Growing up in a family where my father owned a small restaurant I can understand the anxiety and confusion that being forced to stock a restaurant wine list can bring on. There are a few general rules to put in place, which I think can help any small or medium sized restaurant make the most of their list.
To start we need to have a short discussion about the types of food that is served in the restaurant. Although you can never count on your customers pairing their wine-food the same way a sommelier would, it does help to have a balance between fish/meat dishes and white/red wine. For most restaurants, given current customer preferences it makes sense to carry approximately 60% of your wine list in red wine, if not more, especially if you are carrying something like a cold weather Pinot Noir that can be easily paired with any chicken dishes that you have on your menu.
Your next step is generally to put together some idea of your storage capacity. Remember that you want wines stored at around 55 degrees and that you need to strike a balance between the ability to have sufficient stock while keeping your capital expenditure as low as possible. A good wine distributor or independent wine consultant should be able to help with this. Often the wine consultant will have access to a larger number of wines, then even the largest distributor.
As for choosing wine, never stock anything on your list that you have not tried. Anyone attempting to become your wine supplier should be willing to bring in sample bottles and taste them along with you, so that you may make suggestions and changes to the proposed list.
On price, although some aspirational wines can find their way on to your list, it is generally speaking, more financially prudent to stock an entire list of quality wines that are priced in relation to your entrees.
Lastly and most importantly, always keep quality statistics regarding your wine sales. You should be able to tell over the first few months which wines are selling well and being well received as well as the wines which should be replaced. With any new offering, there will always be a choice or two which should be replaced.
One unique feature which some restaurants may take away from this article is offering a new wine of the quarter. Working with your wine supplier you should be able to find a new and interesting wine to offer to your clients via email newsletter (you have one of those right?). When paired with a new offering from your chief, this can be an exciting way to drive business on a weeknight that would otherwise be quite slow.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น