Plush Tastes: Wine lockers enhance restaurant customers' dining experience

Raise your hand if you've thought anything like this while staring at the list: Was it the Merry Edwards or Miner Family Pinot Noir I enjoyed so much last time? Was 2006 a good year? I'd like to try a new varietal, but I'm just so comfortable with cabernet sauvignon -- I feel as if I know what I'm getting.

A solution: Keep a small stash of favorite bottles close at hand. At Morton's Steakhouse and the Capital Grille, a select group of regular diners and wine lovers have private lockers, bearing plaques with the owners' names, where they can store a couple of cases of (almost universally) red wine to enjoy with meals at the restaurants.

At Morton's the wine lockers are free and can be acquired through an application, but there is always a wait list.

"It wasn't a profit idea, it was more of an enhancement," explained Tyler Field III, vice president of wine and spirits at Morton's Steakhouse Inc., who has worked for the company since 1990.

"What we're trying to create in the long term is that relationship and if a guest purchases a large amount of wine with us they're going to want to come in and drink it."

Locker-holders can buy larger quantities of wine they enjoy, which is especially helpful since many wines on Morton's list are available only for a short time.

"Normally [locker-holders] will select right from the wine list. We have a lot of wines that other restaurants don't have access to because of our buying power," said Bill Ferron, general manager of Morton's, Downtown.

But they can also take advantage of a wine concierge program. "You tell us what you want, and if we can get it into the state legally, we'll search the world for you and find it for you," explained Mr. Field.

The locker comes with other attractive amenities as well, including a newsletter, and, where it's legal, a discount on wine purchases. In Pennsylvania, they give out gift certificates for food instead. Locker-holders are also invited to special events and tastings.

"Twice a year, once every April and once every September, we hold a giant wine tasting free of charge where you can come in and sample wine that you might want to have in your wine locker," said Mr. Field.

When the Capital Grille opened at Piatt Place on Fifth Avenue in August of 2007, "we could have filled every locker in the first week," said Rick McMaster, managing partner.

Instead, the restaurant waited to make sure that guests were really interested in the program.

"The wine locker program is really geared to people who are passionate about wine. We try to expand their scope, if they will, find really interesting wines and bring them to their attention."

At the Capital Grille, wine lockers are available for $350 a year, but the cost hasn't diminished the demand.

Other perks come with the Capital Grille lockers as well: "It's like being a box holder [at the opera]. They have first offer on things. So when we do signature wine dinners, we contact them first. We hold tastings for them, so they can taste different wines, both from an exposure standpoint and also in terms of buying wines for their locker."

For some locker-holders the best benefit is the service. Vail Shipley and her husband have had a wine locker at Morton's for the past seven years.

"Once we realized they were available, we were hot after [one]," she recalled. "When we come in and look at the wine list, the general manager [Bill Ferron] and the maitre d' [Kip Patterson] will make recommendations based on what we like."

Her husband likes "big fat reds," while she prefers "something a little more elegant." But with the expert help of Mr. Ferron and Mr. Patterson, they're able to fill up their locker without any bloodshed.

There's also a social aspect. "People who really enjoy wine tend to be gregarious by nature," said Mr. McMaster of the Capital Grille. "A lot of [the locker-holders] know each other from dining frequently or from other events and venues. It's kind of a camaraderie, people who share the same passion. They enjoy discussing wines with each other."

As Mr. Shipley explained, "We use it as our own private club for entertaining, for dinners before the theater."