Italian-American - ll Fornaio restaurant wine selection promotion

Cheers, April, 2000 by GraceAnn Walden

At Il Fornaio, Larry Mindel's Italian wine dream has come true.

When Larry Mindel took over a foundering eight-unit chain of Italian-style bakeries in 1987, he'd discovered the perfect match for his love of all things Italian and his restaurant operating skills.

Twelve years later, Il Fornaio, with its baker logo, (Fornaio means baker in Italian) has been transformed into one of the best known and -respected Italian wine-focused chains in the country, with 22 units generating more than $100 million, more than $16 million of that coming from wine sales.

Individual restaurant sales averaged $5.1 million in 1999. Twenty-one have retail bakeries, and each restaurant has a retail market, in which the company's unique baked goods, prepared foods and branded foods and wines are sold.

Wine, in fact, has always been a primary concern in Mindel's mind as the company grew, one of the reason's Il Fornaio won the 1999 Cheers Award for best chain wine program. Take his search for a wine that would bolster the restaurant's reputation.

"We wanted a house-branded Chianti, but what we bought would be good some years and not great other years," says Mindel, chairman of the publicly-traded company based in Corte Madera, CA. Ten years ago a friend, Mario Schwenn came to him with an investment idea. He had been trying for a long time to resurrect a 900-year-old family-owned winery in Tuscany.

Mindel backed him and took the entire production from one hill. "The first year we got 1500 cases and it was terrific wine," says Mindel with pride. Today, Il Fornaio takes the growth from three hills, with annual production approaching 10,000 cases. The Il Fornaio Chianti Classico is the chain's top seller both in the by-the-glass program and the bottle. (The balance of the wine production is bottled under the Dievole name.) The success of the program has encouraged Il Fornaio's plans to introduce a branded pinot grigio in the near future. (The Il Fornaio own-branded wines, whether by the glass or bottle, represent 25% of total wine sales.)

As Mindel concentrated on offering good quality, affordable wine, the chain's income from wine grew in sync with his efforts. The growing general interest among the public helped as well. Wine sales have gone up every year despite what Mindel calls the "Martini movement."

"Good wines are perceived as an affordable luxury," he says, "and that has meant that more people will try premium wines by the glass." In the beginning, Il Fornaio employed one of the first by-the-glass dispensing systems, but no longer. "We sell an awful lot of wine---and don't lose much," says Mindel quite simply.

The Baker's Secrets

The key to wine sales has many facets. First, of course, is Mindel's vision of wine as an integral part of the concept. Secondly, the wine list is part of the menu, reinforcing its connection to the food. Thirdly, for the last five years, consultant Susan Pey has overseen the program, managing and overseeing its growth, development and implementation. Pey, who has lived in Italy, molds the core list, which concentrates on wines from all the major wine growing regions of Italy, plus California and the Northwest.

Pey changes the core list of 60 or so wines twice a year. At every restaurant, 14 to 16 premium wines are offered by the glass, changing quarterly. To build the lists, Pey conducts blind tastings twice a month.

"I taste with Mike Beatrice, our chief operating officer and our executive chef Maurizio Mazzon." Larry's office is nearby, she says, so he sometimes joins them.

Has she made any mistakes, along the way? "We tried week-long comparison tastings of like wines by the glass and half-glass. For example sangioveses from Italy and California, primitivo and zinfandel, pinot grigio and pinot gris," says Pey. It was fascinating, but it took a lot of work for little return, she explains.

The fourth element that contributes to Il Fornaio's rising wine sales is the role played by general managers at each unit. Like the chefs, they are managing partners in Il Fornaio, and also perform as sommeliers, visiting tables, explaining the list and answering patrons' questions. Most GMs add 15-20 wines to the 60-bottle core list, thereby personalizing it. GMs not only have leeway in what they add, but how the list is organized.

For example, in Portland, gm Kevin Duncan, chose to arrange the list from light to medium to full-bodied wines. He has also added many Northwest wines to please his patrons and support local wineries, At the Carmel, CA, and Seattle restaurants, area wines are also spotlighted.

"Before I came to Il Fornaio I think I'd only tasted Chianti in a basket," says gm Steve Boyden, who has been with the company since 1989, when he opened the Il Fornaio in Palo Alto. Now, he oversees bi-monthly waiter training programs. They are also encouraged to attend seminars, with educators like Evan Goldstein. Servers are paid to attend these educational classes. And a book of tasting notes about their wines developed by Pey is available in each unit, so the waitstaff can have a handy reference.