House Wine usually conjures up thoughts of plonk served on the cheap at mom and pop Italian joints. Many people skip wine by the glass altogether and head straight for the bottles.
Frances restaurant, in the Castro district of San Francisco, has changed the place of house wine from bottom of the menu to spotlight. Red and white wine is offered by consumption at 1$ an ounce ($5 a glass). Not a novel idea, true. Some great haunts in NYC have been doing this for years (Supper- 2nd & A). Schiller’s Liquor Bar, in the Lower East Side, has a straight to the point approach when serving up house swill. Patrons have the choice of Cheap, Decent, and Good house wine. However, the wines offered at Frances have been hand blended by beverage director Paul Einbund.
The wine is made in Placerville, CA in the Sierra Foothills region by Marco Cappelli. Cappelli spent 15 years in Napa making wine before buying his own vineyard and focusing on rustic non-expensive regional wine.
Einbud also changes the blends not only to reflect the dishes but also the seasons, light in the warm months – heavy and bold in the winter months.
A menu by Melissa Perello (Michelin star chef) and good inexpensive wine to quaff. What more could you possibly ask? Perhaps for Southwest to bring back the cheap flight.