Drinking With Esther

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Old Vine Zinfandel and $25 for a glass of Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc, which are pricey but not that far off from what you’d pay in a restaurant. A half bottle of Krug Grand Cuvee costs $110 at the Chase Center, representing a much lower markup than most restaurants would offer. (The retail price is around $90; restaurants often price a wine at more than twice its retail price. A half bottle of Krug at Bar Crenn, for example, costs $345.) Then again, it’s still a $110 half bottle of Champagne at a basketball game.

For epicurean sports fans or festivalgoers, curated drink selections like the Chase Center’s are undoubtedly a welcome addition to their experience. But is it possible for a stadium wine program to be too good? This isn’t a fancy restaurant. Does it demand too much of a visitor to ask them to turn on their finewine brain all the time?

Granoff and Zachareas are still experimenting — after all, the Chase Center has been open for only about six months. “It feels like we’re just beginning to tap the potential of this setting,” says Granoff. “What could be next? Wine dinners in the stadium? We don’t think anyone else in the country is doing these sorts of things.”

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob