I'm looking for some help conducting a little study of sorts. I have always thought that restaurants were ripping us off on wine per glass prices. I'm hoping if you have some time the next time you're out for dinner you can write down wine names and per glass prices, then leave them as comments at:

http://www.budgetvino.com/2007/04/i_have_a_theory.html

I think they call it "oncorking fees" or something. Storage, etc.

The pricing per glass is definitely more of a rip-off than a bottle. I don't know if the bottle's markup is more or less than the markup on other drinks. Interesting experiment

Certainly worth checking in to.. though I suspect my prices will be out of whack anyway since I'm in Canada.

On a related note, I'm having a heck of a time finding your recommended whites at my local liquor stores. I was really hoping to try them too.

I believe you mean UNcorking. But I'm pretty sure that they would call it is ensuring a profit margin. Think about it... When they open a bottle of wine and then sell it by the glass, they're taking the risk that the entire bottle won't sell within a reasonable timeframe (excuse my ignorance, but wine can go bad once opened, right?). If you buy the whole bottle, it's a guaranteed sale. So I'd be willing to bet that at least a part of the price differential is due to this (as well as to the fact that they can get away with it). Also think about going to the store to buy, say, detergent. You pay more per unit when you buy the smaller container. Similar logic here.

I think Jericho nailed it when he said "pricing per glass is definitely MORE of a rip-off than a bottle" (emphasis added). It's a ripoff either way, it's just worse by the glass.

Nickel's analysis is dead-on, in my book. Also consider that what constitutes "a glass" can vary greatly from one place to the next. But I'm not sure "rip-off" is the appropriate term. To me, that insinuates that you're being treated unfairly. But fair is relative, isn't it? Who's to say what is an appropriate price for a specific bottle or glass of wine? If you're willing to pay for it, you've reached an agreement with the seller. Don't like the price? Don't buy.

Despite the fact that my parents are HUGE oenophiles and used to own a vineyard, I've never been much of a drinker, let alone wine.