I didn't know you were such a coin-a-sewer.
Posted on 10/23/2020 11:11:24 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
A young couple who once dined at the Big Apple’s iconic Balthazar couldn’t bottle up their emotions after ordering an $18 Pinot Noir — but being served a $2,000 Mouton Rothschild instead by accident, the eatery’s owner recounted this week.
...the restaurant’s night manager said the host of the business meeting actually praised the purity of the cheapest wine on the list, while the lucky couple “jokingly pretended to be drinking an expensive wine,”
“The young couple were ecstatic by the restaurant’s mistake, and told me it was like the bank making an error in their favor,” said the red-faced owner, who admitted the embarrassing mix-up.
“The trouble was, it was me who was down $2,000, not the bank,”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I purchased cases and cases of ‘89 and ‘90 Bordeaux. Sadly it did not last past 2000. No regerts.
“He wasn’t down $2k I’m sure it was more like $400 before markup. I once had a big bottle of champagne i got at my liquor store in New Hampshire for $300 saw the same bottle at a restaurant in Manhattan a year later for $2800 and you had to be a party of 8 or more to order it. Markup is huge.”
I was talking to restaurateur one day and found out a very large part of that markup is tax and is forced on them by the state. That guy actually had a retail license as well as the restaurant and he could sell me stuff to take away for a third the price it was if delivered to your table.
Perhaps, I would’ve agreed to pay the restaurant owner his cost for the bottle. As a business owner, it sucks when a employee screws up and costs the business money. I realize that most people would not pay for the expensive bottle. I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking advantage of the situation. I wonder how many Freepers would do the same?
Aye, that is the rub, learning how good the good stuff is makes it either a goal or a curse.
As for me, I regard myself as being VERY FORTUNATE that my genetics gave me subpar taste buds in the wine area. It was so bad that in my 20s, shudder, I drank "Lancer's Rose" with Thanksgiving Turkey. Still, it is the ability to honestly enjoy what the French call 'plonk' or 'vin ordinaire' that gold-plates my Mercedes (actually a white Kia)! As I am happy with what I've got, what more can I praise God for?
I do feel for the restaurant proprietor and hope that the publicity from this gives him more patrons, there in the hell of COVID TYRANNY! One thing totally certain, his competition is already reduced and getting thinner every day.
LOL
And Night Train from the 80s
I think Thunderbird is a Brutally strong one that costs a few bucks. If they still make it.
Ripple
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Also known as Cripple in certain circles. LOL
Here’s an oldie from the winos back in the day:
What’s the word? Thunderbird.
What’s the price? 50 twice.
If the image is the actual wine they were served you can find it online in many locations for less than $300 a bottle.
For what it’s worth, I have purchased and consumed a 1986 Lafite Rothschild and a 1999 Mouton Rothschild. Never again. In reality, I have found many dense red wines that I liked better for less than $15. Granted they do not store as long but when you find a good year and brand, you can get some really good wine without having to spend the bucks. Unfortunately, the year to year variations may make the search more than a few test bottles. When you find the right bottle, buy more.
https://www.blueridgebeverage.com/beverages/wines/the-wine-group-llc/oak-leaf-wines/
“The Wine Group produces a variety of wines sold under the Franzia, Corbett Canyon, Mogen David, Tribuno, and Lejon labels.”
Or in this case DRINK IT!...................
Worth over $2,000 in free publicity. Hundreds of couples will come there hoping for another “mistake”.
Granted they do not store as long but when you find a good year and brand, you can get some really good wine without having to spend the bucks. Unfortunately, the year to year variations may make the search more than a few test bottles. When you find the right bottle, buy more.
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Absolutely true. Great advice.
2 buck Chuck is now about 5 bucks.
Stick the expensive label on a bottle of cheap wine and pawn it off on the next sucker. There was an episode of Midsommer Murders based on a scam where they convinced a connoisseur that they have found a secret trove of vintage wine and convinced him to help them steal it, when in fact it was rotgut with counterfeit labels.
Dom has those really small tight bubbles. A result of the fermentation in a cool/cold climate. Slows down the yeast. Just like it does in bread.
There really is a difference between Dom and other “Sparkling” wines.
I don’t know. I have a weak palate until I tasted the difference between a $50 scotch And a $400 scotch. Wow.
REd wine, good or bad, gives me a headache.
Odd, non-sparkling wines seldom give me gas. Strange that!
“For the record, Pinot Noir now costs $88 at Balthazar — and their cheapest half bottle goes for $40.
I’ve never been a fan of Pinot Noir. Or Bordeaux for that matter. I couldn’t claim to be an expert but I really think California wine is just fine.
Keith McNally owns some of manhattans best eateries Including my old extreme late night haunt from the 80s called Odeon
His restaurants probably do 100 million a year in sales as a group who can afford the $2000 bottle of Rothschild
Helluva Pauillac
Probably pretty barnyard at first air....
Hope they let it adjust
Traitor Joe’s has some decent inexpensive wines on the left coast.
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