You may be working in a restaurant or wine bar. Perhaps you’re employed by a hotel, a cruise ship, or an airport lounge. A country club or resort could be your domain. Conceivably you’re planning a wine tasting or an exhibition. Yet each of you has one thing in common. You’ve been tasked to launch and run a successful wine program. Now the question is – how will you succeed?
Wine… you serve it to your clients all the time. Have you ever wondered when that alcohol-infused grape extract – becomes the perfectly blended glass of ethereal majesty? How can you be assured it appeals to their eyes, nose, taste buds, and oral touch? Can you know when it affects their senses perfectly? The answer is simple – yes, you can. Especially when it’s what they like and it’s perfectly served. As with most simple solutions, it all begins with a simple question.
How well do you know your clients and the wines you’re serving?
In a recent survey of 1,000 people conducted by National Today (published by Forbes in April 2020), it was revealed that:
- 42% of Americans prefer red wine.
- 74% think two glasses or less is the perfect amount of wine to drink in one sitting.
- 16% need to learn about wine.
These numbers are – let’s face it – only guidelines. Imagine you’re a traveller on the smouldering deck of a cruise ship sailing in the Caribbean. Are you drinking red wine or ice-chilled glasses of refreshing white? What are the preferences where you work? There’s a little effort involved in getting those accurate numbers for your environment – every place is different. Know your inventory and what sells; it’s a simple and essential task.
The next question is whether you know which wines can be paired with which foods. Train your staff to become experts. It does little good to serve a fine wine that doesn’t go well with the ordered meal. Again, the operative word is homework and practice. It would help if you did yours before you can move to the next step, which is…
Which wines and at which price points will you stock your inventory?
That one-hundred-dollar Rothchild will sit unopened if your menu is dominated by pizza and fries, or will it? Your clients might be wealthy, enjoy junk food, and have eclectic tastes. It’s not a cliché that most wine tasters are known to snub a white wine in favor of a finely-aged red. Your collection must appeal to a cross-section of your guests. Over time, you’ll notice that 20% of your wines will produce 80% of your revenue. It’s a rule of thumb that’s revealed itself in the industry. Find out which labels are driving your business model and select the most popular ones.
Developing a pricing strategy would be the following stride to take. Whether your patrons sip wine by the glass or bottle, they ALL prefer pricing based on fair market value. Nothing sours the taste of a great wine more than having paid too much for it. That doesn’t imply that you should stock all your barrels with cheap house wine, although there’s nothing wrong with offering that low-end alternative. Your clients will tell you (with their preferences) exactly which balance to strike. Your job is to ensure you capture that vital data – at the point of sale – with a system that works. Guesswork will be your downfall.
What About Those People Who Drink by the Glass?
Now let’s touch on one of the most critical potential segments of your market; the seventy-four percent of people who’ll only have two glasses of wine per sitting. Creating an attractive and robust wine-by-the-glass (BTG) program is imperative. This group might eventually evolve into the by-the-bottle (BTB) group, especially if they’re pleased with their sampled glasses. How do you choose which wines to offer and at what prices should you offer them?
A transparent decision might be to take your most popular sellers in the various categories of red, white, and bubbly – and offer one or two choices. Price – as previously stated – should be at fair market value. The key points to observe are; modifying, adapting, and changing your wine menu options to suit your clientele. The worst mistake you can make is to keep a wine on your list which is not popular or omit one that is a sure winner – fearing that you’ll have opened a bottle that will go to waste.
How do you keep the wine selections fresh?
Rotate your menu. Just as you might see restaurants offer seasonal specials – consider offering similar options with your wines. Light and subtle variations in spring and summer; heartier, more robust selections in the fall and winter. Whereas a wine bar might change things up every three months, a food establishment could consider tweaking its wine list every six months. A comprehensive wine list – for a medium-sized establishment – should rarely contain more than twenty different labels, so the task is simplified by altering the ‘specials’ rather than changing your whole wine menu. Is there a local wine producer you can promote? The operative criteria are to measure your clients’ frequency of visits and preferences. Regular customers might want to see new options sooner than those who rarely visit.
Enhancing your clients’ experience
By now, you’re probably nodding your head in agreement. Getting to know your clients and wine sales metrics is a reachable goal. Selecting the right product mix, developing a pricing strategy, and rotating your wine inventory is all logical and fundamental. But that task of enhancing your clients’ experience and tailoring your business toward serving wine by the glass? Questions and concerns have likely popped up, and your eyebrows might be furrowed.
You might be asking yourself if your staff can pour identical six- or eight-ounce portions of wine. What do you do with the opened bottles? Can you salvage their contents before they spoil? What are the costs associated with throwing out half-consumed bottles of your finest? A headache is brewing before you’ve even tried the concept. The most practical, cost-effective, and efficient answer to these concerns is packaged and provided by one company.
A Solution That Delivers
That company is – ‘Wineemotion.’ Two words devotedly intertwined but essentially expressing a straightforward solution; automatic wine dispensers. They have produced a dispenser that is a high-quality product. It ensures that wine is preserved and offers the best experience for your customers. Using a wine dispenser is even more vital if used in self-service mode. It can define the identity of your business both from an image and a prestige point of view.
‘Wineemotion’ has been distributing wine dispensing systems worldwide for over ten years. Their products – though easy to understand – are complex pieces of technology, well designed and detailed in their goal of simplifying your task. They succeed in maximizing and enhancing your clients’ wine-tasting experience while optimizing your profitability by minimizing waste with their wine preservation system. They provide a ‘value-added’ service that ensures your wine program will be a success.
A Closer Look at Their Dispensers
Let’s examine their solution. Dispensers in their catalogue are scaled to the size of your business, from four bottles to eight bottle dispensers. They preserve, calm, and pour wines straight from the bottle to the glass. “How do they preserve the wine?” you ask. Odourless, colourless gasses (commonly used in the food industry), such as nitrogen or argon, are injected into the bottle, forcing the air out and preventing oxidation. The wines will keep their taste and aroma for up to four weeks. That’s not a typo, by the way.
Each glass is measured precisely and is identical; there will be no quibbling around the table about who has more. More importantly, since this system can run as a ‘self-serve’ feature, your staff is freed from running back and forth to the bar. Your customers can feel liberated and serve themselves whenever they wish without the need to flag down a server. Their thirst can be quenched at their own pace.
Is this a system for every establishment? It certainly is, especially if you view the quality features of the ‘Wineemotion’ product as a luxury or liberating addition to your wine program. Look at today’s changing environment and ask yourself if a self-serve wine-by-the-glass, ‘premium dispenser’ would give you the competitive edge you need. Even if your staff are the ones serving themselves – the ‘Wineemotion’ wine dispensing system is your best choice.
A Competitive Edge…
A successful wine program today requires planning and attention to detail. There will always be a premium if you’re that wine manager willing to seek a competitive edge to enhance his customers’ experience; while maximizing your financial results.
Here’s a toast… To your success!
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