To list, or not to list, that is the question

What does a great – and commercially successful - wine list look like in 2024? A concise, quirky round up of esoteric grapes from Eastern Europe, or a comfort blanket of tried-and-tested favourites? Should it read like a Who's Who guide to oligarchy or go all out on value, simultaneously doffing its cap to the expanding world of low and no beverages, craft beer, and spirits?

In today's ever-evolving restaurant scene, these are not easy questions to answer. Particularly as the post-Brexit trading environment, Covid, and the cost-of-living crisis continue to have a profound impact on the hospitality sector. This year, sommeliers across the country are facing difficult choices about what to list, driven by pragmatic considerations as much as their personal preferences, current trends, and clientèle's spending habits.

“In the past couple of years, there has been a big question mark raised for Champagne, as the border of Champagne can’t be moved, and it is a time-consuming wine to produce,” says Lucas Reynaud Paligot, assistant head sommelier at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, London. “There are crémants in many regions of France which are higher quality, aged for longer, and boast a great value for sparkling wine. In addition, Italy's Franciacorta is becoming higher and higher in quality and uses the same method as Champagne.”

Julien Beltzung, executive sommelier at The Glenturret Lalique in Scotland, agrees, observing that “the cost of importing wine remains relatively high. It's becoming more challenging to source, affecting our wine selection and the bar offerings. So finding wines that offer excellent value for money is crucial.”

As a result, Beltzung introduced two new affordable options by the glass in 2023 - Chignin Bergeron La coulée de Prosperine 2019 and Crémant d'Alsace Éric Rominger. He reveals that his experiment “has been incredibly well-received by guests due to their quality and value.”

He continues: “In contrast, regions like Burgundy and Champagne are experiencing particularly steep price increases. As sommeliers, expanding our knowledge and exploring new grape varieties and appellations that offer good value without compromising quality is now essential.”

Short and eclectic

But while the industry remains mindful of the macroeconomic context, it’s undeniable that some of the best wine lists in the UK now sparkle with renewed creativity, with less favouritism shown to crowd-pleasing clichés. Reading a selection of love letters to the grape from all corners of the British Isles, two things stand out: viticultural 'inventories' are more descriptive and fun to read than a decade ago, and the ubiquitous tedium of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc has given way to glorious innovation; pungent Assyrtiko, Godello and Zweigelt are now a lot more common. Moreover, shorter wine lists, it can be argued, draw attention to more interesting options and simplify the selection process for the vast majority of consumers who want to order quickly, discretely, and painlessly.

“One of the secrets to a great list is to move away from wine with big names; you can easily buy them at any shop at a lower price,” says Vanessa Stolz, head sommelier at Restaurant Pine. Her advice to venues is to “spice things up and try a lesser-known grape variety from a popular wine area. You’ll be surprised by how people are willing to try something new.” Nevertheless, Stolz is adamant about championing “short but dynamic” wine lists, rather than unwieldy tomes. “I really enjoy discovering new wines and sharing them with our guests. It is more flexible, and I have a better overview of what wine makes a killer sell or doesn’t,” she says.

Farewell to tomes?

Meanwhile, as fine dining takes a pummelling – several restaurants, including Michelin-starred Deanes Eipic in Belfast, 670 Grams in Birmingham and The Man Behind the Curtain (Leeds) have all recently abandoned their tasting menus - wine bibles now seem not only anachronistic but wildly inappropriate for all but a handful of the most glamorous venues. Indeed, in the current zeitgeist a less-is-more approach is surely warranted. Covent Garden bistro The 10 Cases is one such venue that has embraced a streamlined approach; co-owner Ian Campbell gathers funky styles of wine and obscure grape varieties into a concise list that will leave traditionalists floundering. In order to keep the offering fresh, he only ever buys 10 cases of each wine. Diners are urged to forget their love of Merlot and instead discover the delights of Fetească Albă.

“By and large, classic wine lists full of pages of expensive bottles are dead as they tend to lack focus and only appeal to a tiny percentage of people,” says Campbell. His mark-ups are refreshingly fair and encourage consumers to trade-up rather than stick to the old cliché of the second cheapest wine on the list. “I don’t think it is necessary to overload a list with outrageous price tags, not only due to the cost of living. Also, because it is intimidating, let's not forget that the average person isn’t an expert and cares more about liking their beverage without considering remortgaging the house,” agrees Vanessa Stolz.

Stuart Bond, sommelier at the Cavendish hotel, also prefers “a shorter list which is clear, concise and understandable for both staff and customers a like because it is all about selling. I find the days of Britanica style encyclopaedia lists, where in order to understand the list you have to be a Master of Wine to decipher the region let alone the type of grape, are numbered.”

According to Bond, restaurants are taking more risks and opening their eyes to the bigger world of drinks, welcoming both alcoholic and non-alcoholic alternatives. Today there is often a balance of things people recognise and things that pique their interest. Perhaps previously just the former might have sufficed.

However, while a progressive attitude to drinks lists is to be welcomed, we should not regard every long-established tradition as an irrelevance. Thus, it is hard to imagine that the classical wine bibles will fade into complete obscurity; surely they have a place at the very top table of dining experiences. A hefty list is thriving at The Ritz, for example, a Michelin-starred destination restaurant that is always packed out.

“I love the idea of a wine bible. I like the structure and the organisation of it. When you are managing a list of over 1000 references you need structure. As a guest I prefer a list categorised by country and producers instead of grapes or flavour profile. I am a bit old school and still love feeling the paper of a book, I am not really a fan of iPads,” enthuses Matteo Furlan, head of wines, The Dorchester London.

At the same time, the UK is awash with single-cuisine restaurants specialising in everything from sashimi to Lebanese mezze. With such a variety of choice, there’s room for both traditional and innovative wine lists in our dynamic restaurant scene: large, small, and biblical. Yet the days of outrageous markups (barring the most upmarket destinations) and lazy acquiescence to a handful of French grapes - and appellations - are over. Consumers want to be dazzled in 2024, a fact that all good sommeliers recognise.