Soft-Focus Wines at Hard Rock Cafe

In the cafe of the 1950s, the wine list was simple: “white, red and rose.” The Hard Rock, which has burgers and banana splits among other homages to the ‘50s, has upscaled the wine offering:

“White, red and blush.” $2.50.

The wines? All from Fetzer. The white is called chablis by the wait staff, but it’s really Fetzer Premium White, a simple blended wine. There also is a Chardonnay. Curiously, the chablis is drier than the Chardonnay.

The red is Fetzer Premium Red, but with a label that says Hard Rock California Red. It’s $8.50 a bottle. And just for reference, the markup on this wine here is 3.3 times its wholesale price.

Glassware: Adequate.

Service: Jon passed the test; he pronounced Chardonnay correctly and when he brought our bottle of red wine, he said, “It’s really fresh; we just bottled it today.”

However, the cork was already removed when we got the wine, a no-no in serious restaurants. We didn’t complain. The wine was typical of Fetzer Premium Red: very well made, clean, some indication of Cabernet.

There is also Domaine Chandon champagne at $19. You’d never have found this in the cafe of the ‘50s. Or wine coolers, which are also here.

This is not a bad wine experience. After all, you didn’t come to Hard Rock to sip Lafite.