Chris Orr on Wine Tastings for Staff

Our contributing editor writes ….

I was in New York a few weeks ago, marvelling at the excitement and bustle of a city that is reputed to never sleep. After a pretty hectic day of appointments with distribution companies in the city, I decided that I had earned myself a decent bite to eat. So I carried myself off down to the Lincoln centre, and a lovely Italian seafood restaurant.

I ordered lunch, asking if I could have a small of everything, only to be told that it "kinda doesn’t work that way" – so decided that obesity beckoned. As I was eating my delicious lunch (and wondering when the rest of the rugby team were turning up to help me finish it off), I noticed that most of the staff were holed up in a corner of the restaurant drinking. I asked the single waiter that was left what was going on.

"Oh, there’s a wine tasting for the staff," he explained. "We have a couple of new wines and the manager always makes sure we taste and talk it through alongside the menu before it goes on."

What every wine?

"Well, over the course of the year, yes," came his reply.

Now this wasn’t a fancy restaurant. No Michelin stars (although I have to say by this stage I was beginning to feel a little bit Michelin like), the odd nice review in the window, but essentially a run of the mill, decent Italian joint. Perhaps I am being over cynical but I can’t imagine it happening in the same way here. I can’t see the manager of my local Pizza Express doing the same. Indeed, on the many occasions I have had to dine in there, thanks to their ability to lure my children in Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang and childcatcher-like with balloons and free sweets, I have never once seen what could be interpreted as a staff tasting of wine.

And that goes for nearly every other middle of the road, straightforward restaurant. I have no doubt that some do it but the vast majority don’t. When I quizzed the New York waiter further, he said it was not only pretty commonplace in New York, but actually essential. "I make more tips if I sell more wine," was his logical answer, and as a US waiter or waitress earns their salary based almost solely on tips, you can see why this would be the case.

But even if waiters don’t earn the same tips as they do in the US, surely the same applies? The more you know your product, the more likely you are to upsell the customer – which means more money all round, a healthier business and continued future employment. But as it stands, I don’t see much evidence of the bulk of those involved in the on-trade making sure their staff have anything other than a passing concern for the wine list.

I could, of course, be massively wrong, but conversations with some of the big on-trade suppliers suggests that I’m not. Big deal, is probably the reaction most will have to this kind of suggestion. But it’s in the wine trade’s interest to keep pushing this, even if it is a hard nut to crack. The on-trade is pretty crucial when it comes to educating consumers with wine – and yet, if those in the position to do this are ignorant themselves, there’s not much chance of making the most of the opportunity.

Sounds like I am stating the obvious. Well, yes. But frankly I’ll do anything to avoid another blog about how we’ve all been shafted by the honourable Gordon Brown yet again when it comes to duty. The man seems singularly incapable of paying any attention to the needs of our industry, whether it’s wine duty, strip stamps, or a whole plethora of misdirected legislation. In my view, he’s badly advised when it comes to these issues, but I’m having difficulty working out whether that’s stating the obvious. Ah well… Chris Orr  db  31 March 2006