Sell more wine without a wine list?

Went to a wine bar (JaJa, in Berlin) last night, that did not have a wine list. They had bottles lining the shelves, which was something of an advertisement for the types of producers they stocked. But they would not necessarily have the same bottlings/vintages as what you saw on the shelves, and they had a lot more.

So, you had to ask the servers for detailed help.

In my case, I asked what they had from two producers. They then had to go root around and round up 3-4 bottles from each producer. Then after going over those options, they had to go back and find out prices. I mean I knew roughly what each bottle should cost, but the server had no idea and I was not about to blindly order and then find out they were engaged in larcenous pricing.

In the end, it was all very tedious. I suspect I'm not alone here in preferring to see the full set of producer/bottling/vintage options, with prices, in order to determine what best suits my needs for the occasion. There is a place for discovery and allowing the server to suggest things. But, I would need a lot of confidence/trust in the server before going that route!

I suspect this no wine list approach is largely driven by a combination of laziness and the logistical challenges of keeping it updated. But, then I began thinking, maybe the general public prefers such an approach. Most people probably don't want to read producers/vintages. It probably does suit them better to say, 'Bring me a fresh red/sour white for x euros'. So maybe it is a better strategy?

(Of course one could always pursue that suggestion strategy even with a list for those who want it, but maybe I'm being too precise...)

[David M. Bueker]

That sounds both tedious and annoying.

[Jenise]

And that's actually a wine bar. Sounds terrible. I even hate the type of restaurant somewhat common in America now where they list wine name/producer but not vintage, meaning the restaurant serves the same slop all the time and rarely adds to or changes the list.

And that's actually a wine bar. Sounds terrible. I even hate the type of restaurant somewhat common in America now where they list wine name/producer but not vintage, meaning the restaurant serves the same slop all the time and rarely adds to or changes the list.

Yes, the restaurants that don't list vintage are annoying, but at least they give you a clear signal that you don't need to worry about ordering wine in their establishment! It's actually pretty common in Europe as well.

The place last night was actually a very serious wine bar, with extensive and high-end selections, and ambitious cooking. One would think they could extend that serious energy to communicating about the wine. But, they've been doing a very good business for several years now, so I guess there are enough customers who don't mind...