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SISO BAR & EATERY DRINKS LIST
Of the six Champagnes on the list, only one (Perrier-Jouet, $20) is available by the glass but you could kick things off with a perfectly delicious glass of Deutz or a $13 flute of prosecco. The rosés by the glass are supermarket standard issue (Wither Hills, Church Road, Mt Difficulty), whereas I’d actually give my left limpet for a glass of the new Butterworth Regatta rosé or the supremely classy Chateau Roubine Cru Classé from Provence. And then I’d be way more comfortable shelling out $75 or $80 respectively on a whole bottle. For a restaurant that sells itself as offering a magical, Mediterranean-inspired menu, to not see a pinot grigio, a soave or an arneis from Italy or an albarino, a godello or a verdejo from Spain by the glass, is disappointing. And don’t tell me you can’t find them, because those wines are everywhere in the trade right now. I mean, look at all that seafood, burrata, taramasalata, hummus, grilled octopus and feta-filled fabulousness on the small plates menu right? The last thing I want with that stuff is riesling! Anyhoo, lovers of pinot noir will applaud the no fewer than 14 examples on the menu, yet just four are available by the glass — and they’re the usual suspects from the Foley Family stable, Mt Difficulty, Te Kairanga, Vavasour et al. Merlot by the glass? Nope. But there are two syrahs, two cabernets and a shiraz. Yet. Not. A. Single Italian. Or. Spanish. Wine. This is a reds list of a Mediterranean restaurant. What does feature everywhere are typos, even in the “Wines We Love” list, such as very expensive drops from Dry River “Loat” [sic] gewurztraminer, Church Road The [sic] Tom and Henschike [sic] Grace of Hill. I give up at this point …
— Yvonne Lorkin
