5 WAYS TO DOUBLE WINE SALES

Pair your wine list with your menu 

Some customers are afraid to order anything other than the house wine for fear of making the wrong decision or even looking like they don’t know which wine goes with what. Wine pairings can be quite scientific, and although it really boils down to what people like rather than what the experts preach, it is no harm to point your customers in the direction you want them to go (i.e. spend more money). If you are not sure which dishes would match which wines, ask your Chef for assistance or your Wine Company Representative. Once complete, reprint your menus with a suitable wine accompanying each dish. Include a description to show customers why the pairing is recommended.  

Host Wine Tastings with your Staff

Your staff are your tool to increase sales or drive sales in the direction you want. If they have never tasted the meals on the menu or sampled the wines, then you have an unnecessary obstacle to increasing sales. Ask your Wine Company Representative for sample bottles for a Wine Tasting. He may even offer to do it for you. Staff who understand wines will feel far more comfortable recommending wines. Ask your staff why they like or don’t like certain wines to get them examining their own tastes. If you are pairing wines to your menu, then ask the chef to prepare dishes to go with the tasting to show staff why certain dishes go well with certain wines.

While on the subject, once confident enough, or in conjunction with your wine rep, why not host wine tastings for your customers? Think of the benefits: The customer has to come to your business to taste the wine, they are tasting wines from your menu, and they get to see how you care about wine and customer education. That’s a lot of benefits for a little expense.

Match your Wines to your Trade

If you have a busy food trade during the day, it is unlikely that you will sell many full bottles of wine as your customers may be driving or on a lunch break. Likewise, if you offer fine dining, you will probably sell far fewer quarter bottles. Examine your trade and create your wine list and offerings accordingly. By identifying your positioning in the market, knowing your customer and catering to their needs, you will have far more chance of succeeding (and profiting).

In House Advertising

This refers to any sales technique or promotion run in your business for the purpose of generating increased sales. You have often seen restaurants offer “Wines of the Month” where a nice display in the middle of the room has a few French flags and displays of wine bottles and grapes. Why not offer a bottle of house wine for every table of four dining in your bar or restaurant. The bottle won’t last long among four guests and because of the training your staff have received, they will be quick to recommend a second bottle, requiring the guests to stay longer and spend more money. Think of other opportunities to advertise such as “Buy three glasses of wine, get the whole bottle”. Any form of advertising that is different and stands out gives you more chance of increasing sales and being remembered in the future.

Having Flawless Service 

How often have you ordered a bottle of wine only to have to pour it yourself; sometimes even taking it out of the ice bucket yourself with plenty of mess! Train your staff on how to Open a Bottle of Wine, Serve a Bottle of Wine, Present a Bottle of Wine and How to Upsell and create opportunities where added sales can take place. Perhaps you could create an incentive program to reward staff who sell the most wines.