Press Articles

WINE-BY-THE-GLASS

Excerpts from an article that appeared in Wine Magazine • December 2006
Reproduced with kind permission.

Almost everyone complains about the price of a bottle of wine in restaurants - and the lack of choice. Wine-by-the-glass used to mean a "wine from the box" - but that picture's changing. Fiona McDonald investigates.

A "house wine" being preserved by the Le Verre de Vin system

Ernest Stanbury of Imvusa Technologies, the company importing and distributing the Le Verre de Vin system, said they had asked a few winemakers to test their system - one of whom was Jeff Grier of Villiera.

"When we phoned Jeff to ask him what he thought - he'd forgotten about it! The wine had been sitting in the tasting room fridge for three months - but it was still OK."

But it's not just wine bars and restaurants using technology to drive wine sales. Bootleggers in Fourways, Johannesburg, are using the latter system to offer wine tastings to customers - another "try before you buy" technique which demystifies wine and makes informed buying so much easier.

The Meat Company's Nelson admitted the Le Verre de Vin system had been expensive initially but said that it had paid itself off by the sixth week!

"The Johannesburg experience of lunch trade is very different to Cape Town. A lot of business is done over lunch. At Melrose Arch we're surrounded by offices and big companies. Guys don't come in and do the bottle of wine or two with lunch and then write off the afternoon thing. They are more likely to go for a glass or two before heading back to the office and doing deals. But they make sure that it's a reaaly good glass with their steak or whatever."

"Wine-by-the-glass allows people to experiment," said Marston. "They can either try wines they have never heard of or buy a glass of a wine that would normally be too rich for their pockets."

Both Marston and Steyn said that Viognier, known as a hard sell because people don't really understand it, was selling well precisely because customers are prepared to try a glass - but not necessarily a bottle.

Drinking and driving has become a definite consideration with many people not prepared to risk being over the limit should they be breathalysed. "That's where just one glass of really nice wine with their meal is appreciated." said Muller.