Press Articles

Preserving the profits

Extract from article that appeared in Caterer & Hotelkeeper (April 2004).
Reproduced with kind permission.

Nicholls Brasseries are your typical provincial neighbourhood restaurants - offering steak and chips, rack of lamb, et al. But their wine offering is far from typical: they offer 40 different wines by the glass.

Yes, 40 - all of their list, in fact. And they've watched their wine sales increase by 17% since launching this push last November.

There are four Nicholls Brasseries in all, located between Berkhamstead in Hertfordshire and Bedford, plus a pub in Soulbury, Buckinghamshire. And they all have the same wine list, including the pub.

Nicholls Brasseries started life in 1994, set up by former chef Greg Nicholls. He served his apprenticeship at Gleneagles and got a "chef to watch" commendation from the Good Food Guide back in his head chef days at the Swan hotel in Leighton Buzzard. And though things have been ticking along nicely, he wanted to move the business forward. But how?

Then he spotted the Le Verre de Vin wine preservation system used by, among others, restaurateur John Hoskins MW, at the Old Bridge hotel, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

What if he could open up his whole wine list to everybody? "People could go wherever they want on the list," he says. "I know customers are thinking more about food and wine pairing these days, and are drinking less but better, and offering a decent number of wines by the glass seemed the obvious solution."

And sales have exceeded all expectations, he says. Before Le Verre de Vin was installed, his six red and six white wines represented 52% of wet sales. After Le Verre de Vin (AVV), that figure reads 67%.

Nicholls prefers to use just one wine supplier for his 40-bin list. "I find it easier," he says. Berkmann Wine Cellars got the £250,000-worth of business, but the London-based wine company did throw in the Le Verre de Vin systems too (from £1,500). How did Nicholls swing that? "We promised them exclusivity for a year," he says.

Berkmann also trains Nicholls's staff. "It's important for all of our staff to know their way around the wine list," he says. "They taste every wine, and if they get behind a particular wine, then it sells. It's as simple as that."

Wastage is "minimal - a maximum of 2%," he says. "The preservation system means that wine can be kept for up to 21 days. If a particular wine isn't moving so well, and its time is nearly up, we'll sell it as a house red - so it could be a £12.95 glass of Nuits St Georges they're getting for £3.50."

Double delight for Welsh hotel

Extract from article that appeared in Caterer & Hotelkeeper (December 2003).
Reproduced with kind permission.

Robert Hughes is feeling pretty chuffed. The owner of the Penhelig Arms hotel in Aberdyfi, Gwynedd, has just scooped his first wine award. Actually, make that two wine awards. As well as winning this year's Wine List Pub of the Year, he has picked up Wine Pub of the Year in the revamped Les Routiers Guide.

With good reason, too. He has more than 300 wines on his list, 40 half-bottles and 30 wines by the glass, and he has introduced virtually everybody in the pretty Welsh estuary village to the delights of Viognier, Albari¤o and even Mexican Nebbiolo.

"I've always had a thing about wine," he explains. "It started back in the 1970s when I was working for Sainsbury's. Then we used to save up our money, come up to London and blow the lot in the Dorchester or the Savoy. Even when I go to London now, I still spend a bit on wine."

Hughes prides himself on his low mark-ups. "Actually, I don't have a particular mark-up policy - I just look at a bottle and decide."

Prices are reasonable, to say the least. Hot Italian producer Ca dei Frati's Lugana is on the list at £14.90 (elsewhere it's as much as £10 dearer), while 1990 Pommery is offered at £60 a bottle. Do they drink much Champagne in Aberdyfi? "Oh, yes, we sell a lot of Champagne," confirms Hughes. The house bubbly is Bonnaire Blanc de Blancs, at £4 a glass.

Talking of wines by the glass, Hughes reckons that a turning point for his business was the installation a year ago of a Verre de Vin preservation system, which allows him to sell an ever-changing line-up of about 30 wines by the glass, which he offers in two sizes (175ml and 250ml).

What are people drinking? "Everything," Hughes says, "though quite a lot of my customers leave the choice up to me." France may dominate the offerings on the list, he reveals, but sales of French wine do not. The reasons why lie in his selection of wines by the glass from all corners of the vinous globe, from Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc (Shaw & Smith, £16.90) to Marlborough Chardonnay (Jackson Estate, £17.90) and Salinas Pinot Noir (Gary's Vineyard, Testarossa, £45).

And what's with the Mexican Nebbiolo? "It's very good, actually - it tastes just like a Barolo," Hughes says. It is available from Tanners Wine Merchants, if you're wondering - LA Cetto 1996, which Hughes lists at £17.90 a bottle.

"One thing I have noticed is how many Italian wines I'm selling at the moment," Hughes adds. "And not just Pinot Grigio and Chianti - we sell huge amounts of fish here, and quality Italian whites, such as Gavi di Gavi, go exceptionally well."

