Restaurant wine lists can be intimidating documents. Even if not bound in leather, like some sacred text, they can bring nervous sweat to the brow of any diner who worries that a lessthan-encyclopedic knowledge of vineyards and vintages will turn his face redder than a robust Cabernet Sauvignon.
   In fact, the most interesting wine lists at Little Rock restaurants should be approached with eager anticipation rather than edgy anxiety. There are no snobbish sommeliers here, no turned-up noses or condescending tones of voice. Instead, Arkansas' largest city boasts a growing assortment of dining venues whose proprietors and staffs are happy to explain and share the enticing collections of bottles they have assembled.
   Dining Out is pinpointing 12 of the best local lists, and we easily could have included another dozen places -- starting with Cajun's Wharf, 1620 Restaurant and Vermillion Water Grille. When Ashley's reopens later this year after the Capital Hotel's renovation is completed, it will rejoin the forefront of the area's wine ranks.
   Helping make wine selection easier in Little Rock is that nothing here even remotely begins to approach the length or complexity of such world-famous lists as the one at Bern's Steak House in Tampa, Fla., which catalogs an awesome 7,000 wines. The longest local lists offer 100 to 200 choices, still more than enough to satisfy all but the most finicky connoisseurs. Other commendable lists have been pared down to a few dozen carefully selected bottles.
   However long a wine list may be, it needs to be user-friendly in several ways.
   Accuracy is essential. Just as a reputable restaurant would not present a menu with penciled corrections of dishes, neither should it offer a wine list with crossed-out vintages or incorrect spellings.
   A good list should be organized and written so that it is clear and easy to understand. Beyond such obvious points as listing whites and reds separately, it is helpful to group together varieties (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, etc.) and countries of origin. For especially distinguished bottles, which tend to be older and more expensive, the vintage's year ought to be included. This is not always the case in Little Rock, even at some restaurants with otherwise commendable lists.
   There's nothing wrong with a wine list being fun to browse. A local example, offered by owner Denis Seyer at Gypsy's Grill & Bar, gives a breezy description of each bottle. The Mazzocco, a Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, "reveals a full nose of Bing cherries with a hint of spice." The Bear Boat, a Russian River Chardonnay, has "aromas of citrus and complex tropical fruits, lemon and butterscotch."
   Compatibility with the restaurant's food is an important criterion. Capriccio Grill complements the Italian bent of its menu with a list strong in wines from that Mediterranean nation. Sonny Williams' Steak Room devotes the vast majority of its extensive list to beef-friendly red wines from California and elsewhere. Lilly's Dim Sum Then Some, with its pan-Asian focus, offers a white wine blended in France specifically to go with Oriental dishes.
   A selection of half bottles is an asset, notably so at Ciao Baci. More importantly as a benchmark is a decent offering of wines by the glass -- a category in which Brave New Restaurant excels, as do Nu Cuisine and Sonny Williams' Steak Room.
   Restaurant wine pricing can be a mysterious matter. Happily, the wine-list price gouging sometimes perpetrated by swanky establishments in New York and other big cities is pretty much absent in Little Rock. Obviously, in the same way that a T-bone steak costs a good deal more in a restaurant than in a butcher shop, a bottle of wine will be substantially pricier in a restaurant than in a liquor store. Anything up to twice the retail price is generally considered reasonable.
   And if price is no object, it's possible to order an $800 bottle of wine at Gypsy's -- either Chateau Petrus 1976, a fabled Bordeaux, or La Tache 1982, a magnificent Burgundy. Top of the line at Sonny Williams' includes two of the five First Growth Bordeaux: Chateau Latour 1996 for $650 and Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1996 for $600.
   Both of those places offer respectable bottles at the other end of the price scale. Gypsy's lists two Chardonnays and one Merlot from California for $22. Sonny Williams' has a California Chardonnay for $24 and a Merlot for $28. Even more affordable examples are an Argentinean Torrontes white and a California Pinot Noir for $18 at Trio's, as well as $18.95 bottles of an Italian Pinot Grigio and an Australian Shiraz at Capers.
   After consulting their budgets, diners stumped by what wine to order can fall back on the venerable formula of red wine with meat, white wine with fish -- although it's no crime to ignore that hoary prescription. If one person at the table is having filet of sole and the other is feasting on prime rib, ordering by the glass may be the answer.
   It also makes sense to ask for suggestions from the person taking your order, bearing in mind that the level of wine knowledge varies from waiter to waiter. If the waiter seems hesitant, inquire whether someone else on the staff is a wine expert. At Ferneau, for example, Lee Edwards is identified as "sommelier in training." At Lilly's, co-owner Nancy Tesmer is the wine authority.
   When the wine is brought to the table, the waiter should show you the label -- a purposeful ritual to ensure that it is the proper bottle. If the waiter presents you with the cork, there's no reason to sniff it. As the Web site CellarNotes observes, "Smelling the cork will mark you as a rookie."
   Part of the joy in ordering wine takes place once the waiter pours a small amount into your glass. You're not required to do anything. But it's a pleasure first to look at the glass, sizing up the wine's clarity and brilliance. Then swirl the wine by rotating your wrist, though not so vigorously as to start a tsunami. Put your nose just over the edge of the glass and take a deep sniff or two. Then take a sip and roll the wine over your tongue for a few seconds before swallowing while exhaling through your nose. The point is to be sure the wine is fresh, or if by some chance it smells of a moldy sock rolled up in the glass.
   Rarely these days will you find that the wine has gone bad in some way, but if it does seem "off," tell the waiter. In any reputable restaurant, the bottle will be replaced courteously by another of the same wine, or a different wine will be suggested by the staff.
   Following are highlights from our dozen notable Little Rock wine lists. Some establishments (as noted in this section's Selected Restaurant listings) allow diners to bring their own wine, while charging a corkage fee for opening the bottle and providing glassware and service.
   

