There’s a moment almost everyone recognizes. The server hands over the wine list, the table goes quiet, and a small wave of pressure sets in. You don’t want to look unsure, you don’t want to overspend, and you definitely don’t want to pick something the table won’t enjoy. So you do what feels safe — you point to a name you recognize.
That instinct is exactly what restaurants count on, and it’s where a lot of diners quietly lose money.
Wine is one of the highest-margin items on almost any menu. Markups commonly land somewhere between 200% and 300% over retail, which means a bottle you could buy for $20 at a shop might show up on the list at $60 or more. Reach for a famous label to play it safe, and you’re often paying the steepest markup on the page.
The good news: a couple of small habits can get you a glass that tastes just as good for noticeably less.
Why the Big Names Cost the Most
In an interview with Business Insider, sommelier Brianne Cohen pointed out a pattern she sees constantly — diners drift toward marquee regions like Bordeaux and Napa Valley. Even people who rarely think about wine know those names, and that familiarity feels like insurance against ordering “wrong” in front of the table.
Restaurants understand that psychology perfectly. When customers treat a region as shorthand for quality, the kitchen can afford to mark those bottles up harder, because people will pay a premium for the comfort of a name they trust.
None of this makes a Bordeaux a bad pour. It just means a chunk of what you’re paying covers reputation rather than what’s actually in the glass.
The Neighbor Trick: Same Style, Smaller Price Tag
Here’s the move Cohen recommends, and it’s surprisingly simple. Instead of ordering the famous region, look at the regions sitting right next door — the ones that grow similar grapes and make similar wines but never built the same celebrity status.
A few easy swaps to remember:
- Love a Bordeaux? Try a bottle from Cahors, where Malbec-driven reds deliver comparable structure and depth.
- Usually order Tuscan Sangiovese? Reach for Umbria and its bold Sagrantino wines instead.
- Tempted by a famous Mendoza Malbec? Explore the Pedernal Valley for Malbecs and Syrahs with a similar character.
You end up with a wine that drinks much like the prestige version, minus the markup you’d pay for the postcard name.
A Cheaper Bottle Isn’t a Worse Bottle
It’s easy to assume price tracks quality on a wine list. Often it tracks demand instead.
Lesser-known regions tend to sit on a list longer simply because fewer guests reach for them. Restaurants don’t like bottles gathering dust, so they’ll frequently price those unfamiliar names more gently to nudge people into trying them. Translation: the region you’ve never heard of may be the smartest value on the entire page — not the leftover bin.
So rather than scanning for the most expensive option to feel safe, scan for the unfamiliar one, especially if it sits geographically close to a region you already like.
A Two-Minute Routine for Ordering Like You Know What You’re Doing
You don’t need a sommelier certification for any of this. You just need a little curiosity and a quick routine:
- Peek at the list before you go. Many restaurants post their wine menu online.
- Spot the famous regions. These are usually the priciest relative to what’s in the bottle.
- Find the quieter neighbors. Look for nearby or under-the-radar areas growing similar grapes.
- Lean on your server. Plenty of staff are trained to steer you toward overlooked bottles that punch above their price.
Do this a few times and something shifts. The wine list stops feeling like a test, your palate starts widening, and ordering becomes one of the more enjoyable parts of the meal instead of the nerve-wracking one.
The Takeaway
A higher price doesn’t promise a better glass — it often just promises a more famous label. With restaurant markups running 200% to 300% over retail, defaulting to the names everyone knows is a quiet, reliable way to overpay.
Explore the regions next door, ask a question or two, and stay open to bottles you can’t pronounce yet. Smart ordering was never about impressing the table. It’s about getting genuinely good wine in your glass without handing the restaurant extra money for the privilege.