What's next for his list? "Parts of Argentina are really exciting me at the moment," he says. "I haven't got enough from there on the list. And Portugal - I need a closer look at that."

Mine's a Pinot

Extract from article that appeared in Caterer & Hotelkeeper (January 2002).
Reproduced with kind permission.

Customers being served a decent glass of wine in a pub? Believe it, says Susan Low, who finds that the tide is finally turning in favour of better wines and wider choice.

One of the main catalysts for change on the wine front was the south-west London-based, 217-strong pub group, Young's. It is part of the group's philosophy to offer customers a selection of good wines in addition to beer and other drinks. Each Young's pub offers 17 wines by the glass in addition to two monthly specials, which are chalked up on a blackboard.

As Anne Howarth, of Young's wine division Cockburn & Campbell, explains: "The interest in wine started about 13 years ago when Clare Young joined the company. She is very interested in wine and had worked at Wine & Spirit magazine [a monthly trade title]. Clare thought that we should offer good wine alongside beer and she worked with David Marr [of Bermar International, the makers of wine storage system Verre de Vin] to set up the wine programme."

"The idea is to give people the opportunity to try a wine that they wouldn't ordinarily try," says Howarth. Young's has made an effort to stay away from "hard" brands (it removes the likelihood of customers saying, "But that wine costs £3.99 in the supermarket") although they do list "soft" brands, such as Miguel Torres. To make life easier for the less wine-savvy, each wine has a number next to it so that customers can order without fear of mispronouncing long French, Italian or Portuguese names.

Nowadays, wine and pubs are no longer mutually exclusive concepts, but that doesn't mean that putting together a workable wine programme is easy. It involves investment of both time and money. At the very least, publicans have to buy decent glassware and, ideally, a wine preservation system, as well as proper storage and refrigeration equipment and, of course, the wine. So, is the initial investment worth it for all pub owners?

Terry Harris, regional sales manager for Folio Wines, which sells to pub group Eldridge Pope as well as De Vere Hotels and Accor and a number of free houses, believes that not every pub is suited to selling wine. Offering customers good food, he says, is the key to selling wine in pubs. "The only way to sell wine in pubs is to sell reasonable food."

"If you serve better food, you get a better clientele with more money to spend; and the more money they spend, the more money you will make," sums up Harris.

And, as Harris points out, moving to a food and wine-focused operation now may be timely. In the UK market both beer and spirits are suffering a downturn in sales. Sales of wine and premixed drinks such as Bacardi Breezers, however, are on the increase. Although premixes and wine may seem like odd bedfellows, both attract drinkers with higher disposable incomes.

It's a trend that Howarth has noted, too. "If you sell premixed drinks, you're likely to sell wine as well," she says. "Both rely on customers with a high disposable income, because they're relatively expensive compared to beer. Wine pubs usually have high premixed turnover as well."

But there are other considerations. Selling quality wine and food requires a higher level of staff expertise than selling beer and crisps. In an industry notorious for staffing problems, that can be a challenge. But, as Harris points out, a little training can go a long way. He says: "Bar staff often lack self-confidence when they're selling wine. Because they are low-paid, they assume that the customers know more than they know, which isn't always the case. In training sessions, I try to tell them not to be intimidated. If they have confidence, selling becomes easier."

Encouraging customers to taste the wines before they commit to a glass or bottle is another way to ensure that the first glass they buy won't be the last. Karl Broughton, licensee of the Ship in Barnoldby le Beck, Humberside, offers customers a free taste of any of the 10 wines he sells by the glass. "I'm giving people good wine. I try to ask them what they want, to get them to come back in." A free taste means that the customer never gets stuck drinking something they're not happy with.

For food-focused pubs, such as the Red Lion in Boldre, Hampshire, the wine element is an essential part of the business. Vince Kernick, who, with his partner Karen took over the Red Lion just over a year ago, says that 40-50% of their total wet sales are wine, which is high-volume. It is a dining-oriented pub, so naturally wine goes side-by-side with food. On average, Kernick shifts about 150 bottles of wine each week.

At the Trengilly Wartha pub in Constantine, Cornwall - which won praise from the Good Pub Guide 2002 for its excellent wine list - joint-owner Nigel Logan reports that wine accounts for 30% of total wet sales. For publicans considering starting a wine programme his advice is, not surprisingly, to have good food. He also believes it is important to have a wide selection of wine. "The AB customers aren't going to come in without it," he says, although he advises starting small and building the list up slowly to avoid expensive mistakes.

The bottom line with wine in pubs, though, is "Will it add to your bottom line?" Logan believes the answer is yes. "Although the mark-ups on beer and wine are about the same, the base price for wine is higher," he explains.

