$KA-Chang$! P.F. Chang's China Bistro brings Asian food and beverage flavors to middle America

Cheers, Nov-Dec, 2002 by Anne Watson

Asian restaurants have usually resisted the national chain model. So have aggressive wine by-the-glass programs. So maintaining a by-the-glass list of 50 wines at a national Chinese-themed chain seems an unlikely proposition for success. Don't tell that to the folks at P.F Chang's China Bistro.

Over the last few years, P.F. Chang's has not only expanded throughout the US, but the chain has also developed a wine program that removes the intimidation from ordering wine for nascent wine-lovers. Clearly not afraid to experiment, the chain prides itself on introducing new, relatively unknown wines to customers.

"We're trying to keep breaking down the barriers of people drinking wine," said Gary Schwartz, director of purchasing.

P.F. Chang's, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, operates about 75 restaurants serving traditional Chinese-style dishes, combined with innovative items that borrow flavors from Southeast Asia. The ingredients are fresh, the presentation is stylish, and the menu seeks to balance flavors, textures and aromas for a meal that is served family-style. Some typical items on the menu: lettuce wraps, orange-peel beef and banana spring rolls.

GLASS BY GLASS

New wine consumers can be reluctant to commit to buying an entire bottle of unknown wine off the menu. To encourage experimentation, P.F. Chang's only sells wine by the glass. "It creates a more fun dining experience for the guests to try new wines," said Schwartz.

And P.F. Chang's is probably the first chain restaurants to try such an operationally bold challenge. That boldness, and all aspects of their wine program, won the chain the Cheer's Award for Beverage Excellence for Best Chain Wine Program this year.

Initially, the wine list for P.F. Chang's was a more haphazard affair. The founder, Paul Fleming, and managers selected wines based on their personal preferences. Then, as the chain grew, wine lists at each location took on their own personality, and skewed in favor of managers' tastes. The result: wine lists became top-heavy in cabernet sauvignons and skimpy on white and lighter wines.

At that point, Chang's management came up with a core wine list to bring a more cohesive wine philosophy to the entire restaurant chain. Management wanted to encourage restaurants to offer new, exciting wine selections in addition to the tried-and-true heavier, red labels that managers inevitably selected.

The price-per-glass was also considered when drawing tip the wine list.

"It's also important that if you offer wine by the glass, you have a price floor and ceiling," Schwartz said. "Our experience tells you that if you get too pricey by the glass within certain wines and flavor categories, it's just not going to sell. You are going to hit a price barrier, So we help them establish price guidelines as well."

CUSTOMER OPINIONS COUNT

P.F. Chang's customers resisted higher prices for certain varieties of wine (like lighter and fruitier white wines), but they accepted prices up to $12 to $13 per glass for cabernets and higher-end chardonnays.

P.F. Chang's then developed the wine program further with the help of Tim Hanni, founder of WineQuest, a wine marketing firm. WineQuest's philosophy on breaking down the barriers to wine consumption fit in well with P.F. Chang's restaurant concept.

"What was really unique was their willingness to be really consumer-centric with the program," Hanni said.

Hanni is an advocate of letting customers enjoy the wines they like, instead of forcing them to pair wines with foods, or become experts in grape varietals, regions and vineyards.

Hanni does not usually make recommendations for specific wines when P.F. Chang's draws up its wine list, but provides access to a database of wines and their taste attributes, giving guidance about how to create the wine list. He also supplies training materials for staff. P.F. Chang's purchasing department works to integrate the consulting work of WineQuest with the restaurant managers.

WineQuest also advocates a flavor category management philosophy in wine lists. The wines are ordered on the menu according to their general flavor categories:

* Light, fruity blush and white wines

* Light to medium intensity white wines

* Moderate to full intensity white wines

* Light to moderate intensity red wines

* Full intensity red wines

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

P.F. Chang's changed the name of its wine list to the "anchor list" because the each flavor category is "anchored" by the more familiar, popular California labels like Columbia Crest, Kendall-Jackson and Beringer.

Within each category, wines are listed according their sweetness, intensity, fruit, oak, tannin and acidic qualities.

Ranking the wines simplifies selection for beginning wine lovers, and helps staff with giving suggestions to guests. Training is easier, since staff are not required to memorize the selections' region, variety and vineyards' backgrounds. Staff are not encouraged to steer guests to wines that accompany their food selections.

"We don't typically talk about pairing wine with food," Schwartz said. "The reason for that is that most of our food is served family style. People share dishes. One of the basic core ideas in our restaurant concept is that our food is meant to balance out different flavors, different textures and aromas. So that you will have a honey chicken, which is sweet, and we'll pair it up with an orange-peel beef, which is spicier. We'll have a variety of dishes on the table, so it's a little bit tough to pair wine with food."