Part One: Why does wine cost so much in the restaurant?

    In short, spoilage and spillage. Unlike that bottle of creme de menthe that can sit on the back bar until the end of time (as long as they’re keeping the fruit flies out), wine is parishable. Wine is especially suseptable to the harsh environment of a restaurant or bar. Think about it: cool during the day, roasting at night, sitting on the back bar on top of a refridgerator pumping out warm air.
    If asked, I’d have to say that 50% of restaurants (those with a wine list) store their bottles poorly. No? I think it’s gross when I’m served a glass of warm red wine. It’s like eating a battered plum that’s been on your hot porch all day.  Knowing when to say beer:

One very well-known restaurant I worked kept wine in a service bar that amounted to a small walkin closet. There were 2 industrial fridges that expelled massively hot air. No one could stand to bartend a whole shift in there. Would you like a $125 bottle of Super Tuscan that lived like that? (wine does NOT like temperature flux)

Another restaurant I worked kept white wine frigid (as damaging as heat) in these huge coolers, in a narrow hallway, right across from the red wine cabinet. This wine was standing up, too. Not only did it get the heat from the fridges, but also the vibration. Standing up risked cork dry out, AND the other side of the cabinet was glass, letting in harsh light. (unlike hemingway, wine likes a still, dark, slightly dank place)

<>

These were top restaurants. Some places go through their wine fast enough that storage isn’t of a huge importance(unless you’re going for the reserve list). Look around, do you see alot of wine on the tables? Good sign. Do they have a huge cocktail menu? Bad sign. And, incidentally, a sommelier on staff is no sign and does NOT mean your wine hasn’t been abused.
    Bottom line: If they don’t give a shit about their wine, why should you?

Next topic: price

**Did you know?  Most restaurants have a day as part of their cleaning schedule to strain out all of the fruit flies in the sticky sweet cordials. Think of that the next time you want buttscotch schnapps.