A Simple Way to Recommend Wines

Have you ever been to a restaurant or a bar and asked for the wine list only to realise that you don't know any of the wines on the list? You ask the waiter but they tell you they don't know much about wine. So you order the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or the Aussie Shiraz and figure they should be drinkable!

Now imagine you're not in the industry and think how daunting the wine list is to the average diner. Of course to have a sommelier on staff would be wonderful but not many small restaurants or bars can afford this option. Your staff try but get nervous when talking wines and revert to a red for meat and white for fish approach.

A really simple way around this is to print a recommended wine on your menu next to your most popular dishes. Make sure it's a good pairing and then print something like "We suggest the (insert wine) with this dish". You will be amazed by how often your clients will select the wine with the dish.

It is also an excellent opportunity to up-sell your wines. Instead of selecting a wine by the price column the patron is more likely to pay a bit extra if they perceive additional value in selecting the recommended wine. In return you need to make sure it is a really good pairing.

Then end result is the wine list turning over more regularly and evenly not to mention the profit going up.

If you're not sure try it on a couple of dishes for 2 weeks and see what happens. It's not for every restaurant but if your wine sales are slow and limited to 2 wines, you should definitely give it a try.