When a new restaurant is launched everyone focusses on the food (and more often than not the person behind the food), but how do you put the wine list centre stage?
We quizzed two experts to get their top tips on constructing a wine list from scratch, do and don’ts when sourcing wines and the key things that sommeliers and restaurants often forget about.
Ruth Spivey, wine advisor, founder Wine Car Boot and Star Wine List London Ambassador
• List what you like, but don’t slavishly follow trends. You’ll be chasing your tail and your list won’t have integrity or personality. If something is in fashion, it means it will therefore be out of fashion at some point too.
• Make sure you have enough properly trained staff. A quick briefing once a week isn’t enough. Don’t try to be wine focussed if you’re not willing to pay for and train proper sommeliers. If you hire a consultant to set things up that’s fine, but make sure you either keep them on a retainer to oversee or invest in someone to carry the baton on.
• Don’t get carried away buying all the fancy bottles you’ve always wanted to own yourself. Unless the list is tiny I would never recommend buying from only one supplier but equally don’t go around buying bits and pieces from everyone under the sun, especially when you first open. You’re setting yourself up to fail, facing a mountain of paperwork, logistical nightmares and countless deliveries. More people equals more problems!
• I think it’s a mistake to not list wines in price order, by all means separate into regions if necessary. 99.9% of the world is in on a budget - it’s basic hospitality to make it easy for people to find their price bracket.
• Start with a manageable-sized list that you can afford in terms of both cash flow and space. So many people forget wine storage. And (as above) for god’s sake makes sure it’s temperature controlled! Lots of wine is served at the wrong temperature as a result of incorrect storage, which is a particular bugbear of mine. Temperature can make or break an experience of the wine.
• Don’t have too many wines open by the glass without proper preservation systems in place.
• Don’t be scared to ask the customer anything about price or budget. Making any assumption can lead to problems – don’t assume the customer is knowledgeable, but equally don’t assume they’re not. Just be open and polite.
• Taste the wine before serving it – you’re the expert so you judge if it’s faulty. Don’t waste the customer’s time.
Federico Moccia, assistant head sommelier, 67 Pall Mall: