When I consult for a restaurant, the first thing I do is run my finger up the inside of its wine glass, and if there is an inside "lip" at the top, I recommend that it change its wine glasses to ones without the inside "lip". Yes, they don't break in the dishwasher, but just figure out a way to deal with it. When the wine comes to your mouth, instead of going in, the "lip" causes it to spread out and go in improperly. After changing wine glasses, occasionally the restauranteur calls me and says, "Thanks, we don't need you any more because so many of our customers think we have already changed the wine list!" OK with me--did my job.
Some of the best restaurants continue serving Cabernets, Malbecs, Merlots, Super-Tuscans and Shirazes out of a Burgundy "bowl", even if it's Riedel. Once again, just adding Bordeaux glasses (The Riedel Ouverture glass for restaurants--about a 10 to 12 ounce Bourdeaux-style glass at a whopping cost of about $5 a glass) will add to the restaurant's elan and more importantly, to the appreciation from the customers when they order one of the above wine.
Lastly, as more and more people become aware of wine costs, restaurants which price in the stratosphere are going to find it more difficult to have repeat customers. I have come to the point that when I visit a new restaurant and the first thing I see is Dom Perignon at $350 (not that I would order it anyway) and a $20 cost Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay at $60 or more, I just get up and leave. It's easy, at least in Houston, to find BYOB restaurants which charge between $2.50 and $7 corkage. I took a delicious $25 bottle of Dry Creek Estate Fume Blanc DCV3 2006 to one of these several nights ago and smiled as I paid the bill which included $2.50 corkage!
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