Photo: Gourmet/Romulo Yanes
- Affordability, which is why these wines are often great buys at retail. The two bottles Le Bernardin sommelier Aldo Sohm recommends are under $30.
- Availability: Wines by the glass sell speedily and in quantity, so though boutique bottlings may be tempting, will the supply last? At Noma, for example, “some of the challenges with our pouring wines are getting enough of it,” sommelier Mads Kleppe explains. “Most of the producers we work with are very small-scale producers, so we always fight to get enough bottles.”
- And–depending on the sommelier and the restaurant–the selections may emphasize accessibility (“They should be straightforward and easy to understand,” notes Twist by Pierre Gagnaire’s Will Costello)…
- …or adventure (“More unusual wines give people a chance to try something new,” says Dabbous’ Charles Pashby-Taylor).
Good restaurants allow you to taste it. I should think taste would be the highest criteria.