What's the max price you would pay for a bottle of wine when dining out in Manhattan.

[Monica]

I almost always order a bottle of wine when dining out. I try to stay under $50-$60 a bottle but at a fine restaurant, a nice bottle under $50 is hard to find these days.
Do you set a limit on wine budget when dining out?

[Bkeats]

One piece of advice that I think is worth keeping in mind is to never order an expensive bottle of wine if you know you can buy it at the local shop. When I go out for a typical weekday dinner with the wife, the bottle will be anywhere from 40 to 60. I know I'm over paying by 2-3 times based on the retail cost, but what the heck as I want wine with dinner. But whenever I'm at a fine dining level and I'm paying for the meal as opposed to having it be a T&E and the bottle costs 100+, I work with the sommelier to pick out something I've never seen or can't pick up at the shop around the corner. If you can't get the wine anywhere else, you worry less about whether you are over paying. That said, the most I recall ever spending on a bottle was around 400. An amazing bottle too.

[scotty27]

It would depend where I am. If it's super-upscale, like Restaurant Daniel, say, I'd spend more. The foot merits it. I don't have a ton of money so I guess $150 would be the upper limit. I once made the mistake of telling the sommelier at The French Laundry to have fun and send stuff out and wound up with a $500 wine bill. My bad. What's nice is a conversation with the sommelier: "What's good for under $100?" Even better is calling in advance and getting wines by the glass per course. Three glasses at b/n 13-17 x 2 = $78 to $102 for two. The bottom line? It should fun, not scary.
www.shrinkinthekitchen.com

[RCC]

"I once made the mistake of telling the sommelier at The French Laundry to have fun and send stuff out and wound up with a $500 wine bill."

Consider yourself lucky that the tally was only $500.

[loratliff]

Yeah, could've easily been triple that. What did you expect?

[scotty27]

I wasn't thinking. The meal for two came in at about $980. It was my 4th visit there. I figured, wait. I didn't figure. I wasn't thinking. Was it worth it? It was worth it.
www.shrinkinthekitchen.com

[loratliff]

That's all that matters anyway. :)

[msny98]

I usually try to stay under $100, $80 even. I do bring my own pretty often to good places that are BYO friendly as opposed to allow it with a sneer (I generally walk in with something nice, had dinner at EMP a few weeks back and had a 95 Cos D'Estournel along (very good with 2 hours of air BTW))

I hate overpaying for wine

[Monica]

Yeah, ordering wine is my biggest dilemma..I love having wine when dining out but at the same time, I know I am overpaying for the wine. I know some people will say, it's for the whole experience...etc..but still...

[RCC]

It's for the whole experience? That's a bunch of bull.
Having food and wine is something that you like, or don' tlike ... not because somebody else tells you it's all about the experience.

Besides, given the costs of keeping wine in a restaurant, you might reconmsider your thought about "overpaying for the wine".

[sgordon]

I find 90% of the time you can find a decent bottle in the $30-40 range, $40-50 at a higher end place. If I'm thinking of splurging much beyond that, I bring my own and pay the corkage, which at most places is around $25. No sense paying $300 (or more) for a $100 bottle of wine when I could pay $125 total after having brought it myself.

[philk021]

Usually $50-$80, unless its a special occasion. Works out cause my favorite wine is usually in that price range.

[Wilfrid]

Let me just question one of the premises here. I am a fairly experienced diner, and I am going to tell you that outside - maybe - the very top level of Manhattan restaurants, you will find bottles in the $40 to $50 range everywhere. Everywhere. You may need the sommelier's help locating them in the list, but they are there.

The fancier the restaurant, the better these bottles are likely to be. I'd challenge someone to tell me somewhere you can't get bottles in that price range.

[coasts]

personally, i have a point where something becomes too expensive to enjoy, as i become more focused on the cost rather than enjoying the experience.

[gutsofsteel]

I guess everybody has that point...but it differs according to the economic situation of each individual...for some people spending $100 on a bottle of wine is a big deal, for some people spending $1,0000 on a bottle of wine is not a big deal...

[coasts]

yes, i just didn't feel that disclosing my personal economic situation advanced the topic.

[Hey19]

5,000USD

[princeofpork]

Wow, I want to go to dinner with you!!

