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octobre 26, 2021

Don’t be afraid of wine tasting this Halloween!

 

Don’t let terror strike and prevent you from opening the bottle this Halloween! Or any day of the year for that matter. We want you and your staff to feel supported and confident enough to open any bottle of wine without the immediate fear of wastage!

Go ahead, offer a small sample from your premium collection. Allow your guests to swirl away to their heart’s content and watch sales increase. Don’t believe us? There are so many ways a good-tasting policy can help your wine sales, in this blog we explore just a few ways how tasting can help you. There’s no need to have cold feet…


The Tasting Moment

Where the fear of opening a bottle restricts or impedes your ability to offer any meaningful tasting opportunities, not only do you miss out on profitable wine sales, you also forgo any opportunity to establish ‘lasting impressions’ with your customers. We’re talking about those real bonding moments that cement their faith and trust in you as an established venue worth their time and efforts to abandon the sofa in exchange for your company.

No reputable restaurant wishes to lumber their guests with a bottle of wine they don’t entirely love. Never has the phrase ‘try before you buy’ been so important. Especially as certain wine supplies will be constricted this winter period, forcing some venues to change up their wine menu. With that, customers will, no doubt, need a nudge (and taste) to try some new items on your list.

Beyond the obvious benefits, offering a taste at the table is, truly, an experience.

Imagine this (maybe romanticised but idyllic) scenario. You present your eager & enthusiastic guests with their wine of choice. You display the bottle and open it, table-side, much to their delight and enjoyment. In between administering cool facts and details about the wine, you (or your staff) slowly begin to pour. You engage in light-hearted conversation and banter to keep the mood playful and upbeat. Welcome your guests to use the ‘tasting moment’ to really determine if they like the wine. Ask, listen, and connect with your customers; make them feel comfortable around you, the wine, and the experience! These all-important personal, finishing touches will construct those ‘lasting impressions’ we were banging on about earlier.
 
Well, that all sounds delightfully magical, so…what’s the problem?!
 
Your fear doesn’t stem from customers loving it – that’s the ultimate win and dream. It’s what happens if the customer doesn’t like the wine they have tasted, that is when the fear truly settles in. But we’re here to tell you: tasting is one of the key ways to introduce new and exciting offerings to customers and an achievable way of increasing your sales revenue and profits overall!

 

Gateway to sales & promotions

Rather than give your customers what you or they think they want, present them with something they don’t know they want – via ample opportunity to experience ‘the tasting moment’…
 
  • Once you open a bottle, add it to your specials board. Attribute an extended promotion for those who go on to purchase by the glass (or bottle)!
  • Do you have a website or a blog? Host giveaways and feature all your wine tasting opportunities across these platforms!
  • Try targeting a specific audience. Launch promotional tasting events designed to bring singles together or host a perfect pairing night for couples. You can offer a variety of low, mid, and high range still and sparkling wines. Just think of the endless opportunities you could cater to: busy mums, millennials, seniors, specific professionals…
  • Pick a favourite region, grape, or ‘flavour’ of the month. Offer a special tasting experience for those who enquire within.
  • Partner with local wine shops and vineyards to open cross-promotional opportunities. Open the door to exclusive wines, private labels, and discounted prices (for both you and your customers).
  • When the seasons change and you find yourself switching or swapping stock, hold a seasonal tasting event. Allow customers to taste each wine you are considering.
 
N.b. It goes without say that you should use the above content to really make some noise on your social media accounts. Interested to learn more about maximising your online profiles for business? Read our social media tips and tricks blog here and be sure to keep an eye out for the rest of the series!
 
Wine tasting doesn’t have to be traditional. By all means, the customary ‘try before you buy’ sampling ritual is crucial for wine success. But, as you can see from the colossal list above, you are far from limited when it comes to additional tasting methods!

 

Opportunity to Upgrade

By offering tasting moments & opportunities, you can also give your staff the confidence to help a customer premiumise their choice. If your team is trained to discuss and inform customers of new, premium wines added to the menu, they can then offer a taste of said wines to really underpin the whole ‘try before you buy’ mentality. This will break down a barrier, meaning customers are more likely to trade up and stay with you. In the end, the lifelong value of that customer increases, meaning they are likely to return again and again. N.b. Knowledgeable wine-legend, Harry Crowther, has some amazing content on the importance of having staff who are ‘wine confident’ – read his tips and tricks here! 


With all these beautiful and glorious reasons to open a bottle, why the lingering hesitation and fear? Perhaps it’s the fact we have given you every reason under the sun to offer your guests a taste-test without addressing or giving voice to any sort of solution to the dreaded open bottle dilemma…yet. C’mon. Don’t be a scaredy-cat, opening premium wine is the very least of your worries – especially when you have the right tools to hand!

 

The perfect solution…you never knew you needed!

Remember when we told you to present your customers with something they don’t know they want? Well, your venue wants (needs) a professional preservation system by Bermar, you just don’t know it yet!
 
Eliminate the fear of opening your bottles this #SpookySeason (and every season) with our award-winning ePreserve technology, engineered to perfectly preserve both still and sparkling wine for 21 days after opening. No longer thrown into the lion’s den, blindly serving glasses (or offering taste tests) without absolute certainty that the wine will sell, this ‘fear of the unknown’ felt by the entirety of the hospitality sector is no longer a roadblock or obstacle to hurdle. Instead, our systems give you & your teams the power and the confidence to venture out and serve your customers endless glasses of fresh and delicious wine over, and over, and over!
 
A great by-the-glass selection acts as a gateway to future bottle sales. This will dramatically increase a customer’s value to your venue over the longer term. So, kiss spoiled wine or flat Champagne goodbye this Autumn. Open your bottles without a second thought. Our wine & Champagne preservation systems are designed to broaden your wine list and ensure that your wine is, in fact, working harder for you than ever before. Life is far too short to be haunted by fears of marred or tainted wine…
 
If you are interested in our products and want to hear more about how they can maximise your tasting experiences and wine by the glass sales, contact us at info@bermar.fr or get in touch with our lovely team on +44 (0) 1473 612 062.
 
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