Shrinking Hershey Bar Syndrome

Is it only in NYC that wine by the glass pours keep getting smaller & smaller? Recently in two very nice restaurants , one in Manhattan and another in Queens, I ordered a glass of wine only to have a skimpy pour of maybe 5 ounces appear in front of me. Lets see... if the bottle costs $42 , as it did in one case, and the glass costs $12 dollars, as it did, that means the restaurant in getting $60 for the bottle served by the glass. Another unfortunate restaurant practice that argues for dining at home more often and scouring the landscape for BYOs. I don't know, maybe I should move to Philadelphia, how are all those BYOs there anyway?

[David M. Bueker]

5 oz. pours have been the norm for a long, long time in my experience.

That doesn't change the fact that most WBTG is a complete ripoff, but the size has been fairly consistent.

Didn't realize that David. I am being generous when I say 5 ounces, likely a bit shy of that. Anyway, over the years I have usually gotten a bigger pour at most of the restaurants I've gone to. Maybe it's that I have moved up the ladder and now more frequently go to fancier places. Yeah, to me it is a ripoff. Only bottles for me going forward, or a beer!

It is not uncommon in Germany for a glass-pour to be 250 ml (1/3 bottle!)

Cheers,
Bill

Now that's more like it Bill! Let's see, on that $42 bottle a restaurant could charge $14. per pour, still make their $42., AND give fair value. Maybe I'll just move to...uh, no, that's a bit too far!

[Robin Garr]

It gets worse when you think in terms of what the restaurant paid for the bottle. Conventional wisdom in the restaurant business is that the first glass sold should pay for the bottle. A bottle that retails for $42 should reflect a wholesale price around $12 to $15, so it appears this eatery is following the standard markup principle. Enjoy!

One thought- maybe as you've upgraded restaurants, larger stems make same pours look a little smaller?
I'd agree that 5 ounce pours are pretty much the industry norm (and how most medical studies define "a drink" of table wine). Some restaurants do 6 oz (usually if they also offer 3 oz tasting pours).
One thing that did get my goat was a local "vinoteca" where the quartino was 6 ounces ("a quarter of a bottle" - hey. it's supposed to be a quarter of a liter!).
I love a good BTG or quartino program, at top flight places like Convivio or Babbo.
I do expect that 5 glasses will total more than buying the bottle. Of course, I also will send back oxidized/old glasses.

True Dale, the glassware in these restaurants is usually larger stems, but I did take that into account. The pours I've received are definitely not breaking 5 ounces. I also had the same "quartino" experience that you did. The wine came in that cute little decanter and when I poured it out it equaled a glass of wine, as you say probably about 6 ounces. I guess a "glass" of wine in that restaurant is, what, maybe 4- 4 1/2 ounces? Basically it just makes all the sense in the world to buy a bottle, even if you have to move down the ladder a bit to fit your wallet. You'll have a decent amount of wine to go with your meal, you won't have to nurse it, or resist the temptation to go for that second glass and really get hosed. Even if you leave a little behind it's much better bang for the buck.

Yes and the half gallon cartons of Tropicana orange juice have quietly morphed into 59 oz. containers. NYC is all about separating you from your money, so I'm not surprised. I've had the same gut feeling too. Well, you could move to NJ where BYO is the norm......

"Well, you could move to NJ where BYO is the norm......"



My daughter went to College outside Princeton and we quickly located a few very nice BYO places that we'd frequent when we would go down to visit her. There are many I am sure who would think me loco for what I am about to say, but I confess that on more than a few occasions I thought that maybe I should look into the retirement options in such a place. Perfect, eat out in a nice place whenever you want and bring your own vino with no questions or attitudes involved. A blissful retirement spent fishing, gardening, AND slowly and contemplatively whittling down my cellar!

The power of a long standing wine obsession and a sizable cellar is considerable, isn't it Joe!

" My daughter went to College outside Princeton and we quickly located a few very nice BYO places that we'd frequent when we would go down to visit her. There are many I am sure who would think me loco for what I am about to say, but I confess that on more than a few occasions I thought that maybe I should look into the retirement options in such a place.

Actually, not a bad idea. I speak every year in Lawrenceville, and that part of NJ is nice. Princeton provides culture, but you have open spaces, and not so far from NYC or DC (and Philly of course). But I have to say if you drive north on the big non-interstate (1?) it looks dreary. Just stay off that main drag.

Lawrenceville, that's exactly where my daughter was, at Rider College, is that where you speak Dale?

Yeah, BYOishness is definitely one of the factors that has to at least be considered when selecting a place to retire. Now if I could only move Lawrenceville-Princeton area closer to the ocean it might be a no brainer!

Yes, Rider participates in a program serving homeless I run.
There are worse reasons for choosing a place than restaurants (and their BYO policies). I'd guess it was less than an hour to the beach, no?

Sounds like rewarding work Dale.

Yeah, those BYO's are tempting, but an hour to the fishing grounds is an absolute eternity!