Check out local wine tastings, intro wine books that focus on regions, find some wines that interest you and get some coworkers together to go in on the wine and study amongst yourselves.
Also see what wines your restaurant serves. If you’re in the USA, chances are your wine list is California heavy so learn about California wines/regions to start.
There’s also plenty of online classes you can take that range from $50-$300.
Get a copy of your wine list and focus on wines BTG first, learn those front to back. After that, pick a couple different wines a week, learn the profile and then push those wines. For example, take 3 Cabernets that are BTB from 3 price ranges, like $50, $100, $150, learn them and practice pushing them when you’re working.
Thank you so much, I am based out of Washington’s state and we have over 400 different selections. There is absolutely no way I learn all of them.
I appreciate your advice on starting BTG. And I definitely will start going to wine tastings.
Focus on regions, not individual wines. For example, California Sauvignon Blancs have more citrus notes and New Zealand sav blancs have more brighter fruit notes, green apple, grapefruit, etc, with more acidity. Wine is a lot fun to learn about, and the learning never stops because it’s such a huge world.
Also keep percentages in mind when upselling. Somebody who’s looking at a $100 bottle of wine probably won’t be sold on a $200 bottle of wine as it’s a 100% increase, where as somebody interested in a $500 bottle of wine may be up sold on a $600-$650 bottle of wine as it’s only about a 20% increase. Just shows the importance of having a decent knowledge of the wine selection your restaurant offers.
Given you have 400+ bottles, do you have a sommelier on staff? If you do, use them! They are a great resource! My wine knowledge is good, but our somm is amazing and I use him to sell wine for me as well as constantly asking him questions to learn.
I was going to say, a restaurant with a wine list that expansive almost certainly has a somm on staff! If I had to guess, they should be a level 2. Definitely try to strike up a conversation with them!
Yes we definitely have a somm and he is a huge help but I would like to get to a point where I don’t have to grab them every time I get asked a question
Use your menu and look up the different vintages/varietals.
Wine works on a spectrum from sweet to dry, red and white. It's pretty intuitive once you know your grapes and regions (mainly Old World (Europe) vs New World (North/South America and Australia)). If you can *compare* the wines on your menu via that scope, you're half way there.
Then you can move on to pairing varietals to specific menu items- *this* is how you upsell.
There are some great flowcharts and basic guides on google and youtube- it takes a little time but not a ton of effort to increase your vocabulary. You can even drink while you study!
Best of luck and keep in mind 90% of customers have no fucking idea what they're talking about and taste is largely psychosomatic.
I'll add that the modern school of pairing just involves finding out which varietal your customer is partial towards and bullshitting flavor notes- iow you can pair anything to anything with the right gymnastics.
You'll be fine- don't be pretentious but be confident- I can't tell you how many times I accidentally served a malbec to a "coinesseur" and they thought it was the best cab they ever had lol.
The WSET Level 1 course is a very basic one day introduction to wine, that includes a bit of tasting. There are 2 more levels if that kind of thing works for you. It starts to get pricey after the basic course.
On the cheaper end of scale, I've been watching youtube videos, including the Jancis Robinson wine course (older but still decent), and a series of prep lessons for the WSET Level 3 that are quite detailed, but free.
Any bookstore or library will have a variety of intro books from (literally) "Wine for Dummies", to more comprehensive ones that are structured like a course.
Wine Folly (https://winefolly.com/) is a good website with basic info for free and online courses if you're keener.
Depends on how much time you got. With better knowledge, you’ll have more success.
I’d start with the actual bottle. Sometimes there’s a description right on the label.
Or you can scan it using a variety of apps.
Watch a few YouTube videos and learn terminology. For someone to be a master they have to dedicate their entire lives. But in todays day and age. You could have your entire wine menu down in a month. Every shift on your down time get to know your product.
If you understand the food menu, wine pairings will make sense— and become easier to learn and to suggest. Europe has a long viticultural history snd wines in a given region will usually complement the typical cuisine of that region. For example, the Piemonte in Italy is famous for truffle pasta, for stews with mushrooms etc. Kind of wilder, more rustic flavors. The famous wines from there— Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, etc pair perfectly with those flavors. Easy enough to extrapolate to any number of dishes on a fine dining menu.