ACADIA
   
3000 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, (501) 603-9630
   Best Feature: This redoubtable collection of wines encompasses well-known vineyards and boutique wines that deserve wider attention.
   Most Distinctive Feature: The eclectic list goes far beyond Cabernets and Chardonnays to satisfy the curiosity of adventuresome enthusiasts.
   Best Value: Candoni Prosecco ($28), a sparkling wine from Italy's Veneto region.
   Top Splurge: Peter Lehmann "Mentor" ($78), a Cabernet blend from Australia's Barossa Valley.
   

BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT
2300 Cottondale Lane, Little Rock, (501) 663-2677 Best Feature: More than half the 60-plus wines on the list are available by the glass.
   Most Distinctive Feature: Ice wine, a rich dessert wine made from grapes frozen on the vine, is offered by the glass.
   Best Value: Jackson-Triggs Ice Wine ($7.50 by the glass), from British Columbia. Top Splurge: Montes Alpha M ($9 by the glass), a Chilean Cabernet blend.
   

CAPERS
14502 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, (501) 868-7600 Best Feature: There's an exceptional span of prices ranging from $13 to $200 a bottle.
   Most Distinctive Feature: The list is organized by grape varietals rather than producers, making it easy to navigate.
   Best Value: Bell Vineyards Syrah ($35), from California's Sonoma Valley.
   Top Splurge: Penfolds Grange Shiraz ($160), by Australia's most renowned winemaker.
   

CAPRICCIO GRILL
   
Peabody Little Rock hotel, 3 Statehouse Plaza, Little Rock, (501) 906-4000
   Best Feature: More than 140 sought-after wines from around the world are offered, including a dozen champagnes and other sparkling wines.
   Most Distinctive Feature: As befits the restaurant's Italian focus, more than 30 wines from many of that wine-rich European nation's regions are listed.
   Best Value: Ramon Bilbao Mar de Frades ($29), a dry Albarino from the Rias Baixas of Spain's Galicia region.
   Top Splurge: Sassicaia, 1998 ($250), a prestigious Cabernet blend from Tuscany.
   

