Liquid Assets: Something new and different

During the past decade, Twin Cities diners have been beneficiaries of a bounty of great new restaurants at all price points.

The wine lists, alas, have not followed suit, at least until recently, and still not consistently. At all too many restaurants, the familiar varietals and brands have dominated, reflecting a laissez-faire attitude toward wine lists. (Although not willing to name names, many in the industry say that quite a few restaurants simply have a couple of distributor reps work up their wine lists.)

And don't get me started on the prices.

Finally, this is starting to change. Restaurateurs are tumbling to these facts: The chardonnay/cabernet/merlot-heavy compendiums were less than food-friendly; the market has been flooded with inexpensive alternatives from wine regions new (South America, New Zealand) and old (France, Italy), and their customers, particularly younger ones, are worldly in wine and more interested in pairing than just quaffing.

"People are pretty savvy on varietals these days," said Erin Ungerman, co-owner and wine buyer of Café Ena and El Meson. "We like to keep our customers interested and stay one step ahead and be trying new and different wines. You're not going to find Kendall-Jackson chardonnay on my lists even though Kendall-Jackson makes some terrific wines."

That means a lot of newer varietals. White-wine lists that recently were dominated by the chardonnay/sauvignon-blanc/pinot-grigio troika now offer albariños, grüner veltliners and vinho verdes. "Torrontés will be the next thing," Ungerman said of the emerging varietal from Argentina.

Sparkling wines, rosés and even sakes also are popping up more frequently.

But rather than increasing the size of wine lists, these additions are expanding the variety, simply supplanting the "old reliables." Who wants or needs to sift through a dozen chardonnays?

"We try to make it so everyone can find something they like," said Victoria Norvell-Levy, wine manager at Lucia's. "We try to cover a lot of genres, but it's a pretty small, tight list. It's kind of forever evolving. "

The changes reflect chef/owner Lucia Watson's practice of having four entrees that change weekly, with Norvell-Levy suggesting two wines for each dish. While that M.O. is a bit unusual, Lucia's otherwise aptly reflects a now-common practice: a list heavy on wines from the region that spawned the cuisine, in this case French country-inspired dishes.

"Lucia and I have a French thing going on, so I have a tendency to go there a lot," said Norvell-Levy.

Similarly, Ungerman compiled a list laced with wines from Chile, Argentina and even Baja Mexico for Café Ena, and a predominantly Spanish one for El Meson. Same goes for French eateries Vincent and Cave Vin as well as such Italian restaurants as Il Vesco Vino, I Nonni and Al Vento -- and, of course, the D'Amico empire, especially Campiello and D'Amico Cucina.

The price must be right

Ah, bargains. The less than robust economy, it seems, has had a major effect on wine lists. Everyone contacted for this story stressed the word "value," and it wasn't lip service or corporate-speak -- more like survival.

"We always tried to keep things pretty reasonable, under $10 and preferably in the $6.50 range or so," said Daniel Springros, wine director at 112 Eatery. "We're toying with doing a nicer cab by the glass, but it would have to be something that people recognize."

Fortunately for Springros and his peers, the newer varietals often are inexpensive, and even with the dollar sliding against the euro, Spain, Portugal and France offer a lot of options at lower price points.

Unfortunately for consumers, wine markups at restaurants remain quite high, sometimes 250 percent and up. One solution: Go to restaurants on half-price wine nights (see below). Or just head to Chiang Mai Thai in Minneapolis' Calhoun Square, where owner Charles Lodge is not idly boasting when he says, "Every night is half-price night."

How the heck do they manage that? "We just mark it up marginally. And economically, if you can move volume, you still can sell it cheap, like Phil [Colich] does at Hennepin-Lake," said Lodge. "I made a conscious decision when we opened 10 years ago to make wine accessible.

"It's not rocket science. I just don't make as much money. But there's more to life than making money."

We'll certainly drink to that.