Help
Quote
The markup on lower-priced wines is simply too high. In general this year, we found that the lower-priced wines cost about 3˝ times retail. Kanu Chenin Blanc 2004 from Stellenbosch, South Africa, is a very good choice for a wine list, but at the upscale Flying Fish Café it cost $35, compared to $9.95 as an average retail price. This was typical. What this means is that the price of the least expensive wine on the list is often too expensive. At the delightful Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot, for instance, the only wine on the list under $30 was Kenwood White Zinfandel -- for $27 a bottle. At the Whispering Canyon Café in the Wilderness Lodge, which features family-style barbecue, only the Kenwood White Zinfandel and Columbia Crest Two Vine Merlot 2001 cost less than $30 (both of those cost $27, too). At stores, the Merlot costs an average of about $8. Hey, wine drinkers know these are seriously high prices. It's a small world, after all.
We understand that things will cost more at Disney World. It's hard to beat the spectacle of fireworks over the Magic Kingdom and the light show on the water or the memory of your first hug from Mickey. That's priceless stuff. Still, at our hotel, for instance, a Coke from the vending machine cost $2.50. When our daughters saw that, they decided to drink water instead -- and we fear many diners at Disney World's restaurants make the same choice about wine.
Overall, we found that there are two kinds of wine experiences at Disney restaurants. The more-informal restaurants tend to have short, overpriced lists. There seems to be a sense that diners at a barbecue restaurant or a seafood buffet aren't really interested in wine. But informal chains such as Olive Garden understand that more and more Americans find informal, affordable wine to be part of the fun of eating out. By overpricing wine, Disney World is depriving many people of the additional treat of wine with a meal and, we'd guess, not selling as much wine as it could, thus leaving money on the table, too. That seems like a lose-lose situation to us. Mr. Blazon disagrees. He told us that Disney World's wines are "very favorably priced" and that the lists "offer value." He said prices are not out of line with industry averages.
The better restaurants tend to take wine far more seriously and offer far more interesting choices. The South African list at Jiko, in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, is very special and worth a trip. For years, the favorite destination for wine lovers at Disney World has been the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort. It offers over 65 wines by the glass and 100 more by the bottle. While an interesting wine there will still cost $36 and up, there are plenty of choices to make a meal more enjoyable, from Spann Vineyard Chardonnay-Viognier from Sonoma County to Lafond Syrah from the Santa Rita Hills. In general, the markup on these better wines is not as extreme as the so-so wines at the more-informal restaurants. And in any case, the markup is much less of an issue at the better restaurants because you'll rarely see some of their wines at retail stores. That's the kind of wine we look for at restaurants.
We understand that things will cost more at Disney World. It's hard to beat the spectacle of fireworks over the Magic Kingdom and the light show on the water or the memory of your first hug from Mickey. That's priceless stuff. Still, at our hotel, for instance, a Coke from the vending machine cost $2.50. When our daughters saw that, they decided to drink water instead -- and we fear many diners at Disney World's restaurants make the same choice about wine.
Overall, we found that there are two kinds of wine experiences at Disney restaurants. The more-informal restaurants tend to have short, overpriced lists. There seems to be a sense that diners at a barbecue restaurant or a seafood buffet aren't really interested in wine. But informal chains such as Olive Garden understand that more and more Americans find informal, affordable wine to be part of the fun of eating out. By overpricing wine, Disney World is depriving many people of the additional treat of wine with a meal and, we'd guess, not selling as much wine as it could, thus leaving money on the table, too. That seems like a lose-lose situation to us. Mr. Blazon disagrees. He told us that Disney World's wines are "very favorably priced" and that the lists "offer value." He said prices are not out of line with industry averages.
The better restaurants tend to take wine far more seriously and offer far more interesting choices. The South African list at Jiko, in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, is very special and worth a trip. For years, the favorite destination for wine lovers at Disney World has been the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort. It offers over 65 wines by the glass and 100 more by the bottle. While an interesting wine there will still cost $36 and up, there are plenty of choices to make a meal more enjoyable, from Spann Vineyard Chardonnay-Viognier from Sonoma County to Lafond Syrah from the Santa Rita Hills. In general, the markup on these better wines is not as extreme as the so-so wines at the more-informal restaurants. And in any case, the markup is much less of an issue at the better restaurants because you'll rarely see some of their wines at retail stores. That's the kind of wine we look for at restaurants.
WSJ Online
Posted 19 March 2009 - 08:27 PM
