The National Culinary Review

of the day. Make it a bargain wine by
the glass, something you’ve bought at a
discount. Customers appreciate that. Give
them a deal and they will remember and
talk about your restaurant.”
Featuring a particular wine or group
of wines as a special is another good
promotion. Some restaurants put together
a half-price wine list one night a week.
Others may have a wine-of-the-week or a
wine-of-the-month promotion. These can
be brought to the attention of guests via
table tents. “But I prefer to see informed
wait staff do that job,” Schmid says.

Schmid suggests that whenever possible, servers have a chance to meet the winemakers who come to town. “It’s a plus for the customer when the servers can say they know the winemaker,” he says.

As an alternative to or in addition to selling wine by the glass, offering flights of wine is a good marketing technique and can add to customers’ enjoyment by allowing them to do a food-and-wine pairing at their table. Instead of offering a six-ounce glass of one wine, offer two-ounce pours of three predetermined wines or flights.

A good way to engage servers in promoting wine is to run contests for them, with the winner receiving one or more bottles of wine or some other prize. Sometimes, local distributors will help out with incentives.

“Then customers can decide which of the wines they prefer with the dish they are eating,” says Albert Schmid, CEC, CCE, CCA, chef-instructor at Sullivan University’s National Center for Hospitality Studies and program director of the university’s new online associate of science degree in beverage management.

Wine promotions—tastings, by-the-glass, flights and special offers—coupled with a knowledgeable wait staff can help draw diners to your venue.

GET SERVERS INTO THE ACT Your wait staff is your front line when it comes to pleasing customers and promoting your food and wine. Just as they need to be familiar with each dish on the menu, they need to have a good understanding of the wines on your list.

“We run separate contests for bartenders
and servers,” Harper explains. “They get
their names in a hat for every 50 glasses
of wine sold. Bottle sales are counted as
multiple glasses. Flights are counted for a
separate competition.”
“We have our servers taste wines
regularly—we want them to have an idea
of what wines go well with which foods,”
Harper says. “That way, they are able to
recommend a wine with every entrée and
can adjust with an alternate wine if the
customer indicates a preference for, say, a
white instead of a red.”
At Chiara Bistro, the person with the
highest sales for the night gets his or her
name in a drawing.

While traditional print advertising may be used to advertise wine promotions, most restaurateurs today rely on the Internet to get the word out. Social media, e-blasts, Web sites and e-mail newsletters are good ways to create excitement about your promotions.

And, whatever wine promotions you run, keep your customers’ comfort level in mind. Elkhay says, “It’s good to make a big deal when a customer orders a really special bottle of wine. But customers should never be made to feel stupid or bad about a wine selection.”