Wine At Posh Restaurant

[BrilloPad]

there are plenty of girls out there who'd like to spend the night having pizza and playing scrabble with you.

Got any phone numbers?

[Gonzo]

Freshwater fish;
1218 Riesling Spätlese Trocken, August Kesseler, Rheingau 2001 50.00

Sea fish;
1230 Vino Verde, Quinta De San Joanne 2007 25.00

Red Meat;
1280 Ribera del Duero, Resalte, crianza 2001 50.00
or
1436 Massaya, Gold Reserve, Bekaa Valley 2004 65.00 (Lebanon; fantastic wines, sensible prices)

Anyway, his prices are very heavily marked up. He's charging 50 quid for a Barbera that I've got from my local wine dealer in NL at 8 euros.

OK, put a big margin on it, but the food had better be f**king brilliant.

Remember, you are not just paying for the wine.

You are paying for them to store a large selection.

You are paying for a wine waiter who can if you want advise you on your wine selection.

You are paying for a wine waiter who will ensure that your wine is served in the correct condition before you are asked to try it.

You are paying for a wine waiter who will ensure that your glasses are refilled at exactly the correct rate so that you finish your wine at the same time as your meal.

One of the things that I like about Ramsey's restaurants is that the service is the best I have ever received.

[Mich the Tester]

Remember, you are not just paying for the wine.

You are paying for them to store a large selection.

You are paying for a wine waiter who can if you want advise you on your wine selection.

You are paying for a wine waiter who will ensure that your wine is served in the correct condition before you are asked to try it.

You are paying for a wine waiter who will ensure that your glasses are refilled at exactly the correct rate so that you finish your wine at the same time as your meal.

One of the things that I like about Ramsey's restaurants is that the service is the best I have ever received.

Yep, it’s OK if the service AND the food are really that good, but I know of restaurants where they just bump up the price of wines counting on people being ignorant enough to pay over the odds. Personally I’d prefer to see a smaller selection and a bit less fannying about with decanters that shouldn’t be necessary and smelling the cork (which tells you nothing).

Anyway, the wines I’ve named are wines that I’ve had myself and would happily recommend to anyone.

If you do someday decide to pay a grand for a bottle and find out what’s so special about the ‘top’ wines, then ask the restaurant to cook food that fits the wine, instead of the other way around.

[Mich the Tester]

Bumfluff, can I just say....be very careful about the expectations you set early on in a relationship. Make sure this lady knows that this kind of posh venue is a massive treat for you too - one that you're sharing with her. Make her see that this isn't the kind of restaraunt you will be taking her to every week...else you'll just get yourself another lass who sees you as Mr MoneyBags.

You're worth more than that, and there are plenty of girls out there who'd like to spend the night having pizza and playing scrabble with you.

FWIW.

Got any phone numbers?

How about girls who like to eat custard and play twister at the same time?

[Gonzo]

and smelling the cork (which tells you nothing).

I find that you can tell if the wine has corked by smelling the cork.

It has taken a lot of years for me to get there, a large number of bottles of wine have been drunk, and I've had to give up smoking, but I can now (usually) tell that a bottle of wine has corked by smelling the cork.

If you do someday decide to pay a grand for a bottle and find out what’s so special about the ‘top’ wines, then ask the restaurant to cook food that fits the wine, instead of the other way around.

Actually, I could never justify that sort of extravagance. £1,000 on a bottle of wine? There is no way that you could convince me that it would be twice as good as a £500 bottle.

[Mich the Tester]

Actually, I could never justify that sort of extravagance. £1,000 on a bottle of wine? There is no way that you could convince me that it would be twice as good as a £500 bottle.

True, it can't be 'twice as good', but it's something that you could do once in a while out of curiosity. I once had the good fortune to drink some wine from the club chairman's private collection at a rugby club near bordeaux; a rather fabulous Chateau Latour, which would usualy sell for hundreds or even more than a grand. Beautiful wine, really worth trying once, but of course someone else was paying. The discussion of whether it's 'worth it' is just pointless; of course it isn't in the traditional sense of 'value for money'; it's just one of those experiences you might try if you can afford it.

[Francko]

Actually, I could never justify that sort of extravagance. £1,000 on a bottle of wine? There is no way that you could convince me that it would be twice as good as a £500 bottle.

Are contractors worth twice the money than a perm? Yes. So a good wine does.

[Gibbon]

Rump of Cumbrian lamb stuffed with anchovies ??????

Ramsey is a tw*t to ruin good lamb like that, drink pepsi with it as it's not worth a decent wine.

[Mich the Tester]

Rump of Cumbrian lamb stuffed with anchovies ??????

Ramsey is a tw*t to ruin good lamb like that, drink pepsi with it as it's not worth a decent wine.

Lamb and anchovies works quite well. You don't get a fishy taste from the anchovies at all, more a sweetness that counters any bitterness in the meat.

[Gibbon]

Lamb and anchovies works quite well. You don't get a fishy taste from the anchovies at all, more a sweetness that counters any bitterness in the meat.

Lamb is probably one of the sweetest meat around especially fully grass fed lamb which tends to have yellowish fat from the carotene in the grass. Lamb is at it's best on it's own with some juices from the pan/roast tin.
Anything else is just to hide the poor meat quality or get someone to pay top dollar.