If I had a dime for every press release touting a restaurant’s award-winning wine list…well, I still probably couldn’t afford a bottle at most of those places.
Lists composed of great vintages, deep verticals and exhaustive regional collections are impressive to scan. But compiling such lists is more akin to shopping than the usual restaurant sourcing process, and while remarkable, highbrow lists are ultimately off-putting for average wine drinkers.
As David Alphonse, vice president of Boston’s Back Bay Restaurant Group, says, “You shouldn’t have to go into debt to get a good glass of wine.”
More than an impressive list, what’s important in a wine program is a sign that the operator cares about wine and actually tries to sell it. Building the best wine list is an ongoing learning process, but here wine pros offer their most critical lessons for operators.
1. Live large—and small. Offering wines in varying amounts can encourage guests to try wines they might normally overlook. At Tallula in Arlington, Va., 75 wines are available in four sizes: a half glass, a full glass, a 10-ounce beaker and a bottle.
“This allows for a lot of mixing and matching and mini-flight making at the table—and accounts for nearly 70 percent of our wine sales,” says Kris Mullins, wine director for Tallula’s parent company, Neighborhood Restaurant Group, which has six restaurants in northern Virginia.
2. Build diversity. Back Bay’s Alphonse employs an extensive wine-by-the-glass program and carries different styles of varietals at varying price points. For instance, the three Sauvignon Blancs available by the glass at the company’s Atlantic Fish concept in Boston come from Napa, New Zealand and the Loire, and are priced from $8.25 to $15.
3. Price them right. Operators employ varying philosophies to set their prices, but each carefully strives to build volume and sales without alienating customers.
Alphonse, for example, uses a sliding scale markup: The higher priced the wine, the lower the markup percentage.
“Pour cost is not as important as dollars,” he says. “I stick to the same philosophy at all our operations: Keep the markup under control to build volume.”
Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s Mullins says the majority of bottles he sells are priced $10 above retail.
“It’s a major incentive for the customer, particularly with tightly allocated wines priced two to three times over cost at other restaurants.”
Ken Collura, sommelier at Andina in Portland, Ore., notes a classic pricing conundrum: “We all know that the cheapest wine on the list never sells. It’s always the second-least-expensive wine that outsells” the lowest priced by a lot, he says. To sell more of the cheapest wine, raise its price.
Kevin Vogt, master sommelier at Delmonico Steakhouse at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, notes that selling more doesn’t mean sacrificing profit.
“Our average price per bottle has continued to go up each year,” he says. “To drive that, I make sure that there’s a wider selection just above the average price. I’m trying to draw people a little bit beyond their normal comfort zone.”
4. Personalize the sale. “I don’t believe in table tents to sell,” Collura says, “but I do feature a ‘Wine of the Month,’ something I make a good, solid markup on, priced between $30 to $40 a bottle.”
With suggestive descriptions and food pairing ideas, these wines generally jump 300 percent in sales, he says. Promos have proven successful for Mullins as well.
“Whether it’s a $20 Verdejo or a $90 Pinot Noir we’re really high on, when we call out a particular wine and feature it on the front page of our book along with its back story, we usually sell through quickly.”
5. Offer staff incentives. “While ultimately we’re wary of the hard sell, it’s vital to keep the staff motivated on the subject,” Mullins says. “Nothing beats staff education, and nothing beats a motivated server.”
6. Make it familiar. Collura advises easing the way for guests to try unfamiliar wines.
“If you have a blend that includes even five percent of a popular grape variety, make sure to list that prominently,” he says. “I often carry a wine from Veneto which is made from Pinot Blanc, Tokay and a touch of Pinot Grigio. I list it as, ‘Pinot Grigio Blend.’”