A Pointed Assessment of the State of the Private Club Wine Program

“How can we create a wine list that caters to a diverse membership with varying taste preferences while still ensuring staff can confidently recommend wines and navigate service effectively?”

Art Barajas, CCM, CCE , COO/GM of Glendora Country Club in Glendora, CA, posed this tough question in the May/June issue of BoardRoom magazine.

In my research to answer the question effectively in a limited space, I was visited by an August wine personage from the East Coast, Brandon Farrell. He is the director of operations and somm at Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. He owns his own wine label and consulting company. We began to chat about private club wine programs and his assessment was searing.

Brandon: Private clubs run some of the most challenged wine lists in the country.? We’re all overworked in hospitality and management, and it’s very easy to phone in a wine program or allow a single distributor to fill it. GMs and AGMs have largely taken over for wine professionals in making club wine programs, and it shows. Lack of passion, agency/effort, and vision is where I would place the blame. SKU replacement is no substitute for real research, hard work and an educated, global vision for your lists (and how they match the menus).

Wes: When I posed Art’s question about a wine list that caters to members but can be taught to the staff in a meaningful way, you answered.

Brandon: It’s very simple. Passion. Samples. Education. Make wine fun—not intimidating.

Wes: Let’s take those one at a time and see what this looks like on the floor of your club dining room, cantinas and bars. Let’s start with passion.

Brandon: Passion can quickly be the first victim of an overworked or under-educated staff. Passion is the lynchpin of a wine program—or more precisely, a food and wine pairing program—which should be the focus of an overarching F&B concept. You need to start with passionate employees who are led by a manager who loves food and wine.? The right manager, wine buyer and educator “has the wine bug,” and that passion is contagious with the staff. I’ve seen this happen and there’s no substitute for developing a membership that moves from a vague interest in wine (and food) to a membership awakened to the thrill of traveling the world in a wine glass, and on a plate, every night. Passion is the currency.

Wes: I love it. When you say the second key is samples, are you referring to staff wine tasting and training?

Brandon: Precisely, but more than that. It ties in with passion. The club needs to invest in wine and food training that might not immediately show up on the P&L but will set up success in the future. The staff should have weekly pre-shift meals where they taste the menu with the wines on the list, learn some culinary and wine history about regions and grape varieties. Ask your distributors for “sample wines for training” and bite the bullet and give your staff (and members) the chance to taste and understand the more expensive and rare wines on the list. Invest in a wine program, never stop sampling and educating and you will see the results in member satisfaction and the bottom line.

Wes: Passion, sharing wines from the list, and you touched on education. What can you share personally on how club wine education helped?

Brandon: We all have members who don’t like to spend a lot on wine. You can change that with rapport and connections to members on the fence with their wine purchases. We can move members from California Cab to old Bordeaux with a single, enlightened moment with the right glass and bottle. Flavor and deliciousness are never intimidating, nor is proper wine service. Educating one member at a time, one server at a time. It’s a lot of work, but so is everything that matters in this life.

Next issue: A framework for meaningful wine staff training.

Wes Hagen is brand ambassador and educator for Native9 Wine (native9.com) and an international wine consultant. He can be reached at [email protected] or (805) 450-2324.

Special Guest Brandon Farrell , DO/Sommelier Eastern Yacht Club.