The Wine List

The quality of a restaurant, it has been said, varies in inverse proportion to the room’s distance from the coastline. The better the ocean view, the worse the food. While this may no longer be true, one old saw still applies: The better the view, the higher the wine prices.

There are few bargains on Cafe Del Rey’s 125-item all-California wine list; even the reasonably priced entries are ones only serious wine followers would be able to ferret out. For instance, most of the 29 Chardonnays are $24 and more, at a time when a huge surplus of wine in the marketplace has caused massive discounting at retail shops.

The best “values” in Chardonnay would be 1989 Meridian, $21, and 1989 Silverado, $25. Best red-wine “values” are 1987 Beringer “Knight’s Valley” Cabernet Sauvignon, $28, and 1988 Caymus Zinfandel, $18. One wine that should work well with game entrees is 1988 Guenoc Petite Sirah, well-priced at $18.

There is also a cellar list of fancier wines, but some of the prices seem a bit silly; 1986 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet, a wine released less than a year ago, is three times retail: $105.

Nice view, though, isn’t it?