According to recent research 56% of people admit to being confused by the Sommelier role in a restaurant. Wine tasting is still as confusing now as it was 20 years ago with many terms perplexing ordinary consumers, when all they are trying to do is enjoy their occasion. Asda has just announced that it has appointed a ‘Sommeasier’ in a bid to secure the trust of the average consumer.
66% of Brits fall into choosing the ‘house’ wine, believing it to be the cheapest and easiest option.
Why should outlets, individuals and group pay specific attention to their wine list? And what tactics are available to the growing casual dining sector to maximise consumer wine spend? Should they be employing sommeliers?
Firstly there is no absolute definition for the role of sommelier – literally wine waiter – it is what the organisation requires and agreed by the employee themselves around the wine and possibly drinks service.
In the high-end restaurants the role is relatively easy to define. To a greater or lesser degree they are there to ensure complementary wine (and drinks) service to the quality food being served. They should expect to manage suppliers and inventory to provide timely service, cost and budget, whilst ensuring that the wines are well suited to the clientele. From this they should build a wine list. They should be able to comfortably find their way around a customer’s requirements, being able to recommend wine suited to their occasion and tastes as described.
It is the levels of dining below the fine dining that is much more of a challenge. The resources available need to be spread around so that they are efficiently used and typically they won’t extend to employing a full on sommelier as described above. But with consumer spend so carefully meted out, then we can be sure when consumers are buying wine in our pubs, restaurants etc they are equally as careful in how they approach buying their wine, if not more so.
Remove some of the mechanical levels of the sommelier’s job description above such as supplier selection, inventory management, list building and focus in on what is important for your outlet(s) – service, recommendation, list strategy (as opposed to the tactics). Employing a wine trade expert against your selected metrics, either in a consultancy part-time role to select wines, set and measure standards of service or as a full time group responsible position is a value creating move.
A wine selection should not be ignored because it seems a complex area; quite the reverse it needs considering because it helps make a significant contribution in all aspects of the business. Trade-up, theatre, marketing, engagement can all form part of an approach to develop value back into the organisation.
In the grocery sector Aldi and Lidl have entrenched themselves because consumers are so wary of how much they are spending and they signal the importance of value to the hospitality sector. It is critical that value is expressed at every level of the wine list, and as a consumer travels through the wine list the more it gets the better value it should be. In this way we tempt the wine interested consumer to spend a little more. An ideal that could be striven for is to achieve as close as possible the comparison between shop retail pricing and pricing on the wine list. Considering margin on-trade requirements then this is always going to be difficult if not impossible to achieve, however it sets a mind-set in approaching the pricing and achieving value for the consumer.
Further how an outlet signals value is just as important. Display is just as important to consumers. Recent research from the University of Adelaide found that the more elaborate the information, the higher the chance that the consumer pays more for the drink.
“Cleverly written wine and producer descriptions when coupled with unbranded wine tasting can evoke more positive emotions” Sue Bastian , project leader associate professor of oenology and sensory studies said.
This is something known for a long time in some professional wine tasting circles – taste can be led. If a wine is described in evocative, appropriate and romantic ways before it is consumed then the consumers taste will itself be led there. This does require a willing participant i.e. consumer. However think of the other aspects beyond direct consumer interaction that could be used to persuade – chalkboards, wine lists, labels and in house display of bottles.
It leads into wine events. They signal the credibility and authority of the outlet in wine, add theatre, value and possibly fill usually quiet holes in the booking week.
Traditional wine retailing suggests that range equals authority. However the German everyday low price retailers have demonstrated that less is more, with ranges that are as much as a tenth the size of traditional grocery retailers, whilst being able to promote and score highly with quality. There is a clear parallel with the restaurant and hospitality trade that a small well selected list achieves more than encyclopaedic tomes of wine.
We should remember value is always a carefully balanced exchange to be developed between outlet and consumer – outlet gives enhanced enjoyment, quality, service, and the consumer is willing to pay more for those things.
There are many tools available to the mid sector of dining – casual dining and other – which develop value with the consumer in ways that delight and entertain. The ‘Sommeasier’ title may not have the right connotations or sound right for the hospitality sector but the point is well made – let’s make it as easy, simple and communicate well to help our consumers maximise their wine experiences in our outlets. In the casual dining sector that may not be delivered with full-on Sommeliers, but certainly requires a degree of expertise.
Alistair Morrell
Hospitality & Catering News, Wine & Drinks Editor