Why ? Well IMO they don’t want to inventory wine. Plus it gives them immense purchasing power when they tell a distributor they will pour this wine for the next 4 months with no other competition. They can reasonably guess their usage.
Last time there we were allowed to just order by the glass. I chose one white and one red. It was great. You can bet it wasn’t an orange wine either !
Nick - I understand why from a financial sense but from a dining experience I just don’t get it. I have never done the by the glass thing. Did they give you a choice?
George
Oh jeez, i think it was the premium.
The meal was a lot of fun, playful, clever, beautiful presentations. As a casual experimenter with meat glue, modified starches and hydrocolloids, I knew what I was getting into and perhaps my experience would have been even better had I not known what I had known and read Achatz’s book cover to cover, but it was a wonderfully enjoyable experience.
When I was there I thought the pairing was good. I subsequently read horror stories about their wine pairings and went back and checked the wines on cellartracker, and most of them (save a couple) had 90ish ratings. Was it a good deal? No, but it wasn’t horrible compared to bottle prices. Was it perfectly paired? No, but as Izzy said up thread, the meal isn’t really conducive to pairing – though I do like the champagne suggestion.
If you put a high premium on wine pairings, Alinea probably won’t meet your expectations just by the nature of the place. For me, I just didn’t want to think about wine on that night and focus on the food. But with that said, the wine stewards were very flexible. They adapted to my wife’s and my drinking speeds, poured more in some instances, and skipped something if we didn’t want it. I know that defeats the very concept of a pairing, but with Alinea it is such an imperfect process, I kind of enjoyed the flexibility.
k.
This is probably not the recommendation you want, but the better option is to cancel the reservation and go to EL Ideas instead. The food is just as good, less expensive, and it’s BYOB. Just sayin’.
Couldn’t disagree more. El Ideas is not even close food wise. Although the BYOB is great.
George
Good, not “just as good”. But BYOB makes a difference
Well no argument there. When the server approached I told her what I thought of their wine pairings and she mentioned we could just select anything from the list and order it by the glass. I can’t remember what we had but I think it was a white burg and pinot. It wasn’t astounding but did the trick and really one of the best experiences I ever had there.
Just for the record most chef driven operations tend to be unfriendly to BYO. They don’t understand the point.
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree David and George. I think Alinea is interesting but overrated. It’s not a restaurant, it’s a circus with food. It’s a science experiment.
Alinea is awesome - you will have a blast. Their list is pretty good. We have had Lafarge, DRC, Ulysse Colin and some old Breton in the last several meals - all for great prices, DRC included. I’d just buy bubbles off the list and go from there.
I am headed to El Ideas on Friday…
John,
I have to take George and David’s side here. El Ideas is a mess of creativity and poor execution and pales compared to Alinea.
BTW, how the hell are you? Had dinner with Sean and Christine Sunday…
Been good Chris. Really busy this year,but hopefully it’ll calm down the rest of the year.
I’ve had entirely good experiences with EL. Alinea was good too. I’m just not a member of the love fest they get. I’ve paid the same amount at three star Michelins in France and had phenomenal food executed well. Can’t say the same for Alinea.
Though it has been a few years, I do recall that I would have been very disappointed if I had gotten the wine pairing (both selection wise and price for what it was). Instead was very happy with aged rose Champagne and red burg with the primary courses and a 1/2 bottle of Vin de Paille with the numerous sweet courses. Given that each course is really just a bite or three, not sure how important the wine is when you are without food for as long or longer than you have food in front of you.
I agree as well. Had a good time at El Ideas but it does not hit the level of Alinea…as Chris puts it, I also found a lot of creativity, not all of which worked, and on and off execution.
I, in general, dislike all the pretentious restaurant…Alinea’s wine policy and the dress code are the reason I have not eaten there. I had a good time at el ideas, which is almost the opposite of pretense. 
Alinea IMO is not pretentious at all. Yes you have to wear a jacket but the menu, food, the service is anything but. It is a fun menu, it is theater and I have found that those that take it too seriously don’t enjoy it as much.
George
Foodwise, El Ideas is not on the same level. The cost of meal also reflects this. This is not a place that you will get the best meal of your life. But I still enjoy the fun experience at El Ideas.
Longman & Eagle is another place I think often over-deliver, if you have the patience to wait on a Friday night.
George,
That is good to know. I am exited about my first Alinea experience. My friend is a serious wine lover. What do you think is the best wine friendly restaurant in Chicago?
I never liked the pairings because primarily I don’t like the wines being poured. Champagne/white wine and a red burg always do me well. I found prices in the past to be very reasonable. A few years ago we bought an 05 Mugnier Musigny for $600 and 96 Rav Premier cru for a very reasonable price. That being said the original wine director is gone so I don’t know if those prices are the same.
One last point. Alinea is less about molecular gastronomy than innovative presentations and whimsical delivery of classic flavors.
David - how do you judge the best wine friendly restaurant in Chicago? if you’re going just on the list alone, my favorite might be L20. Its prices are insane, but the selection fits what I love. Tru is also very good and their prices are far more reasonable. If you’re talking about corkage-friendly restaurants, there’s a great list here: