Here is how I’d build a better wine list: reasonable prices, flavor-based organization, and customer-friendly bottles.

If a restaurant asked me for help crafting a brand-new wine list, how would I go about it? Would I even accept the challenge? This week I want to talk about it. What would my wine program look like? How would I organize the menu?

Well, let’s get into it. But first, a couple of disclaimers. Like with my imaginary perfect wine store, this is just fantasy. I’m combining my love of wine with what I learned working at restaurants and adding a dash of creativity. Moreover, I would only be able to build a new wine carte if the owner agrees with what I bring to the table. After all, it’s their restaurant, not mine.

Lastly, I want to create a wine list that’s friendly for both the consumers and the servers. They both should be able to navigate it and talk about it in simple terms. The idea is to generate more wine sales for the restaurant, as well as satisfying their clientele.

With that out of the way, what’s the first thing I’d consider?

My Wine List Would Have a Narrow Price Range

I’m about to make myself undesirable for many restaurants looking for a wine list makeover. When an intimidated customer inevitably looks for the second cheapest red, I want that price to be relatively close to the bulk of the rest of the prices on the menu. I also think plenty of good wine is made and sold at a good value, and I will have enough variety to have a wine list with fun alternatives so that it feels diverse and dynamic.

The menu should be priced accordingly based on the average budget of the restaurant’s customers, of course. If they feel insulted by wines that sell for below $300, then there’s no point in offering those. But this is my wine list, so it’s based on what I think is a good price for wine, and I really wouldn’t want to go over $100. In fact, I’d like to remain mostly around the $40 to $50 mark, using 2026 prices. Sorry Romanée-Conti, I don’t think you would fit in.

Of course, the restaurant buys those wines for much less, and I also want to talk about the mark-up.

How Much Should a Restaurant Mark Up Their Wines?

This is a little more difficult. It’s not my restaurant, and I can’t make decisions on how they run their business. See, the restaurant buys a bottle of wine, and based on storage capabilities, costs of operation, and many other factors, they decide on how much more to sell it for. Typically, they will multiply it by a set number and that’s the price. For instance, they buy a bottle for $12, they multiply by three and sell the bottle for $36.

I want to argue that the multiplier should be below two, but for many restaurants it’s actually closer to four. No judgement here. It’s hard to keep a business afloat, and sometimes you must charge more just to justify your inventory. Still, for the imaginary restaurant hiring me to set-up their wine program, I would keep that multiplier, on average, between 1.8 and 2.2.

Now that we know how much we want to charge for wine, we should concentrate on which wines to add.

The Wines on My List

I live in Chile, a wine-producing country. Therefore, I’m assuming the imaginary restaurant would be here as well. Then, I’d like a wine variety of Chilean wines, which are great for value. I’d include producers from valley, mountain, and ocean sites. Yes, I will have some of the easy sells: Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca or Limarí, and Carménère and Cabernet Sauvignon from Colchagua and Maipo. But I would also include Cinsault and Semillon from Itata, and País and Carignan from Maule.

Now, just because the restaurant is in Chile doesn’t mean it should only feature Chilean wines. I’d like to offer great value wines from other regions as well, as long as they fit the price range. That’s a bit more complicated if I want to keep that range on the lower end of the spectrum. This isn’t only a Chile thing; bringing wines from abroad can get expensive due to logistic costs, trade tariffs, and taxes.

That said, I’d still like my wine list to include wines from wine regions outside of Chile. It would be great to showcase wines from Mendoza in Argentina, Rias Baixas in Spain, Mosel in Germany, and many others from Italy and France. But those are the better-known ones. I’d also love to incorporate wines from Georgia, Croatia, or South Africa. Some of those wines should feel familiar, like Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, but I’m fine with a few that are not here in Chile, like Assyrtiko, from Greece.

So, am I advocating for a large wine list? Not at all, and that’s when things get complicated.

The Size of the Wine List

I’m not saying I want a tiny single-page wine list, but I don’t want an overwhelming 15+ page book. Let’s compromise with a reasonable three to four pages at most. I want every wine to be selected because it makes sense with the style of the restaurant and because it’s delicious, not necessarily because it would sell well.

I mean, I do want them to sell well, but it’s not hard to find good sellers that taste good. Besides, having an overly popular brand can come with its own share of problems. I remember a Chicago sommelier once talking about how a popular Napa Cab producer told him that if they wanted to keep selling that wine in their restaurant, they had to include several other wines from their winery. Wines that were neither good nor popular. He ditched them.

The length of the wine list, and the prices once you open it, should put you at ease, or at least not give you anxiety. It’s all about making it accessible. And there’s something we can do about how we organize it that can help us get there.

Ditch Geography (And Varietals Too)

Well, don’t completely ditch it. It’s fine when the wine list describes the wine. Just don’t use it to separate sections. Dão, in Portugal, makes exceptional reds; if you’re familiar with the region, you’ll be happy to find it on the menu. But if you know nothing of it, you might skip it. It’s the same with Italian and French wines. Do you know all the subregions? Are you familiar with the names of the villages and where each producer is located? Wine lists like that can feel unapproachable. I don’t want intimidated customers to just go for the familiar and miss out.

Something similar happens with Varietals. You go to the White Wine section of the wine list and find your Sauvignons and Chardonnays… but what if you see Grüner Veltliner or Godello? Would you know what to expect from them? And what about blends? Just listing them in their own section is not helpful.

And then there’s vintage. Does it even matter? For connoisseurs? Sure, it absolutely does. Would I include them in my wine list? Yes, for them. But vintage matters more in older wines, and they might be too pricey to include in my carte. Furthermore, if vintage is included, it’s important to double check that all the wines in storage are from those years. If not, they should be included twice (or more) to reflect when they were harvested.

Yes, all that information is important and can be helpful, so I would include it in my wine list. But I wouldn’t organize it based on any of it.

How To Organize a Wine List

Well, at least how I would do it. If regions and varietals are out, we’re left with two alternatives: descriptors and vibe.

By descriptors I mean aromatics and flavor components, as well as the body of the wine. So, for instance, if the section header reads “Orchard Fruit, Bread and Butter, Medium Body”, you know you can expect oaked whites. What I like about it is that you’ll find a Chardonnay, say, from California there. But you might also find a Côte de Beaune, or a Viognier. If you’re unfamiliar with those later ones, but already know you like that style of Chardonnay, you will probably also like them as well if you want to try something new.

Of course, you can go into more detail if you feel the wine list needs it. Mild Oak can be used to describe aging in larger oak barrels or very old ones. Or you can make the distinction between Yellow and White when describing Stone Fruit. But I will only include those if I have enough wines to fill each category. For a smaller wine list, I would keep it a bit vaguer.

The other alternative is vibe, or mood. It’s a bit more abstract, but for the right clientele, this could work better. Imagine a section on the menu with this header: Slow Wines for Deep Conversations Around the Campfire. My mind immediately goes to wines like Syrah or Carignan, but a skin-contact white wouldn’t feel out of place here.

Both methods are friendly for both the patrons and the servers. They use simpler language to facilitate conversation. It’s easier, then, to steer the customer to explore an alternative based on what they already like.

The Last Drop

The only thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that I would want an extensive and interesting wine-by-the-glass program. Pairing wines with food is easier when everybody drinks something different based on what they’re eating. Also, those who prefer lighter whites can be accommodated if the rest of the party want to uncork a bold red. Lastly, the customer might be more likely to try something new without the commitment of purchasing a whole bottle.

What would your wine list look like? Be sure to mention it in the comments below. I know there are things I didn’t include that will make sense to me as soon as I read them.

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Cover Image: Passing the wine list around. Photo by Julia Filirovska.