Little Italy on top: Maggiano's scores as Best Chain Wine Program

Cheers, April, 2005

Our focus at Maggiano's is to make the customer feel comfortable; we don't want to make dining an intimidating experience, and that includes our wines," said Dave Pennachetti, director of beverage programs for the last six years at Maggiano's Little Italy, recipient of the Cheers Award for Best Chain Wine Program. "We challenge ourselves, constantly, to improve the dining experience and to help customers feel comfortable in selecting wine."

It all starts with the chain's wine menu, Pennachetti said, which de-mystifies wine and provides factual information for guests. "Our menu contains an overview of certain styles of grapes. It explains our varietals, what the fruits are, smells and styles," he said. "For example, let's say guests come in and say, 'We like light-bodied wines.' Our server will point them in the right direction." Staff training is "critical to what we do. We train servers in both food and wine. They taste all food dishes, and most of the wine." Staff is taught "the key traits" of the chain's most popular varietals. "If a server knows three wines he or she can recommend, well that's better than just one."

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Pennachetti said the chain's wine program "evolves each year," and its focus is on three areas: quality, value and service. One of the top challenges for on-premise operators in selling wine is creating value for customers, he said. "With so much value being offered in the off-premise trade, we're challenged by how we can balance it. We want to provide great value for our customers, and yet there are challenges in the profitability area as well." Good service, he asserts, "helps to add value."

The chain's strong concept of family-style dining, also calls for larger-style wine bottles, such as the popular magnums, and double magnums (3-liters), he said. However, the most popular bottle size is the standard 750 ml. But wine sales overall are about equally split between by-the-glass and by the bottle, he points out.

It may come as no surprise that the majority of wine sold at Maggiano's is red. "We sell a lot of Chianti, because we're Italian," he stressed. After Chianti, merlot is the next top selling red, followed by cabernet. "Merlot continues to be very strong, but we're seeing strong growth with shiraz and pinot noir as well."

Italian pinot grigio, by the glass and bottle, is the top-selling white wine overall, "although we sell a lot of chardonnay, too." In the white category, wines from Italy, Australia and New Zealand "have grown quickly. From New Zealand, sauvignon blanc and rieslings are popular. Wines from Washington State are also big, growing strong."

The chain compiled data about its customers and targets its wine programs to them. "For example, when we're trying to find the right product mix, we need to know what's selling currently. So we use outside sources, such as consumer insight groups and information from suppliers to find out."

The chain, a Dallas-based Brinker International concept, has 32 outlets.

--EVS