RESTAURANTS : THE WINE LIST

California has few wine shop-restaurant tie-ins, an arrangement where the restaurant offers a wine list at the table but also encourages you to buy your wine at a nearby shop and have it with dinner for a minimal corkage fee.

The list includes Pioneer Boulangerie and Broadway Deli, both in Santa Monica; WineSellar and Brasserie in San Diego, and the Wine Cask in Santa Barbara. Cinnabar joins this small list, but with a twist: Barry Herbst’s Wine Reserve is next door but not formally connected to the restaurant.

Many diners will want to avail themselves of the opportunity to buy wine next door, but the wine list itself is very reasonably priced. It includes such charming wines and good values as 1991 Acacia Carneros Chardonnay, $22, and 1985 Chateau Prieure-Lichine, $24.

How does the corkage fee compare? The Pioneer Boulangerie and Broadway Deli charge $5, the Wine Cask and WineSellar $10 a bottle. Here the charge is $8.50, moderate when you consider that the Wine Reserve offers a wealth of options.