db turns spotlight on restaurant wine lists

Greatest hits restaurant league tables emerge with a fanfare every other week, but as with restaurant reviews, few seem to give much recognition to the wine list.

the drinks business is looking to tap into the wine trade’s collective encyclopaedic knowledge of the most exciting, intelligently compiled or best-value lists in Britain which deserve recognition.

Whose wine list do you love to get lost in until the waiters despair of ever taking your food order? Which sommelier can be relied upon to introduce you to something new that doesn’t require you taking out a second mortgage? Who’s making a real effort with their by-the-glass offer?

While the sheer concentration and variety of good restaurants in London means the capital tends to hog the limelight, not all wine lovers live inside the M25.

We want to hear about those places around the country, be they gastro-pubs or neighbourhood restaurants, which have lavished care and passion on their wine list.

Some of the most exciting lists don’t try to cover every base. Who deserves recognition for nudging customers away from Pinot Grigio by devoting specialist attention to a wine region close to their heart?

Where do you go for your Sherry fix or to enjoy some really interesting Champagnes? Which list does more to excite with a single page offer than many restaurants can achieve with a 500-bin tome?

Send your recommendations and comments to gabby@thedrinksbusiness.com and we’ll use these to help compile a detailed survey later this summer, which will form the basis of our next on-trade report. It’s time to acknowledge the people who deserve recognition for making the UK one of the world’s most exciting places to drink out.

Gabriel Savage, 15.06.2010