Three-martini lunches may be a thing of the past (and your favorite “Mad Men” episodes), but 10-wine lunches are still to come.
High-end steakhouse Smith & Wollensky and its sister Manhattan restaurants are pouring diners tasting flights of 10 wines — for $20 in addition to the price of their midday meal — from March 12 to March 16. The thrice-annual promotion dates back to 1985, when Smith & Wollensky founder Alan Stillman launched “National Wine Week” with four restaurants and 20 participating vintners.
This March, more than 100 vinters from California, Italy, France, Argentina and other wine countries will offer up their wares for sampling at eight eateries in Stillman’s restaurant group.
Each brand, from Smith & Wollensky to Quality Eats, is serving a different array of 10 wines each day, so we recommend checking the calendars if you’ve got a sommelier-level palate and preferences.
For those of us who just want to get tipsy over a mostly liquid lunch with a $9 bowl of split pea soup at Smith & Wollensky or a $12 Caesar salad at Quality Eats, does it really matter?
Just remember: You’ll still have to ride out an afternoon at the office, no matter how sloppy you get.
