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July 2008 - Gift Ideas

The Best Articles on Gift Ideas

Restaurant Wine List Review - Wine Taste, Why Keep It a Secret?


We?re your customers. That?s right, we pay your bills ? so listen up. Why can?t we understand your wine list? We know what we like, but your wine list doesn?t give us a clue. Ok, so we?re not wine knowledgeable, don?t hate us because we?d still like some wine that we?ll enjoy. We really like wine, especially with a good meal. But we don?t want to study the stuff so we can understand your wine list and know how a wine will taste.

Count these up: 1) County of Origin, 2) Producer, 3) Vintage date, 4) Appellation, 5) Variety of Grape, 6) Vineyard, and 7) season the grapes were picked (Ice Wine, Late Harvest, etc.). That?s right, seven items of information must be catalogued and understood to give us a chance at knowing what a wine tastes like when reading your traditional wine list. Keep six of these, change the seventh, and all bets are off on how the wine will taste. We get as confused as a blind dog in a meat house.

If you hear a lot of us saying, ?Just give me a glass of your house white,? you have a wine list problem. Hey, we?re not too cheap to buy a bottle of wine; we just don?t want to make a sizeable investment in a bottle we may not like. So why keep us in the dark, trying to decipher your wine list code? Why not tell us how the wine tastes, and we?ll pop for a bottle or two.

Expensive restaurants once solved this problem with a sommelier whose job it was to discern our taste preference, analyze the menu we?ve ordered, and recommend a wine we would enjoy with our meal. There are precious few qualified sommeliers around these days, especially in affordable restaurants. When your wait staff recommends, it?s usually wines they like.

The only thing worse than a traditional wine list is one with ?winese? puffery descriptions.
Example: ?This wine has hints of dark tree fruit, root vegetable, autumn leaves, pears, berries and vanilla, with a strong finish of cigar box.? Amazing! Do you have something that tastes like wine?

In January of 1980, Grey Moss Inn in Grey Forrest, Texas, implemented the ?Customer Friendly Wine List.? Customers could order wines by the way they taste for the first time ever. The wine list was divided into categories:

1) Slightly Sweet, 2) Light, Soft, 3) Light, Crisp, Fruity, 3) Fuller, Rounded, Dry,
4) Elegance, Finesse, 5) Robust, Complex, Full Flavored 6) After Dinner Sweet

Red, white and rose wines all appeared in most categories. Some wines like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon appeared under as many as three categories. As customers, we knew that by staying within a category we could be experimental ordering wine and still enjoy our selection.

Jill Goolden published the book, The Taste of Wine, around 1990 , and about a decade later Fiona Beckett published Wines by Style. The thesis of these books is to classify wine by how it tastes, rather than the seven criteria above. These books led to a rash of wine lists offering up their contents by taste profile ? but these glimmering lights seem to be flickering out.

If you lack the confidence to develop a wine list for your restaurant that lets us order wines by the way they taste, hire a qualified wine consultant, or work closely with your vendors to achieve your goal. Then watch your wines sales grow from glasses to bottles, as we feel comfortable ordering from your list.

Bill Stephens writes the syndicated column http://www.heyrestaurantguy.com . His 35 year career in food service includes restaurateur, caterer, food and wine columnist for Harte-Hanks, Murdoch and Hearst Newspapers, food and wine magazine journalist, and he consults for restaurants with Bill Stephens Associates http://www.billstephensassociates.com



A synopsis on Gift Ideas.

Restaurant Wine List Review - Wine Taste, Why Keep It a Secret?


We?re your customers. That?s right, we pay your bills ? so listen up. Why can?t we understand your wine list? We know what we like, but your wine list...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

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Headlines on Gift Ideas

GiftIdeasDirect.com | Fantastic 40th Birthday Gift Ideas

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:44:23 PDT
Fantastic 40th Gift Ideas. From nostalgic to inspiring, 40th birthday gifts set the tone for a celebration and a year to come. 40th birthday gift shopping doesn't have to revolve around gag gifts. These great ideas reach beyond tradition to truly celebrate the midlife milestone.

Great gift idea-Fun-Suitable for all ages-Signs To Smile at

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:12:55 PDT
A great range of funny signs, which would make an ideal gift for just about anyone. Examples include 'Warning - The Bitch Switch Is On', 'Warning - Chocolate Can Make Your Clothes Shrink', 'Mum's Rules (followed by list)', 'If They Don't Have Fishing In Heaven, I'm Not Going;, 'Drink Triple, See Double, Stay Single' and plenty more! Free UK P&P.

Cat Toys

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:44:05 PDT
Petstreetmall carry the Nation's Largest Selection of Great Cat Toys at the Lowest Available Prices! Compare and Save! Great Gift Ideas for the Family Pet! We have such a large selection of dog toys, we have organized them in a way that will make your search easier. We are sure you will find just what your favorite furry friend is looking for!

Gift Ideas for the Man who Love Gadgets

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:08:06 PDT
If you have to buy an interesting gift for your friend, father or even boyfriend, here's a list of cool gift ideas that are ideal for the man who loves gadgets and gizmos and always knows what he wants.

Baby Gift Basket, Baby Shower Gifts

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:30:46 PDT
Baby Gift Basket provides gift ideas for new baby and baby shower. Features baby gift baskets, new baby gifts, new dad and new mom gifts. Click on name of products for more information and ordering.

Baby Shower Gifts

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:15:12 PDT
Choosing the right gifts for Baby Shower, here comes great ideas to help you....

Photo Flip Book

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:21:01 PDT
Celebrate a new puppy with this great gift idea! HOW TO DO ITPhotograph your pet Most animals grow so quickly, it’s fun to document the year they go from bitty baby to adult animal...Make him grow Get a small photo album that allows you to add one photo per page—perfect for making minimovies of growing puppies. ..


Bordeaux Wine

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