It's snow time! Beverage sales in ski towns continue to heat up - Cover Story

Cheers, Nov-Dec, 2003 by Cheryl Ursin

You'd think, with the economic doldrums, the threat of terrorism and less-than-ideal weather patterns of the past few years, that the ski industry would be suffering.

You'd be wrong.

According to the annual Kottke End-of-Season Survey done by the National Ski Areas Association, American ski resorts have experienced record breaking business for the last three years. Last year, the industry experienced an all-time high attendance level: 57.6 million skier/snowboarder visits.

And local restaurant and bar operations, both resort-owned and independent, are going along for the ride.

In many ways, beverage sales in ski area restaurants and bars are reflective of the on-premise market nationwide. Depending on the venue, classic cocktails, including Cosmopolitans and other Martini style recipes, are popular, as are Margaritas.

In fact, Keyhole Junction & Cantina at the Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort in Snowbird, Utah, won the Cheers 2002 Award for Beverage Excellence for its tequila and Margarita program. "Everyone orders Margaritas; It's a Southwestern restaurant," says Pete Jacob, manager. With all the care Keyhole puts into its Margaritas--guests are presented with a list of tequilas matched with a list of orange liqueurs--the restaurant's beverage program would be successful wherever it was located.

Like other operators of Rill-service restaurants located in ski areas, Jacob finds that people order what they are used to. "If Martini drinkers go skiing, they're probably going to order Martinis," he says. "If they go to a Mexican/Southwestern restaurant while skiing, they're probably going to order Margaritas."

DRINK COMFORTABLY

Natalie Leslie at Faces Nightclub in Stateline, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, sees similar behavior. "A beer drinker's a beer drinker, even when it's 20 below," she says.

Thomas Turner, director of food & beverage at the Inn at Lost Creek, a boutique hotel in Telluride Mountain Village, Colorado, agrees. "The majority of people order what they are comfortable with," he says.

Their orders also depend upon the type of establishment they are in. A fine-dining restaurant, such as the Inn's 9545 Restaurant, does much of its beverage business in wines. Before dinner, many guests have a cocktail, leaning toward Martinis, such as the restaurant's popular Blood Orange Martini, made with Campari, Stoli Ohranj, orange juice and club soda, garnished with a blood-orange wheel.

Fine-dining restaurants not only report healthy cocktail and wine sales for dinner but find brunch, featuring either Mimosas or Bloody Mary' to be very popular. At La Tour in Vail. Colorado, the Bloody Maws are made with vodka the restaurant infuses with heirloom tomatoes, assorted peppers, including jalapenos, garlic, celery, carrots, lime and lemon. The infusion container, which is on display, "is so pretty you want to take a picture," says Paul Ferzacca, chef/owner.

Some suppliers, like Mott's and their Mr. & Mrs. T's Premium Bloody Mary' Mix, have focussed on the category to take advantage of the trend.

Also a popular infusion cocktail at La Tour is the Very Berry Martini, made of vodka infused with dried cranbcrics, dried blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. A tequila infused with mango, pineapple, papaya, orange and vanilla bean is also a popular choice.

Game Creek in Vail, Colorado, is one of those ultimate destination restaurants often found on ski mountains. To get to Game Creek for" dinner (it is a private ski-in/ski-out club at lunch), guests first travel by gondola and then by She-Cat. Much of the restaurant's beverage business is the wine paired to its prix-fixe chef's menu. The most popular pre-dinner cocktail at Game Creek is the Cosmopolitan.

And guests definitely tend toward classic cocktails, such as Old-Fashioneds, Manhattans and Martinis. "We've tried some creative drink menus, we still have a drink menu, but they didn't make sales improve. We're predominantly wine-driven," explains Pete Woodward, manager.

POPULAR PLACES

In operations that are not fine-dining, wine tends to be less popular. When the Tap Room in Vail first opended in 1999, it offered 40 wines by the glass. "We tried," says Steven Kaufman, one of the owners, "but the busier we got, the less wine we sold."

At Whiskey Elk at the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek, just 14 miles from Vail, however, the situation is different. Whiskey Elk offers 50 wines by the glass, ranging in price from $8 to $90, as well as wine flights, priced at $30. "The wines by the glass are, by far, our biggest seller [in beverages,]" says Chris Draper: the Hyatt's executive assistant manager and senior food & beverage director. He speculates that the by-the-glass and especially the flight offerings give people the chance to try out high-end wines they've heard about.

Above all, however, it should be remembered: skiing is the sport that coined its own term for happy hour-apresski. For most bars and restaurants, being in a ski area has a major impact on their beverage sales.