CIAO BACI
605 Beechwood St., Little Rock, (501) 603-0238 Best Feature: An extensive offering of half bottles is available.
   Most Distinctive Feature: Wine flights are available to taste small pours from different regions and varietals at a single meal.
   Best Value: Montes Alpha Colchagua Valley ($31), a Chilean Syrah.
   Top Splurge: Chateau Lascombes ($60 for a half bottle), a Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux from the renowned Margaux commune.
   

FERNEAU
2601 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, (501) 603-9208 Best Feature: An astounding journey through some of the world's most elite vineyards marks a list that spans five continents.
   Most Distinctive Feature: The repertoire of dessert wines from 10 countries extends as far as a Muscat from Australia and a Late Harvest Riesling from South Africa.
   Best Value: St. Joseph Le Grand Pompee, Paul Jaboulet Aine, 2003 ($48), a red from France's Rhone Valley.
   Top Splurge: Vina Almaviva, Puente Alto, 2002 ($125), a Bordeaux blend from a joint venture in Chile between Concha y Toro and Baron Philippe de Rothschild.
   GYPSY'S

GRILL & BAR
11401 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, (501) 225-4152 Best Feature: Each wine has a detailed description of aroma and taste, while ideal food pairings are suggested for each varietal category.
   Most Distinctive Feature: Gypsy's "Odds and Ends" list, available upon request, offers some astonishingly low prices for bottles nearly out of stock.
   Best Value: Moscato D'Asti, Michele Chiarlo ($16 for a half bottle), an Italian dessert wine.
   Top Splurge: Montinore Graham's Block 7 ($55), a Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley. LILLY'S

DIM SUM THEN SOME
11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, (501) 716-2700 Best Feature: Quality wines with notable geographic diversity are listed in an easy-to-digest format at very reasonable prices.
   Most Distinctive Feature: Sunday is half-price day for all bottles on the short but intriguing list, bringing bargains as low as $11.50.
   Best Value: Wan Fu, Peter Sichel ($20), a French white blended to complement Oriental cuisine.
   Top Splurge: Gruet Chardonnay ($30), from New Mexico.
   

NU CUISINE & LOUNGE
   
225 E. Markham St., Little Rock, (501) 378-7500
   Best Feature: The list's 26 wines by the glass cover a dazzling range of regions and prices, while the 14 half bottles of California whites and reds provide a generous selection.
   Most Distinctive Feature: This creatively assembled wine list is not duplicated by other local restaurants.
   Best Value: Viognier, Domaine Miquel, 2003 ($27), a white from France's Languedoc region.
   Top Splurge: Batard-Montrachet, Gagnard Delagrange, 2001 ($152), a glorious white Burgundy.
   

SO RESTAURANT BAR
3610 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, (501) 663-1464 Best Feature: Quality and diversity, rather than length, make this relatively new restaurant's list outstanding.
   Most Distinctive Feature: A special list from the So cellar has many additional treats available.
   Best Value: Pinot Gris, Pierre Sparr ($26), from France's Alsace region.
   Top Splurge: Chateau Les Ormes De Pez ($63), from Bordeaux's St. Estephe commune.

SONNY WILLIAMS' STEAK ROOM
   
500 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, (501) 324-2999
   Best Feature: A dream list of the "Who's Who in the Wine World" bottles is complemented by an impressive 39 wines sold by the glass.
   Most Distinctive Feature: The "Proprietor's Cellar Selections" section lists three dozen special-occasion red wines priced from $102 to $350.
   Best Value: Pinot Grigio, Ca'Montini, 2004 ($30), from Italy's Trentino-Alto Adige region.
   Top Splurge: Tignanello, Antinori, 2000 ($130), a Tuscan red that's kin to Chianti.
   TRIO'S 8201 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, (501) 221-3330 Best Feature: Values abound on a list priced mostly well below the typical restaurant mark-up.
   Most Distinctive Feature: The ports and late-harvest dessert wines are a terrific by-theglass deal.
   Best Value: Pinot Grigio, Santa Margherita ($38), from Italy's Trentino-Alto Adige region.
   Top Splurge: Ambullneo Pinot Noir ($80), from California's Santa Maria Valley.

This story was published Friday, June 02, 2006