LIFESTYLE NEWS - We’ve all been there: You’re in a restaurant, staring at a wine list with 2,000 names, and have no idea where to start. You quickly pass it on to the wine geek at your table like a hot potato, with a deep sigh of relief.
Goodbye to all that.
Less is now more. Last year, for the first time, the annual World of Fine Wine restaurant wine list awards included a category of “micro” lists.
“They’re a worldwide phenomenon,” says super-sommelier Rajat Parr, who’s spent the last six years traveling to co-write his new book A Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste. He recently designed a 75-item wine list for San Francisco’s just-opened Trailblazer Tavern, a Hawaiian comfort food haven and part of the Mina Group.
The shorter-is-better trend is also a huge boon for drinkers. Micro lists are less intimidating and easier to navigate, for sure. Also, there’s no room for error. “The micro list should exist just like a best hits playlist, with every option the best of its kind for value,” says Brandon Borcoman of New York’s Charlie Bird, the competition’s North American winner.
As with any new trend, its parameters are still being set, and the exact definition of a micro list is debatable. It’s short, yes, but no one agrees on what the maximum number of selections or pages should be. Master sommelier Matt Stamp of Napa’s Compline has a rule of thumb: “It’s a list on one page, with type in a font I can read!”