[Stuartmc910]

I hate to get off OP, but what about tipping. Would you tip waitperson (let's say 20%), $20 for a $100 bottle of wine and $200 for a $1,000 bottle of wine? Same amount of effort, bringing to table, opening and pouring.

[gutsofsteel]

Not the same amount of effort. Somebody opening a $1,000 bottle of wine is likely not a server...likely a sommelier, who will taste, decant as appropriate, etc etc. I tip 20% on the whole check.

[Pan]

I always tip at least 20% or so on the amount of my check, regardless what it is. If I can't afford to tip 20% on a check, I shouldn't be spending that much before tax and tip. But perhaps I'm inconsistent, because I generally tip $1 per drink at the bar, with the exception that I do tip more for labor-intensive cocktails that are well made and also may tip for plain ice water if I'm getting it for a friend with my drink.

[Hey19]

Kind of kidding, just kind of seems like an impossible question to answer. At a standard dinner w my sweathog friends, we hope to get something under 60 or so, when I make partner at Goldmans or something, maybe 5k at Per Se is in order. I dont work at Goldman BTW, just a good archetype.

If I were forced to put a max price, I would have to set it high, to accomodate those rare occurances.

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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

[msny98]

Goldman is no longer a partnership....

[fm1963]

But there are still "partners" at Goldman Sachs, the corporation.

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2...

The folks at Per Se would be happy to recommend a bottle under $100 if that is your budget.

-----
Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

[loratliff]

Yes, Per Se's list is really quite varied and doesn't tend exclusively to the $5k/bottle set.

-----
Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

[princeofpork]

I wont pay more than 100 for a bottle of wine. I just dont think I can tell the difference between a 100 and 1000 dollar bottle.

[gutsofsteel]

This question also really depends on what a person's financial situation is.

[Monica]

Also, do you guys feel 'cheap' if you don't order any alcoholic beverages?

[cheesecake17]

Not at all. A restaurant is not a club or bar. There's no requirement to order a drink, alcoholic or otherwise.

I'm pregnant, so no drinks for me, and husband is my designated driver, so nothing for him either. If a waiter continues asking for drink orders, husband usually firmly states "we will not be drinking this evening."

[Pan]

No.

[gutsofsteel]

Never.

[Mr Porkchop]

I feel many things when I don't order alcohol: regret, anger, boredom, shakey hands. "Cheap" isn't on the list though.

As for the original question, it really depends on how much I've already had to drink, and how attractive the waitress is.

[Pan]

Of course. Everyone should set a limit if they don't have unlimited money to spend. For whatever it's worth, I can't remember ever paying more than $48 for a bottle on my own dime. If I go to a restaurant where I have to pay a lot for food, I will order by the glass or carafe/caraffina (or whatever measure they're using). This is assuming I'm part of a party of 2; if I'm part of a 4-top or larger group, buying 2 or more bottles is very possible, but even then, it's not too likely we'd get any bottles that cost much more than that.

If I feel like splurging a bit, I'm more apt to get a cocktail or two or/and try two or three different wines (that is, a dessert wine could be one of them) than spend a lot of money for one bottle. I just find that more interesting and, thus, a better value for me. But everyone has to make their own decisions on what they can afford and what gives them most enjoyment for their bucks.

[Stuartmc910]

I'm usually in the same range, if possible. However, as you mentioned that's not always doable at more upscale restaurants, so I would raise the ante to $80.00. If there is nothing on the list in the range, I'll order a glass and sip it very slowly.

[cambridgedoctpr]

given that restaurants double or triple the price of wine, if i want some expensive wine, i try to find a place that allows me to bring my own wine. If you buy very expensive wine, even the most expensive corkage fees are wroth it. if not, there are excellent restaurants that have reasonable fees.

[loratliff]

Ditto. We've taken bottles to both Eleven Madison Park and Per Se. EMP's corkage fee is a very reasonable $35. Per Se's is $90, but they had a different vintage of the same wine we brought on their list for $450 so we still saved quite a bit.

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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010

[gutsofsteel]

It really depends - I have no set answer. Sometimes I spend $50, sometimes I spend $300 (or more or less)...it really depends. Depends on the occasion, on the food, on the restaurant, on the wine list, on my mood...sometimes I BYO...