Time to talk - Wine Lists
Have you been somewhere and handed a wine list alongside your menu? How did you find it, did it all make sense or feel like you were reading a different language?
Depending on the setting, this will change how the wine list is presented. Chain restaurants tend to have a wine list with good choice but lots of safe/customer favourites with mild flavour profiles and a common name e.g Merlot.
Wine bars will have a bigger selection but how they present the information can vary so much. Quite often they will put the name that's on the wine bottle, vintage and the country its from. Others may put the name on the bottle with the grape varieties and others may also add the aromas and flavour profile of the wine.
There is an expectation that people choosing wine from a wine list should have an understanding at what they are looking at but why would you? Wine tends to be luxury item and often in restaurant settings comes with a bigger price tag, so people tend to choose wines they have heard of or have drank before as they don't want to order something and not like it.
A restaurant or setting that wishes to showcase their wine can do a number of things. Firstly they will have a varied choice that works with the food menu. Secondly, the will be someone in the team (Sommelier in most cases) who knows the wines and can help you make an informed choice. They can tell you the flavour profiles of the wine, which wines work with which dishes, and from your usual choice of wine support you to explore different wines on the list.
Most people when they are first introduced to wine know it just as red, white or rose. Not by grape varieties, where it's come from or flavour profile. There are 1000s of wines from all across the world and without spending some time to understand it, if very much is a different language!
So tips to help you understand a wine list.
The name of the wine will most likely be the vineyard or area it's grown- it doesn't always tell us what wine is actually in the bottle so don't be afraid to ask!
Many French wines are named after the area, but the area can often only grow certain grapes. E.g Chablis is a area that can only grow Chardonnay, so all wines called Chablis are made from Chardonnay.
If the wine has a year on the list it's the year the wine was harvested and made. Vintages change year on year. The older the wine the more complex it will become. Young wines will have more fresh fruit flavours.
Old world wines (France, Italy, Germany) tend to have softer flavour profiles.
New world wines (USA, Australia, South Africa) tend to have bolder flavours- more sunshine =sugars and flavours.
Ask! Ask the server what wines they recommend, what wines are good with the food you are choosing. And let them know what you usually drink, most people what to help you enjoy your experience more by helping you make an educated choice.
Personally for someone to be able to understand a wine list better, you should have the wine name, grape variety, where is is from and key flavour profiles listed. Below is a super example-
But what if you can't access the wine list for other reasons? What if you have a visual impairment? Have you ever thought about the print, layout and colours of a wine list for someone in this position? Firstly, a really easy option is to have a large print/plain print version available.
Often wine lists and menus have pretty fonts and colours but this can make it difficult to read and understand. By having a plain print (ideally black and white) version available someone with a visual impairment or processing disorder can suddenly find it a lot easier to access without relying on others. Large print is a great option too- To make a wine list a good size to be held in your hand or fit on a table it will have lots of information in tiny print. Having a large print option with more spacing between text is a great way to make the wine list more accessible to all.
Picture clues can help e.g symbols for red, white and rose.
Having someone who knows the wine list on your team is super to support someone who is visually impaired, that team member can not only read the menu but explain it in more detail to the customer if they would like it.
It's very common to have your wine list on just a piece of paper, but what if someone stuggles to hold it? Think of having a board that you can clip it to which can help them access it easier so it can rest in their lap or on the table.
Make sure to let your customers know you have other menu options available e.g large print.
Thank you for taking the time to read- if you would like any further support please feel free to reach out.