And that means that wine will make a difference to the bottom line. Harris agrees, although he is a bit more cautious. "If it is pitched right, then yes, wine can improve your profits. But it's about being selective."

And that means saying goodbye to Château Cardboard and hello to a decent chef. And, of course, a sizeable order of new glassware.

Break out the bubbly

Extract from article that appeared in Caterer & Hotelkeeper (April 2006).
Reproduced with kind permission.

This year’s Office for National Statistics investigation into British shopping habits, used as a barometer of spending trends, says Champagne is now one of our most regular purchases.

According to the Champagne Information Bureau, a bottle of bubbly is opened at the rate of one per second. Furthermore, the UK has been the world’s leading export market for a decade and consumption is rocketing every year. We imported nearly 37 million bottles between January and December last year, representing a 5.19% increase on the previous year, and UK consumption is now double that of the USA.

Large-format
This year has also seen record-breaking numbers of large-format bottles consumed - mostly in the City - including 227,000 magnums (two bottles), 4,200 Jeroboams (four), and even 67 monster Nebuchadnezzars, which hold 20 bottles. But is this retail boom being mirrored in the hospitality industry?

Clifford Hill is the wine buyer for Living Ventures’ 33-strong restaurant and bar business. The portfolio includes 13 Living Rooms, 18 Est Est Est restaurants and two Bar & Grills. Has he noticed any significant surge in Champagne sales?

“Oh yes, definitely,” he replies. “We’ve seen a 2.5% increase in the last year without even trying.” The company says it’s not overly aggressive when it comes to pushing alcohol. It offers a cocktail of the month, and a wine of the month, displayed discreetly at the front of each menu - but that’s it, says Hill. “The Champagne sales have increased without any help from us.”

So what’s he selling, exactly? Predictably, brut non-vintage makes up the majority of sales. Champagne accounts for 17% of overall wine sales, with Duval-Leroy leading the way, sold at £35 a bottle and £6.25 a glass (£6.50 in London). All wine lists offer a further three non-vintage Champagnes, including Moët & Chandon and Laurent-Perrier. Interestingly, Hill chose the Ultra Brut, which he reckons sells well because it has less sugar, pleasing the low-carb diet crowd.

Mark-ups on Champagne are less than on the rest of the wine list, at about 55-60% for non-vintage Champagne and less than 50% for vintage bubbly, of which there are three - Krug, Cristal and Dom Pérignon. Hill reports that sales of vintage are static.

The lists also offer four non-vintage rosé Champagnes, also available by the glass - a move that would have been unheard of even a couple of years back. “Rosé Champagne sales have seen the biggest increase. It’s taken off. We’re selling almost double the amount we did last year,” says Hill.

Although sales are steady across the country, Hill says Liverpool, Manchester and, particularly, Newcastle are selling a few more bottles than most.

“I don’t think it’s an indication of a general euphoria throughout the nation; I think it’s about accessibility,” he says. “It’s there and I’ll have it - that’s the attitude. Champagne is easy to drink and it’s becoming much more of a going-out drink, not just something for special occasions. The older generation might still treat it that way, but not the younger crowd. It’s a status thing.”

But what of the single operator, far away from the bright city lights? Well, if you listen to Joe Mallett, then things are even rosier. Mallett owns the oddly named Who’d a Thought It, a brasserie with rooms near Maidstone in Kent.

Like Hill, Mallett reports a surge in rosé Champagne sales. Incredibly, he lists 20, which won him third place in last year’s Gosset Champagne List of the Year competition. In fact, so successful are Champagne sales here that they now make up the majority of the 100-bin wine list, with 60 in total.

Diversify
“It just sort of happened,” says Mallett. “I’ve always loved Champagne and I wanted to diversify, so I increased my Champagne offering from five to 10 different bottles, and sales took off. That was eight years ago.”

Mallett sells slightly more Champagne in the summer months, but he reports that sales are pretty steady throughout the year. How does he get people moving around the list? “I guide them. I’m always encouraging people to try something different,” he says. The best seller is Ruinart brut non-vintage, at £39 a bottle, or £6.50 a glass, though Ruinart’s non-vintage rosé is a close second, at £8.50 a glass.

Most customers buy non-vintage, but Mallett reckons 20% of his customers go for the prestige cuvées and older vintages. His secret? “I don’t charge too much. People don’t want to be ripped off,” he declares. Mallett works on a 50% mark-up, with cash mark-ups on the more expensive Champagnes, shopping around the agents to get the best price.

And while he doesn’t do tent cards or blackboards, Champagne is prominently displayed in dedicated fridges behind the bar, with Champagne buckets liberally scattered throughout - just to remind people it’s there. “If it’s visible, they’ll go for it,” reckons Mallett.

Just don’t ask him for a Champagne cocktail. “Why spoil a good glass of bubbly?” he asks.