Our wine writer’s top three tips for navigating restaurant wine lists on a budget

Our wine writer offers three tips for choosing affordable options on restaurant wine lists, highlighting that restaurant prices can be two to three times higher than retail. The advice focuses on selecting less popular varietals and avoiding high-end regions and brands. Restaurant wine lists often overwhelm diners with their size and complexity, while prices can be significantly inflated compared to bottle shops. To navigate this, the writer suggests opting for less fashionable white wines such as riesling, semillon, marsanne, and chenin blanc, along with reds like grenache shiraz mataro blends, tempranillo, touriga, barbera, and sangiovese. Basic Chianti and Cotes du Rhone are also recommended. Shiraz is noted as a good-value option, though Burgundy, Barolo, and Barbaresco should be avoided due to their high cost. Premium Australian sparkling wine is advised over big-name Champagne. Three specific wines are highlighted for consideration: Best’s Great Western Riesling 2025 at $27, Pirie Tasmania Traditional Method Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV at $40, and Turkey Flat Butchers Block Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2024 at $30. These selections offer quality at reasonable retail prices, though restaurant costs will likely be substantially higher.