This bar is Enomatic

Of the various ways to measure the health of the UK on-trade, tracking the fortunes of a piece of equipment which is revolutionising the way wine is served and sold offers some particularly positive and revealing insights.

Since their launch into the UK in 2007, Enomatic machines seem to have become the must-have piece of kit for any venue that wants its wine offer to be taken seriously.

After the initial excitement generated by the launch of The Sampler in Islington, this year alone has seen the Enomatic featured as a key point of difference for new venues including The Kensington Wine Rooms, Bottle Apostle and The Parlour in London as well as various other locations nationwide.

Meanwhile, existing big names such as The Lanesborough and Selfridges have also decided this system has a key role to play in highlighting their own high end wine offers.

At around £1000 per bottle position however, the Enomatic represents a significant outlay for any bar or restaurant owner, especially now, when getting blood out of a stone presents less of a challenge than finding a bank loan.

“Our biggest issue is a lack of funding from customers”, confirms David Sheedy, UK and Ireland sales director for Enotrade. While last year saw sales grow by 150%, Sheedy added: “This year has been much more modest, but sales have started to pick up in the second half.”

So what is it that has now convinced 100 venues to invest in these Enomatic machines? As businesses see customers trading down and their margins cut, it appears that the Enomatic has the power to reverse this downturn in consumer spending.

Sheedy explains: “Customers might view spending £60 on a bottle of wine as something of an extravagance, but instead of sticking to the house wine, they’re encouraged to try a higher end wine without that cost and risk.” Indeed, the company encourages venues to fill these machines with the likes of Burgundy, rather than playing it safe with cheaper options.

There are very tangible benefits for the venue as well: “From a trade perspective it almost eliminates waste,” says Sheedy, highlighting the additional benefits of the extra visibility these machines create, a particularly useful sales tool for more expensive wines.

These two factors are making it viable for bars and restaurants to offer high quality wines by the glass, a provision which taps in nicely to the growing consumer demand for a greater choice when it comes to serve size.

Of course, there are a number of other technical solutions for wine preservation, temperature control and display, but Sheedy maintains: “We’ve got the complete package. The others all have various attributes, but none have the same technical advances.”

Following on from the success of its Enoline Classic range, this September the company will install the first example of its next generation model, the Enoline Elite.

This offers two compartments within one machine, allowing reds and whites to be offered together, each at the optimum temperature. January 2010 will see the launch of the Smart Basic, which has been specifically designed to serve the needs of the growing number of bars and night clubs which have expressed an interest in these machines.

With two more high profile venues (as yet unnamed) set to unveil their Enomatic systems this year, Sheedy is confident that the company has plenty more avenues to exploit. “We don’t see a limit, there are opportunities anywhere that wine is sold.”

Gabriel Savage, 25.08.09