Help the guest with wine choices

Lesson 3 – Presenting the Wine List

Welcome to our third lesson, presenting the wine list, wines-by-the-glass, the guest’s price range, food wine versus meditation wine, and the guest’s usual wine style preference.

Are you in the business of selling wine? Of course, you are. Selling a bottle of wine to a table of 4 diners is probably the equivalent of selling two extra full meals. And you are hoping that your tips will increase by that amount also.

In this lesson, we cover not only the wine list but emphasize individual wines-by-the-glass to go with different appetizers and entrees that people order. This should please the guests more if everyones’ taste in wine is matched with the food they order. It can be more pleasing than if all the guests have to share one bottle, one type of wine with whatever they are having to eat.

If you haven’t served this group of guests before, you know you will have to be the detective to discover what price range they are comfortable with and what types of wines they usually prefer. The wines they have most often at home can give you clues.

A key concept to grasp is that some wines are best drunk on their own, without food. They can be savored and help guests to relax and open up a conversation. While other wines may need food with them in order to hit the right mouth balance so that wine is moved from a “just ok” taste for that guest, to a “wow that’s good” taste.

Please accept that you are there to sell wine and food, not just to serve them.

That’s a lot to know!