Will WiNEPAD Render The Giant Leather Wine Book Obsolete?

(Chicagoist) - The giant leather wine book is one of the most intimidating things about going out to restaurants. You know the book we mean — it's usually brown or dark red, the size of a small phone book or a box of cereal, and it sits on the table, taunting you. "I really should learn more about wine," you think, before you order an anonymous glass of merlot in shame. Well, Flemings Prime Steakhouse has decided to ditch the book of shame and go digital.

It turns out we're not the only people who don't love that book. "Part of our core concept has always been to take the intimidation factor out of wine," explained Fleming's National Wine Director Maeve Pesquera. "Frankly, the big leather book is intimidating." Flemings wine list is particularly comprehensive (they stock 100 different wines by the glass) which may have contributed to their latest innovation: The WiNEPAD.

The WiNEPAD is an iPad-based wine list that has been rolled out to all of Fleming's locations nationwide. We got a chance to play with the pad, and it makes wine buying (dare we say) actually kind of fun. From the outside, it looks like a square version of a traditional, leather-bound wine line list. Pesquera told us that it was intentionally designed to match the old menu covers and the traditional wine book. But once the WiNEPAD is open, you realize that it's much more than just a list.