THE WINE LIST

The wine list at Bikini is so reasonably priced you’ll have a hard time deciding what you want. And there’s a lot for a wine lover to want.

At the lower end of the scale, there are a number of wines selling for just a few dollars over suggested retail, including the startlingly fine Gruet sparkling wine from New Mexico at $22; 1989 Hafner Chardonnay, $22; 1988 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon, $22, and 1989 Caymus Zinfandel, $17.

The real gems will set you back considerably more, but the bargains are still stunning. Look, for instance, at 1985 Renato Ratti Barolo. If a retailer had this great wine, it would sell for about $35. Bikini has it for $38. Or try 1987 Opus One, a sublime red, which is $60 here. Suggested retail price: $63.

Most of the great names are here: Jordan’s wonderful J sparkling wine, $30; 1989 Woltner Estate Reserve Chardonnay, $35; 1990 Cuvaison Chardonnay, $27; 1982 Rubicon from Niebaum Coppola, $45, as well as Burgundies from Drouhin, Jadot and Louis Latour and a smattering of good-vintage Bordeaux.

Two Italian wines that I would recommend because they are reasonably priced and rarely seen on wine lists: 1988 Poggio Alle Gaze, a Sauvignon Blanc produced by Lodovico Antinori at his Ornellaia estate in southern Tuscany, $23, and 1986 Chianti Classico Riserva from Fontodi, a delightfully rich, tart red wine that matches a wide variety of foods, $17.