The staff at ELV is always begging us not to post too many things in one day. But this article in today’s SLATE by Mike Steinberger (one of our favorite wine columnists) makes the argument (or more accurately, the forecast), that the recession will cause restaurants to lower their outrageous markups on wine. So it was too timely and (hopefully) prescient to pass up.
And guess where he mentions as having some of the greatest gouges? Yup, our humble hamlet.
Presaging this article, we spent last week tooling around LV restaurants with Alan Richman (the ex-husband of Lettie Teague quoted in the article), and all we heard from The Hitman was how unfair and crazy the pricing on our lists were. To quote him directly: “Something’s gotta give with the outrageous prices all these restaurants charge for wine.” To be fair, he was referring not just to our top shelf spots, but those across the country who think they can continue to get away with 300% markups on a non-perishable product.
But let’s face it: The high-end restaurants of Las Vegas are the worst offenders; and the GQ columnist, and his ex-wife the Food and Wine wine columnist, and every wine pro in America knows they are.
Here’s a link to Lettie’s article….and let’s hope they’re all correct in their predictions…and that the recession restores some sanity to this system.
Mr. Curtas,
Please look at my posting regarding your Bearnaise Sauce cooking lesson offer under your “My almost dinner to Andre” posting.
Regards.
Chris M. athmann
You touched on a nerve and something that gets me on the soapbox every time. Why is it that I can to go a Michelin-quality restaurant like Marche Bacchus and get wine for essentially retail price to have with dinner, whereas going to just about any local no-name restaurant will see Strip-level gouge prices on their wine lists? I don’t get it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t restaurants get their wines at wholesale prices? Then why the gouge? Most don’t have fabulous wine cellars with perfect provenance of well-aged gems, so I don’t get the added charges. Unlike the magic they can perform on, say, a strip steak, there’s little value added to what they can do to a bottle of wine.
Maybe somebody needs to explain this to me and use very small words so that I can understand.
Most people don’t know what wine really costs, so they can gouge, so they do. There are many other factors involved, but I don’t feel like teaching a beverage management course on ELV’s site so that is the simple answer.
Consider how much restaurants make each meal from bottled water. That, combined with the outrageous mark-ups on wine and spirits, is where the majority of profit comes into play. Good food product is expensive…and it should be and I have no problem paying for the best quality they can purvey and prepare and will pay the mark-up for the way in which it’s prepared, to cover the chef’s wages, etc. But I agree with Irene – all they do is open the damn bottle of wine, water, vodka, etc. – the amount they mark-up is truly criminal. Great point about Marche Bacchus too – John posted a grid here a couple of months back showing the savings at MB for the same bottles of wine versus what you pay on the Strip. It was an average of 50% or more. With Chef JP Labadie now at the helm – this truly has become a local gem featuring good food, affordable wine within a great environment!
Nothing turns me off a resto faster than an overpriced wine list. And I’ve been going to Las Vegas often enough that I know the worst offenders. So I don’t eat on The Strip all that much anymore, as well as quite a few fancy (and not so fancy) joints off The Strip.
Agreed, I’m probably missing a lot of good grub. But there are spots around town with food almost as good and with manageable wine lists, as well as places with occasional specials like half-price wine Sundays, no corkage some weekdays, or no corkage whatsoever. I can put in a week’s visit, at different good restos every night, without once being murdered by a wine list. Naturally, I share the names of these places with friends, just as locals have shared them with me.
I turn to the wine list before the menu. If I don’t like what I see, I head for the door and, if asked, I’ll explain why as politely as possible. Or if leaving quickly isn’t possible for one reason or another, I’ll settle for a glass of something drinkable, and perhaps mention – again, as charmingly as I can – why I won’t be back.
I know all the reasons restaurateurs use to justify their excessive wine prices, some of which may even be valid. But I don’t sympathize, because there are lots of places in lots of North American cities that won’t kill you. I’ll sit still for high food prices at these places – after all, there is talent at work in the kitchen and it must be paid for. But absurdly high wine prices? Never.
Too good dude! I enjoyed!!