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Dining Strategies: Get the Half-Pour Wine Pairing

We enjoy tasting menus: pay a flat price and let the kitchen make all the decisions. Who better to know what’s good? I say, “Chef, you decide!”

With tasting menus, we’ll frequently get a wine pairing.

At Alinea some years ago, four of us had the grand tour menu and the premium wine pairings. It was expensive…and it was stupid. So much wine…so,so much, that by about mid-way through the meal, I was, let us say, not as focused as I would have liked to have been.

That started me thinking: why not just ask the sommelier to give both my wife and me a half-pour each of all the selections in one wine pairing.



This dining strategy has served us well.

At Elizabeth a few months ago, I asked the sommelier if he’d be able to split the wine-pairing. He said “Sure.”

GAF asked how much wine each person would receive if they went with the full pairing, and the sommelier replied “About a bottle each.”

A bottle each! Sheesh!!

Our table of eight ended up getting four wine pairings, with split pours for every one of us, and that was actually more than enough. We saved some money, some dignity, and we drove home with greater safety.

Critically, we had sufficient sips of several fine wines that enhanced the meal without blunting the buds.

Of course, sommeliers no doubt have the right to deny this kind of splitting, but it’s never happened to us, and heck, if they get snotty about it, we’d just order one pairing…and request an extra glass.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

I would not be surprised or annoyed by an up-charge for splitting: they're pouring, serving, bussing and washing more glassware.

I'm a lightweight when it comes to drinking (and that's about the only environment I can use that descriptor on myself), and thankfully, SueF doesn't mind sharing a glass or a pairing -- we're used to each others' spit after 29 years of wedded bliss.

The only time I've been through a multi-course pairing was at the Vie book-release party (Preservation Kitchen). I think that was five courses plus amuse, each with their own adult beverage. I only finished some of them (one not at all -- both of us agree that beer products taste like they've been run through the clydesdales), and we were reeling midway through.

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What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang

I was at Elizabeth with David and definitely agree that the half pour pairing was the way to go. The method also works at the Aviary with great success.

I was happy we did it at Elizabeth too, and will employ this strategy in the future. I recently dined at Alinea . . . not sure if they would've been willing . . . but my friends wanted full pairings (but later said we should have asked about splitting).

I've been using this strategy at Alinea for a while. They've never given me a problem when I've asked.

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-Josh

An amuse bouche at breakfast is called a Bloody Mary - Scott Manlin

This was a great question for GAF to ask, because I bet most people would be as surprised as you were. Or else would will themselves not to think about it.

Not to say that there's a "right and wrong" amount of wine to drink, but for those whose own personal guideposts tell them they should not drink a whole bottle of wine in an evening, this is useful consumer info.

I agree completely. Don't get me wrong, I can easily drink a bottle of wine at home. But if I'm paying for a multi course meal I want my wits about me.
I reacall dining at Ambria with my wife who was pregnant at the time. We both had the tasting menu and about 1/2 way through dinner I had to ask them to stop with the wine because I had a long drive back to Oak Park with my pregnant wife in the car. 1/2 pours would have beena much ore prudent course of action if only I had thought of it.

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The cake is a lie

I was hoping you were going to say you drank both wine pairings and your pregnant wife drove home.

Which is another dining strategy: order 2 wine pairings and you'll often receive a quantity more closely approximating 3.

I'm curious whether anyone has successfully tried this at Next? I love the meals I've eaten there, but I don't like the quantity of wine I end up consuming. Given that the bottle is usually left on the table, I can't imagine that it's possible to split a pairing.

I've love to have a couple glasses of wine with dinner there but not feel as if my head got run over by a steamroller the next morning. And I have a hard time justifying the tab for a pairing where I only have a sip of each pour.

I'd be very interested in this as well. The problem is that it's impossible to get an answer out of them on anything (I already tried asking them this exact question). The next time I go I will try and get an answer.

I've been for Kitchen Tables (6 person) at Sicily and Kyoto. For Sicily we had 2 wine pairings, for Kyoto we did just one wine pairing and one non-alcoholic pairing.

I was with family - no germaphobes - and there was more than enough for each of us to try each beverage. Then, we rotated someone finishing the remaining 1/3 or so of the glass. I don't know that Next was thrilled, but they were quite accommodating both times.

An excellent suggestion: wine and non-alc pairings.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Glad I stumbled upon this thread; my wife and I had recently started sharing wine pairings (just before this thread started) and I had a hard time finding much on the etiquette and feasibility of doing this. We tended to often order a bottle of wine versus pairings in order to both save money and stop from consuming too much alcohol, but on a couple of occasions had really enjoyed doing pairings and felt they enhanced the meal more so than consuming a bottle of wine.

We first did this a couple of months ago at Moto and they accommodated this very graciously and served us half pours (each in our own glass) for no upcharge (i.e. we just paid the price for one pairing). The pour sizes were plenty large enough to enjoy with our courses, but small enough that we felt good at the end of the meal.

We did this for the second time this past weekend at Grace and again it was accommodated by the sommelier with no issues. He did offer us the option of doing larger pours of fewer wines or doing half pours of their standard pairing - we opted for the half pours of their standard pairing and again this worked beautifully for us.

I too am curious if this would be accommodated at Next. The pairings there are priced so that they nearly double the cost of the meal, and the times I have had the pairings there it has been A LOT of alcohol. While having one person order non-alcoholic and sharing cuts back on the alcohol, it still is quite pricey - even the non alcoholic pairings are very expensive. I really hope that Next eventually offers some wines by the glass or bottle, but when I asked Mr. Kokonas about this he indicated that it was not going to happen. Alinea is MUCH more accommodating with the wine, but since they are a significantly higher price-point that would be expected. Anyways, I am hoping someone chimes in about any experiences sharing (or inquiring about sharing) an alcohol pairing.

