Why can't North American restaurants serve red wine properly?
#17
Join Date: Dec 2001
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I read somewhere that most people serve white wine too cold and red wine to warm. Makes sense since a lot of folks keep their whites in the fridge or on ice, and their reds on the shelf or in the closet.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Jun 7, 2016 at 11:22 pm Reason: merge
#18
Join Date: Aug 2005
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On a more recent note, last year I was in Greece and had an outstanding pinot noir in a wine bar. Told the sommelier that I wanted to buy a bottle to take back. Got it home and after much fanfare, opened it and immediately noticed something wrong. Couldn't quite identify what was off, but luckily I had taken a picture of the first bottle in the bar, and after comparing the two I spotted the difference - they had given me a different vintage. WineSearcher then confirmed for me that, comparatively, it was a lesser vintage, and cheaper. Dang it
#19
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I'm one who likes red wine with many fish dishes, served at 60F-65F, and who likes most white wine chilled near to freezing. If you don't like it that cold, no one's forcing you to drink it like that.
#20
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Assuming a restaurant doesn't have a cellar, then inevitably wine will not be stored at the proper temperature - and this is a significant issue with the slower moving, more expensive wines on the list.
Whether or not a restaurant has a cellar, they also need to ensure the wine is served at the correct temperature. This is relatively easy with white - you just put what you expect to serve that night in the fridge - and it will only not work out if you have a run on one particular wine, but ice buckets will do the trick and, assuming your staff are knowledgeable, can be done behind the scenes easily enough.
The problem comes with reds - they are not appropriate for a fridge as then they'd be too cold. But they will need to be chilled to around 15 degrees, so either you need a cool storage space (perhaps where the fruit and veg are kept) or some other technique to get them to the correct temperature, absent other specific wine refrigeration. And then you have a similar problem as with the whites - what happens if there's a run on an unusual wine? It's even more difficult to get a red to proper temperature quickly.
Whether or not a restaurant has a cellar, they also need to ensure the wine is served at the correct temperature. This is relatively easy with white - you just put what you expect to serve that night in the fridge - and it will only not work out if you have a run on one particular wine, but ice buckets will do the trick and, assuming your staff are knowledgeable, can be done behind the scenes easily enough.
The problem comes with reds - they are not appropriate for a fridge as then they'd be too cold. But they will need to be chilled to around 15 degrees, so either you need a cool storage space (perhaps where the fruit and veg are kept) or some other technique to get them to the correct temperature, absent other specific wine refrigeration. And then you have a similar problem as with the whites - what happens if there's a run on an unusual wine? It's even more difficult to get a red to proper temperature quickly.
#21
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Well, price wasn't apparently part of the similarity as it was 3x or 4x as much. My chef friend who was dining with us about blew a gasket over the switcheroo.
#22
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I recall a slick attempt at that at a decent DC area restaurant a few years ago, where they were out of the wine we requested, and the sommelier said, "Let me bring you something very similar."
Well, price wasn't apparently part of the similarity as it was 3x or 4x as much. My chef friend who was dining with us about blew a gasket over the switcheroo.
Well, price wasn't apparently part of the similarity as it was 3x or 4x as much. My chef friend who was dining with us about blew a gasket over the switcheroo.
#23
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I recall a slick attempt at that at a decent DC area restaurant a few years ago, where they were out of the wine we requested, and the sommelier said, "Let me bring you something very similar."
Well, price wasn't apparently part of the similarity as it was 3x or 4x as much. My chef friend who was dining with us about blew a gasket over the switcheroo.
Well, price wasn't apparently part of the similarity as it was 3x or 4x as much. My chef friend who was dining with us about blew a gasket over the switcheroo.
In terms of too-warm reds. I have no problem with saying "this is a little warm, could you bring an ice bucket and I'll give it a quick cool down."
#24
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