Restaurant Wines Promise Quality on the House
Ordering the “house” wine at a restaurant used to mean bracing for the possibility of something fairly funky. But these days you can expect some class in that glass as high-end restaurateurs find their inner vintner.
One of the newest entries comes from Freemans restaurant in New York’s Lower East Side, selling a pinot noir, Freemans Cuvee, made with Hirsch Vineyards in California’s Sonoma Coast wine region.
“I look at this as a collaboration — like when fashion labels do a collaboration like Rodarte for Target,” says Freemans co-owner William Tigertt. “It’s something fun and different.”
Tigertt also is launching a retail label, Gothic Wines, with the first vintage coming from an Oregon winery.
Higher-end house wines appear to fit into two trends, says Ronn Wiegand, Napa-based master sommelier and editor of the newsletter Restaurant Wine. On the one hand, wine has never been more popular — even in this economy consumption is up, albeit of cheaper wines. At the same time, the drop in personal spending has made it crucial for restaurants to distinguish themselves from competitors and build customer loyalty.
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