Just Buy The Bottle

It seems more expensive. Trust me, it’s not.

I used to save buying a bottle of wine at a restaurant for a special occasion. Date night, fancy restaurant, celebrating some kind of accomplishment or anniversary. In my head, ordering a bottle of wine at a restaurant is expensive. So unless I was splitting it with a bunch of people or my husband and I were celebrating something, the bottle list wasn’t ever considered. If it was, I was certainly the kind of person who ordered the second cheapest option…because I didn’t want to seem that cheap.

Then I did the math.

Sure, the prices for a bottle at a restaurant might seem outrageous. Typically you’ll see them priced four times the cost you’ll likely see it in a bottle shop, or two or three times at a wine bar if they don’t have a big kitchen operation. At such a high price, most customers (including myself, previously) typically believe that ordering a cocktail or even wine by the glass would be cheaper for their evening. Sure, if you only plan on having one drink, then it will be cheaper in the end. But if you’re like me and can’t help but order a second drink after the first (because you’re out and you’re not driving and, what the hell, why not), then I hate to break it to you, but that bottle probably would have been the cheaper option.

Let’s break it down.

A typical 750-milliliter bottle of wine is equivalent to around 25 ounces. A glass of wine is five ounces, which means you would get five glasses of wine from that bottle you ordered.

Now we compare. This week I ordered a bottle of Heinrich Blaufränkisch Leithaberg at Liar Liar in Brooklyn for $72. At that same wine bar, they were serving wines by the glass at a range around $17 to $19. Five glasses at that price would cost $85 to $95. Sure, you’re likely not drinking five glasses by yourself. But even four glasses (two people, two each) at that price would cost around the same as the bottle—sometimes more.

Let’s do another comparison. After the slog of apartment hunting last week (it’s over, thank god), I popped into Parcelle at their Greenwich Village location and had a glass of Silvia Zucchi’s Lambrusco di Sorbara Rosato for $19. The actual bottle is sold at that location for just $65.

What about cocktails? Even worse, I’m afraid. The average cocktail price I see in New York is around $19. (Usually more, but let’s go with this for now.) Five cocktails at that price would cost you $95. Two cocktails between two of you would still place you well beyond some of the prices you’d see on the wine list.

So…is it more expensive to order the bottle? No. If you’re sharing it with someone and you plan on having more than one drink throughout your meal, then you should get it if you want it. Plus, the bottle selection at most restaurants far exceeds the small selection you get by the glass, giving you way more of a range to choose from. If I’m not driving and I’m out, you’ll find me asking for the bottle list as soon as I sit down.

So…just buy the bottle.