Dear Sir, What are your views on the prices charged by different restaurants for the same wine? Is there a rule of thumb for the customer to tell if a wine is overpriced?
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW
The short answer is that it is very difficult for a diner to assess the relative prices of wines in different restaurants, unless you happen to find the same wine and vintage in multiple establishments. That would be an exceptional occurrence and would suggest you are eating out several times a week and are focusing on a certain brand in wide distribution. When you do find the identical wine on multiple wine lists, it is highly likely it will be offered at different prices since there is a wide variation in mark-up policies from one restaurant to another. This, however, is also true in retail stores, where prices differ tremendously depending on the locale and outlet. Using online information, it is far easier to compare retail than restaurant wine prices, although, increasingly, restaurants do seem to be publishing their wine lists on their websites. As a diner and wine lover, I do take the time to look over that information before going to a new restaurant. But the essence of your question concerns how to determine if a wine is "overpriced." That's far trickier, unless you find an outrageous price for a familiar wine; in that case, the strategy is simply to pick another option. There are some high-end restaurants in particular which still take very high mark-ups on their wholesale bottle cost. If money is no object and you just have to drink a particular wine, that may not be an issue; for most of us, it would be. (It's even worse for professionals who actually have a good idea of the true cost!) In a high mark-up restaurant, a by-the-glass choice may seem smarter - or at least the total bill will be far lower. However, the mark-up can often be even higher for a glass compared to a bottle in terms of the price per ounce. All told, the best strategy as a wine drinker is to be as informed as possible about wine and prevailing pricing, and to review the wine list in advance if you can. You might also try navigating a pricey list by searching out the less famous wines and appellations, which are inherently better values.
