Webmarketing - liquor companies educate restaurant employees - Brief Article

Cheers, March, 2000

Lost in the mad rush of national wine and spirits retailing and B2B websites have been the service-oriented sites that can help restaurateurs with training and education. Add two new ones from the aegis of Allied Domecq and one from Seagram Chateau and Estates.

The Allied Domecq Institute (www.adsinstitute.com) offers a great training regimen in the basics of spirits. Only slightly skewed toward company products, the Institute site can be a great resource for taking new or under-educated employees through a solid basic training about where products come from, what they are made of and what properties they possess. Production, history, usage and more, including recipes, are here, and it delivers what it promises.

Just launched by Sauza (an Allied brand) is the new www.bartendersonly.com, meant to be a meeting place for those who toil behind the stick. A combination of mixology tips, online events and games, and a place to swap war stories and purchase bartender merchandise, the site just launched in mid-February.

Allied Domecq last year launched the Wine Spot, and Seagram's response has been strong. Overseen by popular wine educator and speaker Evan Goldstein, www.aboutwines.com offers wine varietal info, links to informative wine sites, as well as product fact sheets and profiles and an Ask Evan interactive guide. A special trade section keeps operators informed about company news, harvest notes and new bottlings, and Seagram promises a food and wine matching program for later this spring.