% of sales. If we don’t like prices we need to support the Washington Restaurant Association and begin to tackle the State fees, licenses, etc. You ever notice how much cheaper it is to eat and drink out in Idaho where they have a tip credit for wait staff like the most of the United States has? Don’t pick on the restaurants- they’re going out of business left and right already and they are one of the top employers in the country.

By: Russell Mann

Russell Mann — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:03:06 +0000

Hi Drew! Good to “see” you.

By: Drew Smith

Drew Smith — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:08:23 +0000

I couldnt agree with you more on this topic. I am nuts about food and wine and I want everyone to love wine as much as i do. I have a hard time buying a bottle of wine when i go out to eat when i know the exact price of it. I have had so many people absolutly outraged when they go to buy a bottle of wine they had the night before only to find they could have bought three for the price they paid. I know that the restaurant has to pay for the bottle of wine and most want their return on the first pour. To this i can say if i order a steak are you going to charge me for the whole cow! i also think the idea of unreasanble corkage fees are insane.

Two things i would love to add to your thoughts that tick me off to no end. 1. Restaurant wine is one thing but have you ever tried to do an event at convention center or catering? You get handed a list of mediocre wine at best and you are going to be paying at least twice the price its worth. I have helped so many people with chairty events and still they get way over charged. If you bring in your own wine you get slapped with a corkage fee, usualy around 10 bucks a bottle. It isnt uncommon to pay anywhere from 600 on up for a corkage fee and still save money. Some places wont even let you bring in your own wine but make you pay for theirs. Some of the worst offenders are the nicest places in town. Forgive me folks but i would rather have kool aide than pay 30.00 for a bottle of 14 hands.

I have to point a finger to the wine industry (which i currently work in myself as a wine steward). I am so sick and tired of “restaurant only” wines. This is a way to get the consumer to pay way over and beyound the price the restaurant paid for the bottle. Here is how this little scheme works. A winery will make a wine that usualy has no upc on it so it cant be rung up in a store. They usualy give it a different name so it cant be found easily (like 14 hands was originally a restaurant only wine and is made by columbia crest. It is everywhere now but not in the beginng.) Since the wine is not on store shelfs the customer has no idea how much the bottle of wine cost. When they go into their local wine store it cant be found and I get to look like an idiot because i have never heard of Chataue Cash Cow. The customer cant find it anywhere and the game has been won.

Now please dont get me wrong here i love eating out and i love the restaurant bussiness. I love good service and great food and im willing to pay for it. I however am not willing to pay three times the amount for a wine to compliment my meal. I have no problem paying a bit more for it so the restaurnat can make money on it and everyone is happy.

I have to mention one last thing on this subject. If you order a glas of wine ask how long the bottle has been opened before you have it brought to your table. I have been shocked by how many times the wine has gone way over its prime and is now becomming salad dressing. Since this leaves a bad taste in your mouth and sets you up for the culinary delights you will be offered i would think more restaruants would taste more wine before it is served. Sorry for such a long post but you hit my Bitch Switch with this one.

By: Restaurant Wine Lists Are Put on Notice | Drink Nectar

Restaurant Wine Lists Are Put on Notice | Drink Nectar — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:38:59 +0000

[...] wine practices are a sour subject. Earlier in the year CNN.com ran a story on the top five “rip-offs” and restaurant wine prices came in on the list. Often with a 400% [...]

By: drinknectar

drinknectar — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:07:34 +0000

Those are great tips, Kevin! Thanks for the SF Gate post too.

By: Kevin Glowacki

Kevin Glowacki — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:55:54 +0000

We tend to bring our own wine, but follow the following etiquette:

- We don’t bring a wine that is on their list.
- We offer a sip to our server and the wine steward.
- We tip on the value of the wine.

I am still amazed that more people aren’t following Michael Chiarello’s example.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mbauer/detail?entry_id=58702

If we don’t bring our own, I tend to go for a cocktail, which is actually probably more overpriced if you were to measure it, but there doesn’t seem to be the “outrage” as there is with wine.