We’ve got some real experts on wine here on Inside Milwaukee, so I hope they’ll forgive my tiptoeing into their territory. Wine gets me fired up. I know enough to be dangerous, at least to myself. I can spout off with the best of them on how much I know about wine, as long as “them” are people who know nothing about wine. When a wine connoisseur gets involved, I’m toast. I always try to determine how much people actually know in advance so I don’t make a total fool of myself. Unfortunately that rarely works.
I always try something clever when I describe a new wine, something that no one will really understand yet will find impressive. I stole one from an old friend, and it rarely fails, so when I first taste new Cabernet, I say “hmm, a sturdy yet unassuming vintage.” There are some smiles, a few puzzled looks, yet everyone is impressed. But I digress…
This week’s topic is the wine pour. Specifically the amount that’s put in your glass when you order wine by the glass. I’m all about the pour. Give me a great pour; I’ll be yours forever. A lousy pour? You won’t see me again, plus I’ll bad mouth you to all my friends. And my friends like wine, baby.
I’ve done a little research, again like my wine knowledge enough to be dangerous. It was prompted by a visit to Fleming’s at Brookfield Square last spring, where we ordered a $12 glass of wine and got a tiny pour, 5 oz. to be specific, which we found is their pre-measured standard. I’m sorry; 5 oz. isn’t enough for twelve bucks.
I’ve found that there are two reasons for a short pour. First, there’s the attempt to get one additional glass out of each bottle, saving the restaurant money. Then there is the need for air in the glass. There’s supposed to be a certain amount of air so that the wine can open properly, giving its perfume adequate space in which to swim and swirl toward your nose.
I’ve got nothing against swimming, and I emphatically endorse swirling. However, I like to take more than a couple of sips before I have to ask for my next glass, and the pre-determined pour bugs me.
Most restaurants have preset pour amounts: in addition to Flemings, Palmer’s Steakhouse (no relation) in Hartland and the Bartolotta restaurants, Bacchus, Lake Park Bistro, Mr. B’s and Bartolotta Ristorante, offer 5 oz. A more reasonable 6 oz. pour is available at places like the Capital Grille and. Eddie Martinis. And there are some that give you options, like Devon Seafood Grille at Bayshore Town Center, which has 6 oz. & 9 oz. pours with different prices for each.
I also found a couple of more forgiving places that have 6 oz. pours, Bravo and the Palms. The bartenders pour 6 oz. based on eye and experience, so if the bartender gets a little twitch, you get a little more! This gives them the option of being a little more generous, and customers an incentive to be nicer.
I think that restaurants are mistaken in believing that controlling their wine output is constructive. I don’t know if you agree, but if I’m trying to run a business, I’d much rather have happy, loyal customers than a little wine left over at the end of the day. What is the proper etiquette if you know the pour will be limited? Can you ask for a “generous” pour when you order? Or is that tacky? Do you suck it up and say nothing? What’s your opinion?
There is a happy ending to the story. This summer, we stopped by Tenuta’s, the quaint little Italian restaurant in Bay View. While waiting for a table, we went to the bar to have a glass of wine. Since my wife and I have somewhat different wine preferences, the bartender had us sample a good five wines each to determine what we liked. Then we each ordered a glass and the pour was generous to say the least. Now that’s the way to run a business. In fact we went back the next week. And of course the wine was indeed sturdy and unassuming.
