When ordering wine at a restaurant, customers usually have two options: by the bottle, or by the glass. If dining alone, with a small number of people or simply trying out a new wine, customers will usually choose to buy a glass. But is that truly the better option? That’s a good question. If it’s a popular wine for the restaurant and a diner falls into one of the previous three categories, then yes, buying a wine by the glass is a smart option.
Madeline Puckette explored the problem of buying wine by the glass and said buying a glass is not always the cheapest route to go. Customers should consider markup and know that an open wine spoils quickly. If a glass of rare wine is purchased on a Monday night, a diner on Wednesday night may receive a glass from that same bottle. The freshness of the wine will be compromised and as such, the flavor cannot be experienced to its fullest. According to Puckett, buying a popular wine is the safest route to take when buying by the glass.
Stock photo of wine list found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glass_pour_section_on_restaurant_wine_list.jpg
What are the most popular wines by the glass? Puckett says at a steakhouse, order a red wine. At a French restaurant, stick with the French wines. Restaurant Sciences did a study on 10 million wine samples from across the United States on by the glass wine consumption. Based mostly on price, the study found that the best overall values for wine by the glass were Pinot Grigio (the Italian comparable to Pinot Gris-thanks winegetter for your note) and Zinfandel. The study also found that the most popular wines by the glass were Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, white and red choices, respectively. So the next time you’re perusing a wine list at a restaurant, keep these thoughts in mind before placing your order for a glass of wine.
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Good tips! I always struggle with the wines by the glass, but this should be helpful. I believe you meant to say Pinot Grigio is the Italian equivalent of Pinot Gris. Pinot Noir is Pinot Nero in Italian.
Thanks! I was at a restaurant just last week and I was looking at the prices of wine per bottle and glass and one only had a $5 difference in a glass and bottle price. It got me thinking – why would it be better to buy by the glass vs. by the bottle? And thank you for pointing out my error on pinot noir/grigio, I appreciate it.