Markups Aren’t Too High, but Some Wine Prices Are

First the good news: Wine prices at Checkers are slightly less than those at its sister hotel/restaurant Campton Place in San Francisco. Some examples: Dom Perignon is $127 here, $135 at Campton Place . . . Sonoma Cutrer “Les Pierres” Chardonnay goes for $37 here, $40 in S.F. . . . $38 buys a 1987 Grgich Hills Chardonnay at Checkers, it’s $45 at Campton Place . . . and 1985 Jordan Cabernet is $32 here, $40 up north.

Apparently, Checkers must believe that Los Angeles isn’t prepared to pay a lot for its wines. (Since San Francisco wine lists tend to be more reasonable than those in Los Angeles, this is unusual.)

So what’s the bad news? The list at Checkers still appears to be priced a tad too high, especially in the upper registers of fine-quality wine.

Markups at Checkers are about 2.5 times their wholesale price, but the real problem is that the list has little to choose from of wines priced below $20. (Add a 2.5 markup on wines that already carry a hefty retail price and you put a lot of wines out of the reach of average drinkers.)

The number of wines here, however, is impressively large for a new restaurant: nearly 200 wines (an abbreviated list is included with the menu). Included are a few older Bordeaux, 32 California Chardonnays and a few dessert wines. The list also has a number of half bottles (a definite plus for parties in which there is a designated driver).

Stemware is attractive--thin and elegant--and service is efficient.

But there are drawbacks, which started, for me, with the selection: It’s not very imaginative. There is limited creativity among the Sauvignon Blancs, and most of the Chardonnays are rich, dense things--with the exception of the welcome 1986 Trefethen ($26) and 1986 Cain-Carneros ($29). In most cases, these Chardonnays are babies, barely ready to consume.

Except for a few 1980s and 1982s, most of the California Cabernets are young and coarse and from vintages I don’t get very excited over. The best value among older Cabernets is 1981 Chateau Montelena at $50--in this case, sold for the same price at Campton Place.

Another exception to the apparent Checkers price scheme comes up when you order one of the better Cabernets on the list, the 1982 Beringer Reserve Cabernet, which is offered at Campton Place for $38. Checkers has the same wine at $75.

Moreover, sparkling wine prices are well above what savvy buyers would accept in any city. When you can find the attractive Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut in the stores for $15.99, would you pay $41 for it at Checkers?

“Yeah, but you know, so many people look to buy the most expensive champagne, just to impress people, and a lot of restaurants like those kind of people,” said one wine wholesaler. “It’s all that new money out there. Or else they’re using someone else’s money on expense accounts.”

There are no bargains, either, among the older wines on this list. The 1970 Chateau Latour (listed here at $300) is $195 in at least one retail shop, making the corkage charge at Checkers roughly $105. Lower priced are 1970 Trotenoy at $280 ($195 at retail), and 1970 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, $260 ($145 at retail.)

The wine list is bereft of any Italian wines, currently the rage with restaurateurs. And there are no German Rieslings, Chenin Blancs, Vouvrays, Muscadets, Sancerres, or Iberian wines.

The owners of Checkers say they may revise the current list (and possibly lower a few of the already high-priced wines). I hope they do.