Wine pairing is an art and a science that can enhance the dining experience and boost your sales. But how can you train your staff to recommend wine pairings confidently and effectively? In this article, you will learn some tips and strategies to help your staff master the basics of wine pairing and menu design.
The first step is to familiarize your staff with the wines you offer and their characteristics. You can organize regular tastings, quizzes, and workshops to help your staff learn about the different grape varieties, regions, styles, and flavors of wine. You can also provide them with cheat sheets, charts, or apps that summarize the main features and food matches of each wine. The more your staff know about your wines, the more they can communicate their value and appeal to your customers.
No matter what any restaurant or club F&B director or sommelier has tried, a very tiny percentage have managed to keep their staff on top of their wine game. Sales of wine are suffering and costing establishment huge lost revenue. New wines are coming in all the time, staff churn is happening faster than ever, and the sommelier does not have time to train and keep running around repeating the same thing over and over again on the floor. So the vicious circle continues. Restaurants that supplement their programs with instant automated wine knowledge distribution with on demand pairing recommendations technology their staff can use on their own mobile at the table or in the staff room or on the bus to work, have the edge. Problem solved.
The only way your staff can be trained to sell pairings that enhance a dining experience is to have someone with that knowledge to train them, using your wine list and menu. If you don't have such a person, hire a somm for a day. It will pay for itself in the first month.
Obviously churn is an issue but I think you need to bake it into your operating plan to have the team regularly (at least weekly) taste wines. Tasting (with education) is the only way to build knowledge. Employees will typically fall into two groups that you need to identify and play to: 1) Those that have an interest in wine and want to learn, and 2) Those that care less about wine but see wine as a route to better tips A bottle, or two, of wine can add 50%-200+% to the bill and being able to help a customer pick out a wine they will like also increases repeat business and word of mouth marketing, both are near priceless. Net result: increased spend per head and restaurant experience. I call that a Win-Win scenario!
Communication is Key - 1st speak with the Chef's. then FOH management 2nd only if approved by BOH 1st. -thanks Roger also for the insight.
The most important aspect of wine education is experience. If you allow your staff to have an experience with the wines you’re asking them to sell, they will be able to speak intimately about what their experience was. It’s that simple. Giving servers the chance to learn what the typical markers for different varietals and regions are is vastly more impactful than giving them tech sheets to memorize and study.
The second step is to align your wine list with your menu and create specific pairings for each dish or course. You can work with your chef, sommelier, or wine supplier to design a wine list that complements your cuisine and reflects your concept. You can also use some general principles of wine pairing, such as matching the weight, intensity, acidity, sweetness, and flavor of the wine and the food, or contrasting them for a balance. You can also experiment with different combinations and get feedback from your staff and customers.
Once you have figured out the wines that go with dishes on you menu, each server gets a copy of the info to use. Most important is the why of the pairing is recommended so the customer understands. And do regular preservice tastings with those pairings. Selling what you know is easy, selling an unknown is a disaster.
The third step is to understand your customers' preferences, expectations, and budgets. You can train your staff to ask open-ended questions, listen actively, and offer suggestions based on the customers' answers. You can also encourage your staff to upsell and cross-sell by highlighting the benefits of wine pairing, such as enhancing the flavors, creating a memorable experience, or discovering new wines. You can also offer different options, such as by the glass, by the bottle, or by the flight, to suit different occasions and needs.
The fourth step is to ensure your staff follow the best practices of wine service, such as checking the labels, opening the bottles, pouring the wine, and presenting the corks. You can train your staff to use the proper tools, techniques, and etiquette to serve wine professionally and elegantly. You can also teach your staff how to handle common issues, such as corked wine, sediment, or faulty closures. You can also monitor your staff's performance, provide feedback, and reward excellence.
The fifth step is to keep up with the latest trends and innovations in wine pairing and menu design. You can research and experiment with new wines, cuisines, and flavors that appeal to your target market and differentiate your brand. You can also update your wine list and menu regularly to reflect the seasons, occasions, and customer feedback. You can also educate your staff and customers about the trends and how they can enhance their wine pairing experience.
The sixth step is to define and measure your goals for wine pairing and menu design. You can set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals that align with your vision and mission. You can also track and analyze your wine sales, costs, and profits, as well as your customer satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals. You can also use surveys, reviews, and feedback forms to collect and evaluate your customers' opinions and suggestions. You can also adjust your strategies and actions accordingly to improve your results.
Most large wine suppliers will also gladly do basic training with your team on the wines, varieties, regions, terroir etc and give the confidence from an industry expert in the wines you have and dishes on your menu they would compliment. You don’t have to crate all training yourself you just have to facilitate training from areas already willing and able to compliment your business needs
Virtually every response in the other sections have some variation of staff training on wine / food pairing. All well and good, but that assumes the GM or BM or chef or bartender actually knows enough and is a good teacher and motivator. That's where the problem is. If you had that person on staff there would be no problem in the first place. If there's a problem, that person is not on staff! So hire someone who knows for a down and dirty training session. One day and it's done.