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82 W i n e s & V i n e s s e P T e M B e R 2 0 1 4 W ineries and distributors exert little or no control over what restaurants charge for their wines, resulting in large price disparities from wine list to wine list. The phenomenon is potentially damaging to a wine brand, as customers may blame the winery rather than the res- taurant for an overpriced wine. Because wineries and distributors can't influence prices in restaurants, they are faced with a "sticker shock" problem. Consider this example of price disparity: Silver Oak's 2009 Alexander Valley Caber- net Sauvignon ranges in price from $95 to $195 in upscale San Francisco restaurants. The wine can be purchased at retailers for $60, making for a markup over retail of 1.5 to 3.1 times. While developing VinoServant.com, a website specializing in restaurant wine list reviews, I have come to believe that wineries and distributors should take the lead and provide restaurants with a "suggested res- taurant price" for their wine in the same way that car manufacturers provide a "manufacturer's suggested retail price." In an article on Wine-Searcher, Chateau Montelena owner Bo Barrett said that his winery's Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a popular restaurant wine, and the win- ery purposely sets the wholesale price low enough to keep the restaurant price around $100. Sure enough, the 2011 vintage cur- rently has an average restaurant price in San Francisco of $103. (The low is $85, and the high is $120.) We started VinoServant in 2011 to help consumers make wine-buying decisions in restaurants. During the past three years we have analyzed and reviewed hundreds of wine lists in San Francisco and created a formula to determine the best values based on the markup over retail price. We call this the "ideal restaurant price." The ideal restaurant price for a bottle of wine that retails for $24 is less than $60, for example, and for a wine that retails for $100 it is less than $170. As the average retail price increases, the fair markup is reduced. Most restaurants have wines that are both fairly priced and overpriced on their lists. The problem is that wine drinkers can't automatically determine which are the best values. Larry Londer, the former CEO and winemaker at Londer Vineyards in Mendocino County, Calif., said, "A major problem for wineries is when restaurants overprice their wines. The only option the winery has is to not sell its wine to that particular restaurant." If wineries and distributors could con- vince restaurants to adopt a suggested res- taurant price, then there would be another way to tackle the problem. Price disparities would be reduced, and restaurant patrons would order more wine. Viewpoint A Case for 'Suggested Restaurant Price' By Josh moser We welcome commentaries from readers on issues of current interest in the wine industry. send your topic idea to edit@winesandvines.com, and we'll contact you. G U E S T E D I T O R I A L Josh Moser is the founder of VinoServant, an app and website that provides transpar- ency for consumers making wine-buying decisions in restaurants. cABerNeT sAUVIGNON 2009 VINTAGe 2010 VINTAGe Average san Francisco restaurant Price Vinoservant Ideal restaurant Price* Average san Francisco restaurant Price Vinoservant Ideal restaurant Price* Cakebread Napa Valley $121 < $126 $135 < $130 Continuum Napa Valley $296 < $234 $321 < $242 freemark Abbey Napa Valley $71 < $82 $74 < $72 Groth Oakville $94 < $99 $105 < $112 Jordan Alexander Valley $104 < $108 $112 < $110 Joseph Phelps Insignia $349 < $223 $370 < $237 Justin Isosceles $123 < $122 $146 < $134 Opus One $388 < $253 $405 < $306 ridge Montebello $305 < $213 $321 < $225 merLOT 2010 VINTAGe 2011 VINTAGe Average san Francisco restaurant Price Vinoservant Ideal restaurant Price* Average san Francisco restaurant Price Vinoservant Ideal restaurant Price* Duckhorn Napa Valley $103 < $114 $105 < $110 freemark Abbey Napa Valley $52 < $65 $53 < $67 Shafer Napa Valley $97 < $108 $99 < $112 * < = Less than All of the nine Cabernet Sauvignons represented here experienced price increases between the 2009 and 2010 vintages. Justin Isosceles and Groth had the largest increases (19% and 12%, respectively). Of these nine wines, only two were priced fairly in both vintages. These Merlots from the 2010 and 2011 vintages were priced fairly, and prices stayed consistent between vintages. As reflected here, Merlot can offer value superior to Cabernet Sauvignon.