After 5: Wine Lists, Part II

Diners seek out fine dining experiences for various reasons.

Some enjoy the status a top restaurant conveys, while others believe – and often rightly so – they will be treated to a memorable experience that goes beyond simply the meal.

Unless you are independently wealthy and don’t care where your money goes, you probably expect to get what you pay for when visiting a fine dining establishment. If the bill is likely to reach three figures for a couple, as is often the case when wine is on the table, both the menu and wine list should contain choices that go far beyond the mundane.

Here is my rank of the area’s top lists.

Top Fine Dining Wine Lists

1) Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar

314 W. Walnut St., Springfield

No one in the region compares with Flame’s list of more than 300 international and domestic choices. As a wine bar and steakhouse, the creators of Flame’s wine list obviously emphasize the fruit of the grape over other drink choices, and there is something on the list to pair with anything on the menu.

While it certainly has a large number of spectacular bottlings, the restaurant can accommodate any budget. Particularly impressive are the red and white Burgundies, including major labels Chambertin, Romanee and Montrachet.

• Price points: $25 to $875 per bottle and $6 to $27 by the glass

• Top-rated label: 2003 Leroy (Lay-Wah) Grand Cru Richebourg (reesh-boorg)

2) Touch

1620 E. Republic Road, Springfield

One of the most unique dining destinations, Touch offers many well-known brands plus a large number of hard-to-find labels that wine lovers will appreciate. More than 30 wines are sold by the glass, and the list boasts approximately 150 bottle choices.

• Price points: $25 to $950 per bottle and $6 to $25 by the glass

• Top-rated label: Pingus (Spain)

3) Ocean Zen

600 E. Battlefield Road, Springfield

Although Pacific Rim cuisine can be notoriously difficult to pair with wine, you will certainly find what you need on Ocean Zen’s list of more than 200 bottles. If you and the rest of your table need different wines, the extensive number of by-the-glass choices is a welcome relief.

• Price points: $16 to $325 per bottle and $6 to $11 by the glass

• Top-rated label: Penfold’s Grange (Australia)

4) Bijan’s

209 E. Walnut St., Springfield

California is king on Bijan’s listing of more than 150 bottles. It’s not that they don’t offer wines from Italy, France, Spain and around the globe – they’re just not as extensive.

• Price points: $25 to $700 per bottle and $8 to $17 by the glass

• Top-rated label: Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa)

5) Chateau Grille

Chateau on the Lake, Branson

One of the Ozarks’ most elegant restaurants, the wine list matches the style of the resort with approximately 125 bottles from around the world.

• Price points: $22 to $375 per bottle and $7 to $18 by the glass

• Top-rated label: 2003 Opus One (Napa)

Honorable Mentions

Narrowly missing the Top 5 were Metropolitan Grill and Clary’s in Springfield, and Big Cedar’s Worman Steak House south of Branson.

Caution

A smaller wine list doesn’t have to be inferior. While Angeli in Ozark, Zoey’s in Branson and Riad in Springfield all fall short in the number of choices, a closer look at Riad’s list reveals such unique gems as a red and a white from Greece to pair with the Mediterranean cuisine.

When not working on his small organic farm near Republic, Brian Goodell writes The Wine Guy, a weekly column syndicated by Morris News Service.