170896 Fri Jun 18 18:41:55 -0700 2004 14 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 916777 It is $70 per person. Thanks. Fri Jun 18 18:41:55 -0700 2004 0 Brett 1 916789 Order by the bottle. Having said this I only drink red so any wine pairing would be irrelevant and a waste on me. Fri Jun 18 22:18:56 -0700 2004 916777 0 Joe H. 2 916819 No disrespect whatsoever, but I used to feel the way you do, and had my palate turned around. Having some tastings in the hands of a killer chef who knows what wines go perfectly with his dishes changed my mind (in my case several by the amazing Adam Kreisel as well as one by his former partner in The Globe Cafe, Adam Findlay). You'll never see my buy a bottle of white, but I will always be open to doing a tasting menu/pairing with a chef I know or who's reputation I trust. Sat Jun 19 20:06:18 -0700 2004 916789 0 Tha Groovin' Gourmet 3 916824 Excluding dessert wine I have about 650 bottles with at least a case of chardonnay which I cook with. Sat Jun 19 23:11:15 -0700 2004 916819 0 Joe H. 4 916831 How does owning 650 bottles of red wine affect your ability to appreciate a white wine that happens to be an excellent match for a particular dish? R. Sun Jun 20 07:11:15 -0700 2004 916824 0 Ramon 5 916842 It puts into perspective a particular appreciation while also admits to a lack of another appreciation. Sun Jun 20 22:15:14 -0700 2004 916831 0 Joe H. 6 917446 While my cellar is not quite that extensive (it's in the 500-550 range) I too have very little white wine. I used to be one of those red only guys, but lately I have been treated to some excellent whites. While I never liked Chards for the very reason that the CA versions were too oaked, I was recently (last year or so) able to try some Marcassins, Kistlers, Patz and Hall, Paul Hobbs, etc. as well as some other excellent whites (the Sine Qua Non Albino was wonderful)that have changed my mind. Now if only I could afford them. Mon Jun 28 10:41:00 -0700 2004 916842 0 dinwiddie 7 917515 I-honestly-have not given whites the chance they deserve. Mon Jun 28 21:55:06 -0700 2004 917446 0 Joe H. 2 916910 I am curious as to why you don't drink white wine. Lately I have met quite a few people lately who have said this, and most of them seem to have been turned-off by over-oaked chardonnay flowing out of California. Have you tried some of the really great whites from Rhone (like De L’Orre, Chante-Alouette or Le Meal), a nice Meursault, or even Bordeaux’s finest white Haut Brion Blanc? These are definitely white wines for the red wine drinkers. Does your lack of interest in white wines also include Champagnes? I share your love for red wines, but I could not consider my wine drinking experience complete without including whites to go with all of my great red wines. Mon Jun 21 16:24:32 -0700 2004 916789 0 Sthitch 3 916935 There are exceptions for me but overall I just much prefer a more full bodied red wine. Mon Jun 21 20:53:44 -0700 2004 916910 0 Joe H. 1 916804 I say absolutely. A halfway decent bottle of wine is going to cost you around $50-70 anyways, minimum. You're going to end up with something like 5 or 6 glasses by the time you're all done, and all wines that were paired by the sommelier to match what you're eating. Just as a note, I've done wine pairings at several tasting dinners, including Laboratorio, and I've never been disappointed. One thing I noticed about Laboratorio, and I'm not sure if it's still applicable, is that they will refill your wine glass if you empty it and they haven't moved on to the next wine yet. This is not common, and they may have stopped doing it. -Todd Sat Jun 19 11:50:14 -0700 2004 916777 0 Todd 2 916812 That refill policy was in effect when I ate there a couple of years ago. It is very generous and very dangerous because the waiters are quite deft at keeping the glasses topped up unobtrusively. Sat Jun 19 16:44:34 -0700 2004 916804 0 Jeremy M 2 916838 WE STILL DO IT SINCE DAY ONE. Sun Jun 20 16:46:56 -0700 2004 916804 0 ROBERTO 1 916820 Thanks for the responses. I've had some bad experiences with wine pairing options -- mediocre juice being poured. Any impressions of the quality of what the Lab serves? Also, it's inevitably difficult ordering off the list in a tasting menu situation like this. Any recommended 2 bottle approaches (ideally, specific recommended wines from what I've always heard is a heavily marked up list)? Sat Jun 19 20:24:43 -0700 2004 916777 0 Brett 1 916825 I had a wine paired dinner at the Lab earlier this year. The wines were nice, but not outstanding. You may want to consider their very generous corkage, which I believe is only $15. Do a search and you'll find a fair amount of discussion about it. Sat Jun 19 23:31:12 -0700 2004 916777 0 Spade