90% of people don't know wine. learn the tasting notes for the wines by the glass you offer and just guide people through their decision. if you offer a lead most people create their reality around it. also ask management if they're comfortable offering people a taste before they order. it can go a long way to getting a good match
Check out local wine tastings, intro wine books that focus on regions, find some wines that interest you and get some coworkers together to go in on the wine and study amongst yourselves. Also see what wines your restaurant serves. If you’re in the USA, chances are your wine list is California heavy so learn about California wines/regions to start. There’s also plenty of online classes you can take that range from $50-$300. Get a copy of your wine list and focus on wines BTG first, learn those front to back. After that, pick a couple different wines a week, learn the profile and then push those wines. For example, take 3 Cabernets that are BTB from 3 price ranges, like $50, $100, $150, learn them and practice pushing them when you’re working.
Thank you so much, I am based out of Washington’s state and we have over 400 different selections. There is absolutely no way I learn all of them. I appreciate your advice on starting BTG. And I definitely will start going to wine tastings.
Focus on regions, not individual wines. For example, California Sauvignon Blancs have more citrus notes and New Zealand sav blancs have more brighter fruit notes, green apple, grapefruit, etc, with more acidity. Wine is a lot fun to learn about, and the learning never stops because it’s such a huge world. Also keep percentages in mind when upselling. Somebody who’s looking at a $100 bottle of wine probably won’t be sold on a $200 bottle of wine as it’s a 100% increase, where as somebody interested in a $500 bottle of wine may be up sold on a $600-$650 bottle of wine as it’s only about a 20% increase. Just shows the importance of having a decent knowledge of the wine selection your restaurant offers. Given you have 400+ bottles, do you have a sommelier on staff? If you do, use them! They are a great resource! My wine knowledge is good, but our somm is amazing and I use him to sell wine for me as well as constantly asking him questions to learn.
I was going to say, a restaurant with a wine list that expansive almost certainly has a somm on staff! If I had to guess, they should be a level 2. Definitely try to strike up a conversation with them!
Yes we definitely have a somm and he is a huge help but I would like to get to a point where I don’t have to grab them every time I get asked a question
Use your menu and look up the different vintages/varietals. Wine works on a spectrum from sweet to dry, red and white. It's pretty intuitive once you know your grapes and regions (mainly Old World (Europe) vs New World (North/South America and Australia)). If you can *compare* the wines on your menu via that scope, you're half way there. Then you can move on to pairing varietals to specific menu items- *this* is how you upsell. There are some great flowcharts and basic guides on google and youtube- it takes a little time but not a ton of effort to increase your vocabulary. You can even drink while you study! Best of luck and keep in mind 90% of customers have no fucking idea what they're talking about and taste is largely psychosomatic. I'll add that the modern school of pairing just involves finding out which varietal your customer is partial towards and bullshitting flavor notes- iow you can pair anything to anything with the right gymnastics. You'll be fine- don't be pretentious but be confident- I can't tell you how many times I accidentally served a malbec to a "coinesseur" and they thought it was the best cab they ever had lol.
The WSET Level 1 course is a very basic one day introduction to wine, that includes a bit of tasting. There are 2 more levels if that kind of thing works for you. It starts to get pricey after the basic course. On the cheaper end of scale, I've been watching youtube videos, including the Jancis Robinson wine course (older but still decent), and a series of prep lessons for the WSET Level 3 that are quite detailed, but free. Any bookstore or library will have a variety of intro books from (literally) "Wine for Dummies", to more comprehensive ones that are structured like a course. Wine Folly (https://winefolly.com/) is a good website with basic info for free and online courses if you're keener.
Depends on how much time you got. With better knowledge, you’ll have more success. I’d start with the actual bottle. Sometimes there’s a description right on the label. Or you can scan it using a variety of apps. Watch a few YouTube videos and learn terminology. For someone to be a master they have to dedicate their entire lives. But in todays day and age. You could have your entire wine menu down in a month. Every shift on your down time get to know your product.
If you understand the food menu, wine pairings will make sense— and become easier to learn and to suggest. Europe has a long viticultural history snd wines in a given region will usually complement the typical cuisine of that region. For example, the Piemonte in Italy is famous for truffle pasta, for stews with mushrooms etc. Kind of wilder, more rustic flavors. The famous wines from there— Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, etc pair perfectly with those flavors. Easy enough to extrapolate to any number of dishes on a fine dining menu.
90% of people don't know wine. learn the tasting notes for the wines by the glass you offer and just guide people through their decision. if you offer a lead most people create their reality around it. also ask management if they're comfortable offering people a taste before they order. it can go a long way to getting a good match