Those Bastards!

Apparently you should avoid buying the second least expensive wine in a restaurant because it's the one with the highest mark-up. The reasoning goes like this:

Restaurant owners will often price the wine they buy cheapest at wholesale as the second cheapest wine on the menu. Why? Because people generally don't order the cheapest wine and thus often turn to the second cheapest. Price that one higher, and you get a bigger marginal profit. Presto -- restauranteur as microeconomist!

Because, as you know, wine doesn't have a big enough mark-up as it is.

Although I do think a food column should know that it's "restaurateur".

Via Kottke, by way of Saucy.