This is an overview or written list of the alcoholic products offered, the services and the prices of a gastronomic establishment. However, a wine list usually includes not only wines, but also spirits, beers, cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. In some cases, the conditions for the consumption of wines brought to closed parties, for example, are also listed in the wine list (see corkage fee). In most cases, the wine list is included in the menu and is only listed separately in more upscale restaurants with a larger range of wines. In most cases, printed matter in bound or stapled form is used for this purpose, but information can also be provided by means of inscriptions on notice boards and posters.
Wine lists in antiquity
Information about the food and drink on offer in a restaurant, including prices, was already available in antiquity, as findings show, especially among the Romans and Greeks. The Roman poet Petronius (+66) describes a colourful picture of the eating and drinking culture of the Roman upper class in the first century in his famous work Satyricon. In the city of Pompeii, destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, price lists for wines were found painted on the walls of taverns during excavations. Among other things, the famous Falernian was offered: For one ace you get wine, for two aces the best and for four aces Falernian. Wine lists have also been found in Egyptian tombs, such as those of the pharaoh Tut-Ench-Amun, but they probably corresponded more to inventories.
Wine list culture today
Food and beverage lists in today's form only emerged in Europe...
