Steakhouse Wine Lists??

Just got my latest WS w/ the Restaurant Awards of Excellence.
W/ over 4,000 applicants/supplicants at $250/entry; that represents $1M. Nice chunk of change for WS I'd say.
Does anyone know if you receive an award, there is an additional $ fee levied to be included.

One thing I've always been curious about. It seems that, yr in & yr out, the delFrisco, Flemings, and Ruth'sChris steak houses, all three chains, always receive the basic Award of Excellence. They appear to get a separate entree for every restaurant. Do they all have the samme wine list?? Or is each restaurant's wine list different? Do any of each chain's restaurant not receive the award?? Or is it just sorta pro-forma that they will get one based on the previous yr's list?
I've never eaten at any of those steakhouse chains. Are their lists really that good that they deserve an Award of Excellence??

I've also noticed that all three chains often have a full-page ad in WS thru the year at various times. I would not, of course, suggest that there is any connection. Because we've been assured by all these wine publications that the editorial side is completely independent from the advertising side.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Two Flemings within driving distance. Identical lists.

The ads just might indicate the WS readers are likely patrons of steakhouses. Seems to make overall sensento me.

Never heard of Flemings, never eaten at del Frisco. Eaten at Ruths Chris a few times, but generally BYOed (pretty good about it). List is pretty clearly stuff that WS would consider very good, though not my style.
Not a WS fan nor subscriber. That said, your (totally non-subtle) insinuation is a bit weak. One would assume that chains that got WS awards would then be more likely to advertise in WS.
We've had this discussion before, but of course you always say 'not worth my time to do the homework, I'm "just saying" ' Poor science,

Haven't subscribed to or even read WS in over 10 years, but did for many years before. We always kept and used their recommended restaurant issue, and used them frequently. Honestly never got skunked. Still have an old one in the magazine rack and use it. We do call ahead to see if they are still open, and amazingly most are.

I'm more familiar with the Ruth's Chris Steak House than the other two. Ruth's Chris does do some special wine dinner events. The one in Raleigh had a special dinner tie-in with Robert Mondavi wines that was held at various locations during the year that would have been Robert Mondavi's 100th birthday were he still alive. The Raleigh location has had other special wine dinners and seems to pay some attention to the winelist. The list tends to emphasis hearty red wines that would stand up to steak which makes sense.

[Robin Garr]

I've always thought Ruth's Chris wine list on the pretentious side, and in Louisville at least, topped out with overpriced high-end Bordeaux from poor vintages priced at $500 and up. Morton's similar. We have no Fleming's here, but interestingly enough, we have the original DelFrisco's, which started the chain, then spun it off and went back to being independent and local again, while keeping the DelFrisco's name. It has a slightly better wine list.

I'm pretty sure that differences in state distribution would make it impossible for all units in a chain to have identical wine lists, unless they limited their selection to mass-market labels available in all 50 states.

As for the WS awards, I consider them utterly useless because it seems pretty obvious that it has turned "pay to play." Enter your list, pay the fee, you get the certificate. That's just plain nasty.

[David M. Bueker]

Silly me forgot that yesterday was national bash a wine publication because there is nothing better to do day.

Out of complete boredom, I checked out the majority of restaurant entries in the newest WS for corkage and they varied hugely, from "no charge" to $150. I rarely eat out and when I do, do not buy terribly inflated wine, but a separate designation for "no charge" would be helpful to those who do. If my "special" subscription rate wasn't so cheap, I'd pass on it also.

As Robin has indicated, there are regional/state/local differences in the wine lists of all these places. First because our system is so chaotic that not every restaurant has access to all on a standard list, and second because there is some latitude provided for local conditions and for the individual sommelier/beverage managers.

That said, most lists are in the same (and largely understandable) range, considering the steakhouse/big red focus.

I've seen some 'loosening up' over the years...the shift from Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot, natch; the flirtation with big zins; the flitter of Meritage; the welcome addition of Pinot Noir when the demand came; the surge toward Malbec. But the range is still what it is: largely thick, fruity, tannic Bordeaux-ish blends that are often too young or if old, too expensive for anyone outside of the 1% or expense-accounters to drink.

Since I rarely eat steak-centric meals any more---just not part of my diet, primarily because of my wife's preferences, but also because us old guys can't digest muscle protein in the huge amounts we did in our youths---I don't often have those kinds of meals, or those kinds of wines anymore.

When I see a WS Grand Award acclamation, I pretty much go 'ho-hum'. Anything that's on that widespread a scale, and is focused on a combination of profit/marketing power, is bound to be deficient for me and my tastes. But then again, I don't have to please large contingents of the population, just myself.