Wine lists are vital, but they don’t have to be formal. Len Maseko takes a look at the wine lists at the heart of some of Soweto’s eateries.

Could Plato have had restaurant wine lists in mind when he mused, “The beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depends on simplicity”? Nothing can beat the suspenseful pleasure that precedes the arrival of the treasure trove that is a restaurant wine list. Just the process of elimination that punctuates the exercise of choice in the maze of vinous offerings can induce something resembling a gambler’s joy at the sight of slot machines.

Well, sometimes when doing rounds in eating places in Soweto, the first challenge is to find it. You need not take matters any further if your request to see the wine list is met with an opaque look on your waiter’s face. Rather, for your own peace of mind, ask him to bring you two or three bottles of wine – either in the low or high price range, depending on your taste and budget – from which to make your final selection. While the waiter is away, you might want to take a deep breath in anticipation of a price that is often way out of kilter with what is generally charged by other restaurants of the same standing.