Nation's Restaurant News: Ristorante Panorama sets an example for restaurants to become wine lovers'

Even just 10 or 15 years ago, we'd frequently find it difficult to select an interesting wine from a restaurant wine list. Too often the choices were pedestrian; in the worst-case scenarios, all the wines obviously had been selected by a salesperson from a single distributor, whose brands dominated the list. Thankfully, that time has just about passed for most restaurants, because wine buyers know that a good wine list means profits and return business from their customers.

One major change that we've seen is that many restaurateurs now offer either an interesting selection of wines by the glass or several wines by the half-bottle or both. We recently came across one place in Philadelphia, Ristorante Panorama, which offers 120 wines by the glass. Panorama has installed a large, three-tier wine-dispensing machine in its attractive bar; the machine preserves the freshness of open bottles by filling their air space with an inert, nitrogen-based gas mixture under pressure.

Panorama, in addition to its ongoing wine-by-the-glass program, currently is offering customers an incredible tasting of the five First Growths of Bordeaux--Chateau HautBrion, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild -- all from the 1997 vintage, for $97. The wholesale price on each of those elite wines is $150 a bottle in many states, but far higher under the Pennsylvania monopoly system.

William Eccleston, Ristorante Panorama's general manager and sommelier, tells us "the First Flight -- Vintage 1997 -- is a thank-you to our customers. Few people have the opportunity to taste all five ... from the same vintage, side by side.... We wanted to make the experience as affordable as possible." Pennsylvania prohibits wine sales at, or below, cost. Eccleston comments, "The $97 price tag is just $1 above the restaurant's cost." This tasting, which began in May, will continue through July and possibly longer.

All 120 wines available by the glass at Panorama may be purchased in 3-ounce or 5-ounce portions or by the bottle. Most 3-ounce portions are in the $3.50-to-$10.50 price range, with the median price about $6.25; most 5-ounce portions range from $5.50 to $17, with $9.25 the median price. Wines come from all over the world, with Italy, France and California especially well-represented, but even some Pennsylvania wines are available.

To make matters even easier -- and perhaps more interesting -- for wine-loving customers, Eccleston arranges many of his wines-by-the-glass into 22 different flights of five, served in 1.5-ounce portions. We love that idea, because one of us can enjoy a white-wine flight, for example, while the other is tasting red wines. All of those wines can be ordered with or without appetizers from the traditional Italian menu or throughout dinner. With two exceptions, flights of five wines range from $11 to $31, with most less than $20. The most expensive flight, other than the flight of Bordeaux First Growths, appropriately is called "Heavy Hitters," and it sells for $50; it consists of two Barolos, a Brunello di Montalcino, a St. Emilion Bordeaux and Opus One from California. Wines in all the flights are changed from time to time to keep return customers continually interested.

Seven of the 22 flights are all white, nine are all red, four combine white and red wines, with one sparkling wine flight and one dessert wine flight; the dessert wine flight has just four wines. Some of the more interesting flights are named "Anything But Chardonnay," "Riesling Roulette," "Anything But Cabernet," "French Connection" and "Undiscovered Treasures." Mary loved Riesling Roulette, while Ed found "Accent d'Abruzzo," combining a white, rose, and three reds from Italy's Abruzzo region, fascinating.

Ristorante Panorama also has an extensive reserve wine list, with vintages dating back to the 1980s, that is especially strong on Barolos and Brunello di Montalcinos. But the real bargains are to be had on the regular wine list, every one of which is available by the glass.

Panorama is located at the charming Penn's View Inn at Front and Market streets in Philadelphia; Luca Serna owns both the inn and the restaurant. Panorama's wine programs should serve as an inspiration for other restaurants.

E-mail the authors at: WineDum@aol.com