In gastronomy, if what we are going to eat is important, what we are going to drink is no less important. Wine enhances the flavours of food and any dish we taste will be amplified if we pair it with the right wine. Despite this, in our country, the world of restaurants and wine have a curious relationship, as it is not easy to eat and drink well in the same restaurant. Let no one be alarmed, because, fortunately, there are enough places for the marriage of food and drink to have a happy ending. In spite of this, I believe that the restaurant industry needs to improve its relationship with the world of wine, so that more and more restaurants allow us to enjoy this pairing. Here I go with the marital differences.
Wine lists are one of the great problems of the restaurant industry, generally caused by the lack of knowledge of restaurateurs about the world of wine. People tend to think that good wine is prohibitively expensive, something that is absolutely false. Having a good wine list is neither complicated nor expensive. There are bottles of wine from all over the world that comply with the terroir philosophy and their price is as cheap as that of commercial wine, so it is not unreasonable to have them in any restaurant.
The price of wine is another bleeding issue. Many restaurants, but not all, multiply the price of bottles by three, four or even seven times, as I have seen. The cost of opening a bottle and pouring it into a glass is the same regardless of the bottle ordered. Unlike the dishes that have been cooked in the restaurant, the bottles have been bought, but some restaurateurs play with them as if they had made the wine. Of course, restaurants should make an industrial profit from serving the bottles, but I also believe that there should be more proportionality.
Another vitally important issue is that of glasses. Wine can be drunk in a glass, of course, but there is no doubt that it develops all its qualities in a glass. It is not a question of justifying the price of what we are being served, but of offering the right tool for the bottle to be served.
The conservation of the bottles is also crucial. Wine should always be kept in a cool place, preferably with little light. In spite of this, there are premises that do not comply with this maxim and keep the bottles near the street shelf, exposed to the sun at some time of the day, or near ovens or fires. The result can be a bottle in poor condition for the diner.
There is one maxim that never fails me: in any restaurant that respects the wine, the food is good. I can hardly remember any restaurant with a good wine list where I have had a bad meal. I may have eaten more or less, but never badly.