We always split the pairings at Alinea. Otherwise, it's just too much wine for us.

We recently ate at Grace (a meal about which I hope to write in more detail soon) and had an unusual wine experience. My wife and I each ordered a different menu (me: fauna, she: flora) and we each ordered wine pairings. We never asked but just assumed that each menu would have its own pairings and because we assumed they'd be different, we each decided to order our own and not share. However, 3 courses into our meals we had each been served the same wines. So, we asked about it and were told that the pairings were, in fact, identical for both menus. At that point, we realized that it was excessive and that we really only needed one pairing between us. We mentioned this to our server, who was happy to oblige us. And sure enough, when the bill came, we were only charged for one pairing, which was nice. But had there been 2 separate sets of pairings, we would have each stuck with our own because we both would have been able to try twice as many wines.

I do feel somewhat wasteful getting a full pairing for each diner at Next (it's usually too much) but since there are usually multiple pairing options, we'll make a point of trying to order all the available pairings, so that everyone at the table can try them all.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I had dinner at Next last night and we asked our server if there was any alcoholic alternative to a full pairing. He suggested we get one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic pairing and split the two. I wasn't particularly excited to try the non-alcoholic pairing, but I also wanted to leave dinner feeling relative sober. It turned out to be a fantastic suggestion. Most of the non-alcoholic pairings rocked (in particular the first spruce drink) and I could walk in a straight line when I left. I'll go this route again down the road.

A couple more shared pairing experiences to report on.

Elizabeth: With it being a weeknight (and I was driving) we decided to opt for a shared pairing. The new sommelier had just started working at Elizabeth (he came over from Alinea). While he had no objections to our sharing a pairing, he did not do half sized pours in separate glasses, but just one glass for the two of us. While I find it preferable to each have our own glass, this was no big deal and he really selected some outstanding wines and was really friendly. I briefly contemplated requesting separate glasses, but since Elizabeth had just experienced a bit of issues while they were in between sommeliers I did not want to create any potential stress/discomfort for the new sommelier.

Boka: We inquired about shared pairings (we were doing the six course tasting menu) and this was readily accommodated. The pairings at Boka are pretty inexpensive ($55), but I love their cocktails and had a pre-dinner drink (and had after dinner plans) so did not want to consume too much wine. Not only were we provided with our own glasses, but they really went above and beyond. The pour sizes were incredibly generous and they remembered that my wife does not like dessert wines; for the dessert courses they brought her her favorite beverages in lieu of dessert wine. We are somewhat regulars here, so this may have had something to do with it - but Boka IMHO has some of the very best service in Chicago and we received similar first class treatment on our very first meal there.

Seems like you took it in stride, but really, the somme should have figured out that two glasses would be the only appropriate way to go about sharing a pairing.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

I love the non-alcoholic pairings at Next. I go with friends and none of us are germophobes and two of us are lightweights, so we share stuff and they don't seem to mind. I am literally incapable of handling a normal alcoholic menu pairing- the El Bulli menu I had the alcoholic pairing and I was so drunk I had to go home and pass out rather than go to the Aviary like I wanted to do. That was my first such experience and my last.

I also wish more bars would offer half pint beers. It's unrealistic to expect a 100 lb almost 5 ft tall woman to have the same amount of alcohol as an average-sized man.

Gonzo70 do you know which som that was at Elizabeth?

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- melissa

This may have been somewhat unique to this menu; this was by far the drunkest I've ever gotten with a restaurant pairing (not including BYO's like El Ideas, where I got even drunker). When the meal lasts for 5-6 hours and they leave the bottle on the table for each course, you (or at least I) are guaranteed to get wasted.

His name is Ben.

Throwing another data point on the pile: I split a pairing at Alinea last summer and they stuck with the shared single glass approach. It felt a little bit awkward and contrasted with the rest of the service, which was exemplary.

Will try the same thing at an upcoming Next meal and see how it goes.

My wife and I did another shared pairing recently, this time at Tru. The sommelier said she would just pour into one glass as some of the glasses were large and that it would look odd having an already small pour split between two glasses. This time we did state that we would prefer to each have our own glass if possible and this request was obliged.

On a side note, I keep running into former Alinea sommeliers. First was Ben at Elizabeth, then a couple of nights ago my wife and I saw Richard at Yusho (he is the really friendly sommelier with the wild looking hair).

Another recent experience to report on: My wife and I requested to do a shared pairing for the eight course menu at Sixteen. The sommelier was reluctant, citing the same reason as Tru and offered us the opportunity to do half as many pairings rather than half sized pours of every pairing. We declined and indicated we would just order a bottle instead. A few minutes later our primary server came by and stated that he would see to it that we would be able to do a shared pairing. Apparently Sixteen has not yet decided on an official policy regarding shared pairings based on what we were told; so not sure if this will be easier or more difficult to do in the future. Aside from the minor difficulty settling the wine issue the meal was outstanding and service the rest of the night was flawless.

Has anyone tried this at Spiaggia? We'll be there next Saturday and would like to do half-pours.

That is actually the one tasting menu we did recently where we each ordered our own pairings. My guess is they will happily accommodate your request. They definitely seem like they aim to please and are extremely flexible - i.e. when they delivered the menus they explained the two different tasting menus and a la carte menu and said one person could do a la carte and the other a tasting menu, both do different tasting menus or both do the same. The execution of the service wasn't always as spot on as I would have expected from a venue of Spiaggia's caliber, but they definitely seemed willing to cater the experience to your desire. Enjoy the dinner and let us know how it works out!