Monday, August 23, 2010

Rant: Where's The Sherry?

Over the weekend, I celebrated a friend's anniversary at the Capital Grille in Burlington. We had an excellent meal, from Tenderloin to Alaskan King Crab legs, and enjoyed a bottle of 2005 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant. Then it was time to consider dessert.

I received a large menu with their desserts, as well as a slew of after-dinner drinks. There were Ports, a Madeira, ice wines, late harvests and much more. Lots of diversity, except there was not a single sherry on the list. Why was that the case? Why have such a lengthy and diverse list but omit sherry? Isn't sherry at least more popular than madeira?

I most often see sherry on restaurant after-dinner drink lists, and rarely their regular wine list. Plus, the after-dinner lists usually show Amontillado and Olorosos, and most often the sweeter versions. I was surprised not to see any on the Capital Grille list, especially considering how large of a chain it is. I know that the popularity of sherry is still low, though growing, in the U.S., but it would grow even faster if more restaurants and wine stores promoted it. Especially considering that sherry can be very food-friendly.

I have emailed the Capital Grille to see if they will provide me an explanation for their lack of sherry. They surely are not the only restaurant without sherry on their wine list, but I am curious as to their reasons for its exclusion. Did they once have it on their lists but removed it when few people bought it? And if so, when did this occur and is it time to place sherry back on their list?

Do you know any local restaurants with good sherry lists?

1 comment:

Sunday Cook said...

I am going to hazard a guess as to the lack of sherry: Although fortified, sherry does not hold as well as port or madeira after opening. Most restaurants do not likely get a lot of call for sherry so they would likely toss a lot of half-drunk bottles. Don't offer it = no wasting bottles = no sherry for your customers.

I do find it surprising that an "old school" type restaurant like the Capital Grille doesn't have a better program though.