Creating a Perfect Restaurant Wine List

Thanks to millennials, who now drink about a quarter of the wine inventory in the U.S., wine is, literally, everywhere today.

Regardless of whether you run a casual pizza joint or a high-end restaurant, wine should probably be on the menu. The ideal wine list won’t turn out of nowhere for you. It requires careful and strategical planning to be able to complement the cuisine and the tastes of guests. Here’s how to create the perfect startup wine list.

Only Go For the Wines that Complement Your Meals

Consider food pairing concepts when sitting down to create your wine list. A steakhouse may offer a wide selection of bold reds with a few special whites. A seafood restaurant would probably have a different range.

Keep your food menu in mind when creating a wine list or your restaurant, and consider these general principles:

• Full-bodied reds pair well in dishes with savory mushrooms, red meat, or where black pepper is a dominant flavor.
• Lighter reds pair well with poultry dishes.
• Medium-bodied reds pair well with dishes containing roasted vegetables, tomato-based sauces, and strong spices, like chili peppers, rosemary, and cumin.
• Full-bodied whites also pair well with poultry dishes as well as dishes containing lobster, crab, cheese and cream sauces.
• Lighter whites pair well with fried food, salads, and seafood dishes.
• Floral or fruity wines pair well with Thai and Indian cuisine. They also complement dishes with citrus, cheese, sauces and even some desserts, like ice cream.
• Dessert wines serve well with pies, caramel, chocolate, cakes, and the strongest flavored cheeses.
• Champagne and sparkling wines pair well with fried and salty foods.

Quantity Doesn’t Always Stand For Quality

Unless you’re running a high-end restaurant, there’s no need to have hundreds of wines from around the world on your menu.

Narrow it down to a list of carefully selected wines that pair well with the foods you serve.

Customers will feel more comfortable to choose from a short and sweet list. Although, you shouldn’t forget true wine connoisseurs, even offering a smaller number of choices. The majority of your wines should be familiar to most people, but you can add a few unique, rare or expensive options for wine-loving diners.

Learn more about general rules of creating a progressive wine list.