S.W. and Rich Hermansen
Guest Writers
wine@lbknews.com
Wine by the glass has become an expected offering at the bar of an upscale restaurant 
serving lunch or dinner. Diners often choose to have a glass of the wine at the bar while waiting for guests to join them, or to kick back and decompress before dinner, or to get a feel of the place before deciding to dine there. The restaurant itself may use the bar as a convenient parking place for diners who are waiting to be seated at a table they have reserved or diners who do no have reservations and have to wait for a table to become available. Couples or single diners at times choose to dine at the bar, and restaurants serve lunch or dinner at the bar to small parties when no tables are available.
In general a bar would expect to recover the wholesale cost of a bottle of wine in the price of a single six ounce pour. A standard 750ml bottle holds about four six-ounce glasses of wine. The price of a single serving of wine also covers the costs of providing small samples of a wine, the costs of buying and cleaning glasses, staff salaries, location rents, spillage and breakage losses, licensing, and other overhead expenses. We see prices of a glass of an inexpensive wine as low as $6-$8 in a bargain cafe, and prices of a glass of inexpensive wines in upscale restaurants beginning at around $10. A glass of wine in a pricey urban or suburban location may cost $15 at a minimum. Happy Hour prices bring the price of a glass of inexpensive wine down by as much as half, but a customer at a popular location may have to stand three deep at the bar to buy a glass of wine. Bars serving cocktails and beer as well as wine by the glass provide a healthy share of the profits of restaurants.
Diners at restaurants should look for the telltale signs of a good bar for wine by the glass. The list of wines available by the glass does not need to be extensive; six to eight better wines at reasonable prices will satisfy a wide majority of wine drinkers. In the USA, a wine bar has to have a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Chardonnay by the glass. That restriction may limit selections that may offer better quality for the price. A wine list should include at minimum a crisp white wine with floral or fruit tastes, such as a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chenin Blanc, or Bordeaux Blanc with Sémillon; a lighter red wine, say, a Chianti (Sangiovese), a French Rhône Valley Grenache, a Pinot Noir, a French Beaujolais; or California Valdiguié; and, a French Provence rosé or a rosé made from red grapes. An astute wine buyer caters to special tastes by adding a split of domestic sparkling wine and a sweet White Zinfandel or Moscato. Inferior choices of alternative white, light red, or rosé wines raise doubts about the selections of wines by the glass.
Also look for amenities that distinguish a good bar. Better wine glasses, storage, and presentations speak well for a wine bar. Enticing bar foods complement good wines. Comfortable bar seating, soft lighting, and attractive decor improve the experience. Danger signs include draining wine from the bottom of a bottle, storing wine bottles under hot lights, and ambient noise and glare.
Diners, like good bars in restaurants, and restaurant owners, have much to gain from making diners feel well served. Don’t hesitate to call for a manager when a glass of wine or the bar itself does not meet your expectations.
A list of wines by the glass in a bar serves as a useful starting point for a basic list of wines to buy for guests in your home. Here’s a list of five wines that a good bar in a home might offer:
Cabernet Sauvignon – 2021 Alexander Valley Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon $23
Chardonnay – 2022 Decoy Chardonnay $18
Crisp White – 2023 Man Family Free run Steen Chenin Blanc $10
Light Red – 2022 J Lohr Wildflower Valdiguié $16
Rosé – 2023 Château d’EsclansWhispering Angel Rosé $19
