Wine by the Glass
I’m a huge proponent of wine by the glass. I rarely want to drink a whole bottle, and I oftentimes eat with non-wine drinkers. However, most restaurants have a poor selection for lone wine drinkers, or the prices are just astronomical. Single glasses of wine at restaurants often cost what a whole bottle would outside. The linked article delves into that issue in Boston.
One key place I’ve yet to visit (but will now) is Troquet, which offers 47 wines by the glass. One of the owners says they’re “all different in style”. Customers can buy anything from $6.50 to $69 for Chateau d’Yquem. Yup, by the glass!
Rendezvous in Central Square has carafes, which are about 2/3 of a bottle, to encourage exploration.
Marco in the North End mostly serves glasses of wine, though there’s no description of the wine menu. The single pours are mostly attributed to the family-style nature of the restaurant.
As for whether buying by the glass is worth your money, it depends. Some restaurants make a killing on their markup by the glass. The standard markup for a bottle is 2.5-3 times the wholesale price, but it could be astronomical by the glass. Also, lower priced wines have the biggest markup. However, there are many that don’t. The problem mainly seems to be due to pricing of cocktails. If a fancy fake martini costs more than $10, then expect the wines by the glass to be priced similarly.
Anyway, for more ideas, check out Boston.com’s “Top Individual Pours Around Town“.
