What do guests drink at Michelin-starred restaurants? The answer is obvious. Expensive wines. Everyone who goes to a restaurant regularly knows that the more expensive the food, the more expensive the wines. And now this is confirmed, at least according to writer Sara Danese, who has analysed wine lists from over 1,000 Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide. And she is not very happy with the result.
These restaurants are simply boring, she says. Her analysis shows that Krug and Dom Pérignon appear on 42% of all the wine lists at the Michelin-starred restaurants. And then it continues with the most famous and most expensive.
Around 60% of the wine lists are dominated by France, mainly Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne, with a few newcomers from the Rhône and Loire. Italy has a modest presence with 10–20%.
The median price of bottles increases with star level: $197 for one-star restaurants, $325 for two-star restaurants, and $446 for three-star restaurants. Only 6 % of the wines on the lists cost under $100.
Danese is certainly right that expensive can be boring. But the range probably suits the guests that the restaurants have. Or maybe sommeliers live under the belief that it is expected of a starred restaurant to have the most famous, classic, and most expensive wines.
Maybe Michelin requires it? But Noma, with its natural wines, showed that this is probably not the case (not sure they were less expensive though).
But please remember that if you are adventurous, but still like starred restaurant food, there will be exciting wines, maybe not as many, but definitely cheaper. Apparently, sommeliers are bolder when creating wine-pairing offers.
Read more: everydaydrinking
