The Ashby Inn & Restaurant Wine Policy

The inn’s wine list changes weekly, reflecting changes in season and menu with a certain whimsy added. The Shermans especially seek out wines that are relatively unknown to the area. In passing, the list normally carries more sauvignon blancs than chardonnays and more pinot noirs than cabernets.

Sherman prefaces his list: “People open restaurants for many reasons. Some, who rely principally on tax accountants and real estate brokers, are looking for a quick killing. Others are lured by the ego rush of opening night and critics’ raves in the Sunday papers. Roma and I opened The Ashby Inn to see whether two amateurs of food and wine (with stamina) could offer a first-rate meal at a reasonable price and survive.

So far, so good. And part of the reason is our choice and pricing of wines.

“As a small inn, we have neither the capital nor the space to maintain a large inventory. We don’t have the luxury of buying futures in the Grands Crus. But we do have a penchant for tasting new wines (a real penchant, if you ask our suppliers), and the flexibility to change our list to reflect small lots that catch our fancy on a given day.

“I will forever be confused by wafting adjectives like ‘fresh mown timothy’ or ‘black currants, cedar and a touch of camphor’ to describe bouquets. Rather I choose a wine by taste and body and its capacity to match what’s coming off our kitchen range.