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Wine by the glass—More popular than ever?
Does wine preservation increase restaurant guest satisfaction and sales?
Are there reliable, cost effective wine preservation systems?
Wine By The Glass and Wine Preservation—A Partnership
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"The leading reasons for ordering by glass were because they didn't want a larger quantity or because their dining companions each wanted a different wine."
—Women & Wine Survey
Special Report
The wine-by-the-glass choice is now standard practice throughout the United States. According to New York wine consultant Bernard Kenner, in just the last two years by-the-glass (BTG) choices have increased by some 30 percent. Still most restaurants are not fully taking advantage of the financial and customer satisfaction benefits that a well-executed program can offer, industry insiders contend.
For instance, consumers—in keeping with the wine industry's success in promoting food and wine pairing—are demanding choices beyond the tier of wines typically offered by restaurants. In response, a number of beverage managers and restaurateurs run broader or more upscale by-the-glass programs increasing their revenue along the way. Also, expansion alone is not enough, some retailers have learned. Any type of by-the-glass program that is poorly executed can backfire, tarnishing a restaurant's name and the reputation of wines that are served below quality.
Preservation Methods
Vacuum preservation
-- Pro: pumps out air, theoretically slowing oxidation; portable; can accommodate a limitless number of bottles; relatively inexpensive
-- Con: Some quality control remains in the hands of the waitstaff who, in their rush, may not take the time to properly complete the vacuum process; no way of knowing if a proper vacuum has been achieved.
Inert-gas preservation
-- Pro: easy to use; displaces air, theoretically slowing oxidation; attractive displays; some include pouring control dispensors; some units include refrigeration
-- Con: can be expensive; requires purchasing gas cartridges.
Decanting into smaller bottles
-- Pro: minimizes headspace; low cost
-- Con: decanting introduces oxygen; low tech solution but best used only for a day or two.
Freezing or cooling
-- Pro: easy and inexpensive; dramatically slows oxidation
-- Con: inconvenient; precipitates tartrate crystals; extreme cold makes oxygen more soluble; requires bringing the wine back to proper serving temperature.
"I still haven't forgotten the awful taste in my mouth after visiting one of my favorite restaurants," one avid diner recalled. "The wine was clearly rancid, and no matter how much I enjoyed the meal, I simply can't bring myself to go back to that restaurant, and this was years ago."
"The wine should be as fresh as the fish," said Armando Luis, president of Vinfinity Wine Preservation System. Luis and others across the industry believe that restaurateurs should aim to develop in customers the same trust in a restaurant's wine as they have in the food they're being served.
For some restaurants, implementing a state-of-the-art wine preservation system offers a solution for matching high quality food service with high quality wine service - a win for their bottom lines, increasingly discerning customers and the wine industry too.
The California Grill Restaurant in Orlando, Florida, conducted an independent three month study of a vacuum-based system. Because the grill maintains a large wine-by-the-glass selection of fine wines, protecting wines from spoilage is a critical cost-saving measure. Wines were blindly tasted every day over a period of weeks by a panel of sommeliers and other wine experts. The result was that most wines retained their original properties for nearly ten days. The study did find, however, that newer wines were more sensitive to deterioration than older wines.
"We have cut spoilage down by 75 percent," says Bridget Sherren, Area Manager of the California Grill restaurant. "And we are enjoying the convenience of the vacuum pump system. All you have to do is hold the nozzle to the bottle and you are done." California Grill dates every wine as soon as it is opened and, because of their own very stringent criteria, will only allow an opened bottle to be sold for seven days.
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