THE HIGH PRICE OF RESTAURANT WINE

Dan Berger, long a champion of reasonable markups on restaurant wine, has done a regrettable turnaround in his review of Champagne Bis (“The Wine List” sidebar of “Encore du Champagne,” Nov. 15).

While he has consistently held that three times retail is excessive, he has now approved a new pricing policy--that of quality regardless of actual cost.

On the 1990 Beauregard, retailing at $5, he says: “Based on its quality, it could easily sell for $8 or $9.” The question is, why doesn’t it? He then concludes that, because of its high quality, at $15 it is “a good value.” Give me a break! What is the relevancy of this logic?

The fact remains that until restaurants in this country consistently offer at least some good wines in all price categories at small profits, they will continue to sacrifice the evolution of a wine culture and its wide, steady market for the short-term, insecure buck.

GEORGE CALOYANNIDIS

Los Angeles