THE WINE LIST

The Tower has a kind of warmth that reminds me of good times in an earlier era, of farewell luncheons I had there in the dim past, of celebratory dinners, eagerly anticipated and happily rewarded.

Looking coldly at the wine list, however, I must say that it is rather bizarre.

To begin with, the selections aren’t bad. There are a lot of well-priced wines, a number of bottles under $20 (the California Sauvignon Blancs are well-selected and attractive dinner wines), and a number of Chardonnays under $25, relative bargains.

Also, the selection is fairly broad, and there are a number of wines from a wide variety of regions.

But twice we ordered a bottle of wine only to have the waiter return with the information that the wine was out of stock. (This was in addition to the numerous selections that were covered by a red dot indicating they were out of stock too.)

I am always upset, moreover, at wine lists such as this one that have no vintages listed for a lot of wines, just a little V instead. It’s nice to know, for instance, that the Chateau Latour is a vintaged wine, but which vintage? (Chateau Latour is always vintage-dated.)

Ignoring the vintages was common in the old days when computers were a novelty and wine lists were infrequently printed. In those days only really with-it restaurant lists had vintages. But now that the computer has become the mainstay of any restaurant, it’s surprising that The Tower doesn’t update its list to include this important information.

Then there is pricing. I can’t figure it out. Some wines are downright cheap (1985 Chateau Lascombes, $32) and others are ridiculously high (1987 Edna Valley Chardonnay, $40). Well, at least there is no formula that’s intended to gouge.

Also, the glassware is behind the times. Oh, it’s crystal. Nice touch. But the white wine glass is tiny, and if you ask for a larger one, they try to give you these flat mousse bowls that will surely slop the wine on your shirt if you try to swirl. And if, in frustration, you ask for yet another glass, you might just get the red wine glass. My waiter made a point of informing me that I was drinking a white wine out a red-wine glass. (I blushed.)

Service, however, is attentive and friendly. If the white wine appears too cold, the waiter may well recommend against the ice bucket (points in his favor), decanting is not a foreign term (more points), and if your glass starts getting low, the waiter pours unobtrusively (additional points).

Sure, it’s an old-world kind of place, where a suit and tie are not inappropriate. And the list is sort of awkward and the glassware a little curious. But still, there’s something nice and cozy about The Tower.