Classy glasses: wine-by-the-glass programs give guests plenty of options to try wines new to them while boosting sales

Cheers, July-August, 2005 by Nancy Backas

Wine-by-the-glass programs are thriving all over the country. Why? An oversupply of wine worldwide, low domestic price points and younger consumers' growing love affair with wine are three strong reasons. The practice of providing multiple options in wine service may have started out in fine dining restaurants, but now it's common in cool wine bar hangouts, small bistros, and even chain restaurants.

With a restaurant-going public that has become more wine savvy and daring every year, offering an interesting wine-by-the-glass program is not only profitable (margins can be better on a glass of wine than on a bottle), but smart marketing. Patrons today want to learn, experience and sample as many wines as they can. How fortunate that today's wine consumer is able to taste a wider, more interesting assortment of wines for much less than before.

Recent estimates put wine-by-the-glass sales at about 10 to 12 percent of table wine volume in the U.S. The rule of thumb has been that the first glass of wine sells the bottle, something not lost on many consumers, and a good reason why many restaurateurs are rethinking pricing. Beyond the profitability issue, many wine directors, sommeliers and restaurant managers are viewing wines by the glass in a whole new way.

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WHO'S ON FIRST?

When it comes to creating a by-the-glass list, what is it that determines the makeup of the list, or rather who? Does consumer preference lead the way, or do wine directors feel they know best? For most operations, it's a little bit of both. Some wine directors take the stance that customers are looking to them to expand their horizons.

"We encourage people to play around with tasting different wines," says Chrish Peel, co-owner with wife Laurie of Enoteca Vin, a small American bistro in Raleigh, NC. "We try to find classic wines and the best example are those that are generally too expensive for people to normally sample." He has a New Zealand sauvignon blanc, for example, that he can sell for $35 a bottle, too rich for many of his patrons' blood, but for $6 a glass they are more willing to try it.

Peel's philosophy is to try to offer as much of a variety of wine as possible at the fairest prices. "But wine is much more than that to us. It's our inspiration." He believes that the values that make good wine--a respect for tradition, painstaking pursuit of quality and recognition that the earth is the ultimate provider--are the same values he strives to emulate in his restaurant.

Though the restaurant only seats 45, Peel offers 70 wines by the glass. Part of the reason he can offer such an extensive list for such a small venue is that he and his wife also own a retail wine store in nearby Charlotte. The North Carolina market in general, he says, tends to buy California brands, something he often regarded as an odd and inflexible attitude. "People don't go to restaurants because of the wine, so we realized we can serve the wines we want," Peel explains. However, patrons go to Enoteca Vin with expectations of learning more about wine and they are willing to expand their horizons.

WINE EDUCATION CLASSES

Brian Duncan, wine director, Bin 36 in Chicago (with another restaurant in Lincolnshire, IL and a third to open soon in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood) takes a similar approach to developing his by-the-glass program. The restaurant has 50 wines on the by-the-glass menu that change throughout the year. Duncan, too, sees himself as an educator and is delighted that his patrons are so eager to learn. "I have never seen more hunger to know more about wine than here in the Midwest," Duncan says. He hosts three classes monthly on average and offers detailed descriptions of the wines on the menu.

For example, check out this description of 2003 Brander, "Cuvee Natalie," Santa Ynez Valley, California: "Yet another exclusive from one of the hottest emerging regions of California's Central Coast, the Santa Ynez Valley. Sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot gris and pinot blanc are blended to perfection here. The beauty here is the balance of juicy green apples, grapefruit, peaches and pineapple all anchored by brilliant acidity. It's fresh and brash with no apologies necessary."

"I think the strength of our program is that we provide descriptions of everything. For those wines that are hard to pronounce, there is the ability to order the wine by the number," Duncan says. "We believe that all wines can be experienced if you know enough about them. If all I know is the price and where the wine originated, then why would I want to buy it?"

At a new Oklahoma City restaurant, Rococo Restaurant & Fine Wine, headed by Bruce Rinehart, formerly of Legal Seafoods, wines by the glass have taken center stage. In only a year, the restaurant has earned local and national acclaim. Rinehart picks the approximately two dozen by-the-glass wines to complement the food. "I started out with the philosophy of choosing high caliber wines priced reasonably because I wanted people to broaden their wine experience. Besides, the higher the caliber of the wine, the more the guest is apt to buy by the glass." He observed that many customers were gravitating toward more complex wine so when he arrived in Oklahoma from the East Coast, he developed a progressive list. Patrons that come from larger markets tell them they feel they are dining at home.