Why should restaurants buy my wine?

Wines & Vines, August, 2004 by Lynn Alley

Wine marketing has become big business. In the aftermath of the great grape glut, when wineries across the board have gone belly-up, attendance at wine marketing courses has skyrocketed, and the pressure is on for marketing consultants to get the job done or hit the road.

Large wineries often have it made in terms of sales and distribution. Large distributors are usually happy to have them; they can insure a consistent supply of wine in sufficient quantities, and there is no dearth of restaurants that welcome large production, well-known name brands.

But for small wineries, life may not be quite so easy.

Some restaurant owners will pay a great deal of attention to their wine lists, hand-picking wines with great care and never putting wines on the list that they have not tasted. Whether the wine list of such a restaurant is large or small, regional or international, expensive or modestly priced, these are the restaurants where you are likely to find interesting wines, sometimes from little-known wineries, that have been carefully chosen to best suit the restaurant, its price range, ambiance and style of cuisine.

Some restaurant owners may pay more attention to the food than the wine, and while the food may be good to excellent, the wine list may be less than interesting, and the wines may fail to offer the menu the kind of backup it deserves.

Still other restaurant owners or wine buyers will take the path of least resistance by allowing a large distributor to choose wines from its portfolio for the restaurant wine list, then letting the distributor continue to manage the list. Or they may simply choose a random assembly of red and white wines from large-production brand names with which everyone who shops at the local supermarket is more than familiar. Small or new wineries have little chance at these kinds of restaurants.

Finding placements in restaurants or wine bars may require some real work on the winemaker's part, and having some insight into what goes on in the mind of a restaurant owner or wine buyer doesn't hurt.

Debbie Zachareas, co-owner of San Francisco's Bacar restaurant and the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, known for her honest and straightforward approach to wine, has developed a wine list at Bacar that has garnered national attention.

She also teaches a class in designing restaurant wine lists at the Culinary Institute of America's (CIA) new Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies, located in the heart of the Napa Valley.

In a recent class session, Zachareas asked her students (restaurateurs, wine stewards, wine bar owners, waitstaff) to draw up a list of considerations when choosing wines for their wine lists.

Here are some of their responses:

* "Is the wine any good?"

One might think personal preference is the bottom line when choosing wines for a restaurant wine list, but 'tain't necessarily so.

Oh, sure, you wouldn't want to choose any wines you don't like for your wine list, but what's "good" to one buyer (or consumer) may not necessarily be so for another. (A conscientious wine buyer is unlikely to buy anything he or she hasn't tasted and/or doesn't like.) The good news is, there's lots of room for differences of opinion and different wine and winemaking styles.

* "Can we make money on it?"

Pricing can be an important tool/weapon in the winery owner's arsenal. Case discounts, by-the-glass discount programs, and their ilk all make wines more attractive to any restaurant buyer. The ability to maximize profit is an important consideration for any restaurant or bar owner.

* "Does it offer good value-for-dollar?"

What a buyer may consider "good" for $7 a bottle may not be the same wine he or she considers "good" at $15.

Sometimes the best way for an unknown winery, region or grape variety to drive a wedge into the market can be through skillful manipulation of pricing. This is how Australian wines first made inroads into the world market--aggressive marketing and strategic pricing. Conversely, high prices may also form a stumbling block to wines from unknown wineries or regions wishing to make inroads into the American market.

* "Does it fit in with my overall price profile?"

You wouldn't expect Joe's Pizza Shack to order first-growth Bordeaux, would you? Expect a restaurant owner to choose something commensurate with the price range of his foods. With a wide range of restaurants offering a wide range of prices on menus, you've got a lot of options.

When pricing your wines, you might give some thought to your target market. What kind of customers/restaurants do you envision drinking/serving your wines? Are you going for mass market appeal or a more select, exclusive niche?

* "Can I sell it?"

Getting your wine into a restaurant will do no good unless the restaurant can sell it. One restaurateur mentioned his preference for buying wines with established reputations: "Otherwise, I'm doing all the work of selling their wine without getting paid for it." Others prefer a bit of adventure, and the thrill of making new vinous discoveries they can share with their customers. Make it easy for them. Tell your story, either via a good, interested sales rep, a press kit or a personal visit.