How to (successfully) sell a wine in a restaurant?
Bordeaux, the city of wine by excellence, is also known for its large number of restaurants and wine cellars. Find out how to sell wine successfully in restaurants.
The design of the wine list
When designing the wine menu, there are several crucial factors to consider if you want to offer something that will delight your customers.
Types of wine and their origins
First of all, the wine list needs to be balanced, while offering a diversity of wines. On the one hand, wines from different regions and grape varieties make for a varied menu. On the other hand, diversity on a wine list arouses customers’ curiosity and sometimes even attracts them to a restaurant.
Highlighting the origins of wines can also reinforce the identity of your establishment. It is essential to mention the estate, grape variety and region of each wine to help customers make their choice. By diversifying prices and origins, the wine list becomes accessible while stimulating new discoveries. Classic appellations, such as a Bordeaux or a Bourgogne, should coexist with lesser-known references, such as a Pic Saint-Loup or a vin nature from the Jura, for example.
‘Above all, it’s important that the wine list covers a wide range, both in terms of price and taste, to satisfy every palate and every wallet.’
Annabelle Mispelblom Beijer – ‘Crus des vins’ professor at Vatel Bordeaux
Customer demand
With almost 10 million wine tourists a year in France, understanding customer expectations is vital if a wine list is to be structured effectively. Customers are often looking for a balance between quality, originality and reasonable prices. Some prefer safe bet wines, while others are keen to discover new ones. So a well-thought-out wine list needs to cater for all these different profiles.
What’s more, keeping an eye on trends is not an insignificant step. Organic, biodynamic and sulphite-free wines, for example, are enjoying strong growth.
‘There’s no doubt that we need to take account of customer demand and not just the taste of restaurateurs.’ – A. Mispelblom Beijer
The evolution of the wine list
Renewing the wines on a wine list is essential to maintain customer interest and reflect changing trends. It’s important to offer a varied selection, considering the seasons, food and wine pairings and what’s new on the market.
Renewing the wines
Including local wines to showcase the terroir, while leaving room for international discoveries, is relevant. This dynamic approach encourages curiosity and customer loyalty.
It’s also a good idea to adjust the range of wines on offer according to the season or event. In summer, fresh, light wines such as fruity whites and rosés will be favoured, while in winter, full-bodied reds and more robust wines will be favoured. During the festive season, sparkling wines should be given pride of place on the wine list.
Food and wine pairings
‘It’s above all the food menu that can influence the wine list. Certain wines lend themselves more or less well to certain dishes’. – A. Mispelblom Beijer
In a restaurant, the wine list must be in harmony with the menu. Offering suggestions for food and wine pairings makes the customer’s choice easier and enriches the culinary experience. For example, a mineral Chardonnay would be the perfect accompaniment to seafood, while a spicy Syrah would enhance a dish in sauce.
Pairing wines with dishes allows an establishment to stand out from the crowd by enhancing the coherence of its offering. Tasting menus with wine pairings are also available, providing an excellent opportunity to showcase the wine list. These menus also allow customers to discover a variety of lesser-known wines.
The waiter training
‘The role of the waiter, or sommelier, is to recommend a wine to customers, as closely as possible to their expectations, to listen to their desires, to understand their tastes and to be able to respond to them. It may also mean giving advice on food and wine pairings. You have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and understand their sensibilities. Another role is to make sure that the wine is clean when it’s served, in other words that it’s free of defects. – A. Mispelblom Beijer
Customer expectations
First of all, the waiter needs to know why the customer has chosen to come to the restaurant for this meal. If the customer has simply come to eat for a particular reason, the waiter will generally suggest mid-range wines. However, if the customer is in the restaurant for a special occasion, then the waiter may recommend a bottle at a slightly higher price.
Secondly, before recommending a wine, the waiter should also assess the customer’s level of wine knowledge. If the customer is a wine enthusiast, it will be easier for the waiter to explain in technical terms and make a recommendation for a particular wine. If the customer is not a wine lover, the waiter will have to use less technical and simpler words if he wants to suggest a particular wine.
Finally, the waiter should ask the customer about his tastes and the wines he prefers in order to make appropriate suggestions. A customer who prefers a red wine from Bordeaux will be less attracted to a red wine from Burgundy, for example. On the other hand, a white wine should not be recommended if the customer prefers red or rosé.
The waiter’s advice
‘You have to support the customer by taking their profile and requirements into account as much as possible, providing precise and relevant advice without burying the customer in technical terms that are often confusing for them’.
Enzo Ferrantin – 1st sommelier at the Plaza Athénée in Paris
Good advice doesn’t just mean pointing customers in the direction of top-of-the-range wines, but also suggesting relevant choices that meet the customer’s budget and expectations. For example, recommending a local wine that offers good value for money can score points, while enhancing the authenticity of an establishment.
The waiter is a real advisor. He will be the person the customer trusts. After analysing the customer’s tastes, the waiter will be able to recommend a wine by the glass or by the bottle that is suited to their tastes and the dish they have chosen to try. Regularly training the service team on new products will help them to advise and convince customers more effectively, thereby boosting sales.
Annabelle Mispelblom Beijer’s ‘service’ advice
Serving wine well in a restaurant means serving it according to the wishes of each customer. In addition, you need to be equipped with the right tools beyond the wine list, i.e. a sommelier (bottle opener), a liteau if necessary, and a decanter adapted to the service (decanting or aerating decanter).
‘During my Crus des Vins courses, I try to give students the tools they need to be able to identify the characteristics of a wine, so that they can describe it to customers when serving, without having tasted it themselves, which is very common when you’re serving.’
In a nutshell, selling a wine in a restaurant is more than just a commercial act: it’s a way of enriching the gastronomic experience for customers, while at the same time promoting the value of our expertise. From designing the menu to training the staff, each stage contributes to creating a unique moment. By adapting the approach to the seasons, trends and tastes of your customers, each bottle becomes an opportunity to share and enjoy.