The Thousands

To those with even a remote interest in wine, restaurant wine lists are the keys to Fort Knox. Exotic varietals and museum vintages, not available through garden variety bottleshops, sit shimmering in tome-like publications. However, access to these treasures can come at a cost, and lacking the wherewithal to justify hatted menu prices can cut you off from these legendary cellars.

Which is precisely why the wine bar at Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar & Grill is such a fantastic concept. The combined 186 page red and white list includes over 350 bottles priced below $100, sometimes well below.**These can be accompanied by a selection of small plates such as the fish ceviche, wagyu bresaola and empanadas, and a limited selection of restaurant mains, including David Blackmore’s much-lauded full-blood wagyu burger. As my Eat/Drink offsider stated on a lubricated Friday night, this is an affordable, comfortable way to feel the Neil.