Wine and Cook-outs on the 4th of July!
July 4, 2010
06:38:31Today is the 4th of July. Besides the fact that I am actually taking the time to write here on this day, which is incriminating enough, the special day reminds me of summer. Since we were kids the 4th of July meant something special. Family, friends, fireworks and cookouts! This is where my dilemma comes in.
As a wine advocate, someone who expounds the virtues of wine at any given opportunity, I would be remiss if I did not comment on the subject of which wines to pair with a cookout menu. If you were invited to a cookout which wines would you bring? Being rather warm in this part of the country around this time, one might typically think that this would be more of a cold beer or ice tea type of function. Nothing wrong with that! I too love beer and especially on a hot, beat down hot, type of day. So if you were so inclined, beer would be a good answer. The problem lies in the fact that I am “the Wine Guy”. You know that guy. Everyone knows that guy. He is the guy that shows up with wine at EVERY occasion. Weddings, funerals, holidays, birthdays, frankly any days.
So which WINE would you bring? Well you might start by trying to find out the menu. Call the host and ask what they are making, a simple question but sometimes hard to ask.
All cookouts are not alike. Gone are the days of just Hamburgers and hot dogs, replaced by skewers of chicken satay, grilled seabass, roasted corn cakes and more.
So I guess you might say that the same intriguing wine parings you normally are drawn to are applied here exactly the same way. Recently I went to a cookout with friends and found out the menu consisted of grilled flank steak, brats and lots of cold salads, some dressed in mayonnaise based dressings. Lots of choices here! Grilled flank steak usually means a marinade of some sort, so I picked a wine that could with stand the acidic nature of marinades and still balance the meat. Pinots can be overwhelmed, cabs can be to bold, so this time I picked out a Merlot. Not my favorite as you know, but the fruit and tannic base can stand with the acid and complement a brat also. I also brought a wonderful rose, with a great blend of fruit and mineral components that can crisp out mayo based dressings. Plus doesn’t summer just scream for rose?
Wine Successes When Dealing with Wine Purveyors
April 30, 2010
When dealing with wine purveyors, it is best to keep these wine thoughts in mind.
First, that you tell the wine sales person exactly what your goals are in your wine list. Food and wine pairing should be analyzed by the supplier. Every wine list should be set up such that you are hitting a varietal at a certain price point. This wine information should be known by the purveyor before presenting a concise array of wines to taste.
Second, you should always taste on the same day of the week. This provides consistency and show dominance in the relationship between yourself and the purveyor.
As the wine manager you should never make a choice on the day you taste. Impulse buying based on post-offs, or last minute deal can kill a wine list. Remember that a well constructed wine list is thought out over time.
It is suggested that you deal with 3-4 wine purveyors so you have a balance in wine list. This keeps all the wine companies giving you the best deals and the flexibility of not being shorted by out of stock wines.
Talk with all of your wine companies to come in and give your staff additional wine training and wine tastings on a quarterly basis.
Ask for Data sheets about a wine. They are a helpful wine tools that you your purveyor can provide for your servers.
Ask for wine marketing material to promote wine on your tables or special boards in your restaurant.
In conclusion, it is worth the effort to dedicate a person to have good solid relationship with the wine suppliers. The investment of taking the time to gain their wine knowledge and for wine tools will increase wine sales.
This article is written by Dustin, a new writer that has joined Grow Your Wine Sales.
Wine Menu…A Wine Tool to Increase Wine Sales
April 16, 2010
The right wine menu can make all the difference to grow your wine sales….
I have seen many a wine list while traveling the globe. Some of them are as simple as a small insert card on a food menu while others need to be carried out on a cart with two big and burly servers to lift it on your table.
I can not speak for either end of the spectrum such as the previous examples but I will say they are probably not very good wine sales tools.
Your wine menu is the number one sales tool you have, besides the server. It is an important element in your wine sales process yet too many restaurants spend little effort maximizing the effectiveness of the tool. Why is that?
I think that most restaurants are afraid of their menu. Let me explain. Unlike tomatoes or shrimp for a food menu a vintage bottle of wine changes quite regularly. Wine as you know is not in everlasting supply. The production may end, the vintage changes, your cellar may be depleted. These are factors which make keeping the wine list current a hard task to complete. Not to mention the printing of new menus.
I believe you should look at your wine list as part of your wine marketing and treat it as an extension of your program. If your program is basic keep the menu basic. Congruently, if your program is extensive, your wine list should reflect the programs depth and diversity.
Let’s face it, the server can not stand at the table for long periods of time and answer every question a guest might think of. Your wine list should help answer questions for your guests. Make the wine list work for you. Here are some notes that may help you develop a better wine list.
1) Make wine list legible- Using the right font, color and paper can make a big difference. Test a few different combination for ease of readability, factoring in the lighting at different times of the day. Then select the one that reads easiest.
2) Make wine list concise- Most guests will skim through a list and look for keys such as a bottle they know or a price point they are comfortable with. Don’t make it to hard for the guest to find these things. Keep the descriptions from becoming to Wine Spectator like. And mix the pricing points around as to not make the list to linear.
3) Use boxing or highlighting to draw attention to featured wines. If you found a way to use your wine procurement to bring the cost of a feature down and make a little extra margin on the wine, feature it and give it a top billing.
4) Wines geographically correct- Check for accuracy on the list. Usually keeping up with vintage changes is tough. The wine distributors are not very good about letting you know when those changes occur. You need to keep on top of the wines by checking them in against your current list and keep it current. Listing the wines in a geographic order helps define your menu for your guests and let them pinpoint wines of interest.
5) I believe a wine list can be too big. For those restaurants that have a really extensive cellar, I recommend a list and then a Reserve Style list. The regular list is what you present to every guest with the offer to review the Reserve List if so chosen. Your regular list should be a manageable list that is easy to add or remove wines. Your Reserve List should include all bottles you wish to sell. This removes a little of the intimidation factor a big list can have and makes the guests who are not wine savvy a little more comfortable ordering wine.
Using your wine list as a sales tool is important to the overall health of your wine program and your servers should become familiar with the list in use. Test them on their knowledge of the list and soon you will have a winning combination of a great tool and great servers!
The Right Wines Increase Wine Sales
March 19, 2010
I may have written about this before so stop me if I sound familiar. I recently took some time off my writing schedule to open a new restaurant in Florida. It’s a nice place but really more of a pub then a restaurant.
The food menu is chock full of standard pub fare, the bar is fully stocked and we do quite a bit of promoting for music and such. Things are going well, all be it a bit slower than I would prefer. (economy, not location or pub, whew!)
One of the owners is wine savvy and would like to see us expand our wine listing to more than just a house wine and feature card. He believes that a bigger wine list will help attract wine lovers to the pub and sites many of his friends as the reason. While I am usually happy to oblige, in this case I believe it would be over kill. Here is why.
As I have said we are a pub, Irish at that. We cater to the local shot and beer guys, happy hour crowds and draw from the local colleges for late night traffic. This is not normally, a wine appreciative group. While I admit, we do get the occasional wine drinker who may feel slighted, I fear that the moderate sales we are showing within that category are not a reflection of the choices but lack of interest from our base.
This is when you need to use your head. While I love wine and everything that is wine, I had to recognize that this place may not be a wine establishment. Don’t let pride or ego get in the way. Make the decisions that will help make you place more profitable. Having 5 opened bottles of wine for your glass pours is ok, but not if your selling 1 or 2 glasses per night. Waste is a terrible thing (someone else once said that).
Anyways, I have been asked again by the owner so I think it is time we sat down and talked about it. I will stick to my guns and until I see the traffic that will support a progressive glass pour program I will continue My way!
PS Just in case I have a couple of boxes full of wine at home, for just such an emergency! LOL!
