Curating an interesting and profitable wine list

Curating an interesting and profitable wine list for a restaurant has specific challenges around a target audience, style of cuisine, capabilities of the front of house team, raw talent in the kitchen and pricing for bottle and by the glass. To make a decent yet fair profit is no longer just the goal. Now the wine list for a bar operation where the clientele ranges from loyal regulars to ad-hoc punters has become an equally challenging and important aspect. The time to capture the attention of locals who cannot travel overseas anymore and want to eat local, but well, is here.

Bars have evolved to be more than just a place for a beer, rum & coke, and a slice of shepherd’s pie with chips; they have become venues where the menu and wine programmes, especially wine by the glass, appeal to an audience of well informed and food-savvy palates. It’s important to keep the food and wine selections priced for the regulars, but the world of wine is showing that you can get a lot more bang for your buck if you look beyond the usual list of producers and contracts with the big companies.

While most bars are arguably known as places for a quick pint, a good feed that doesn’t cost the earth and a place to watch sport, they are also places where well-made, thoughtful food should be accompanied by wine that speaks more than just the varieties and brands we all know. Wines that are more sophisticated and complex without being too expensive.

Chardonnay is a good example. The peaches and vanilla cream style with its full-bodied slippery texture should only command one place on a wine list. A range of styles, from Northland to Otago, from lean and clean to toasty and complex should be considered.  If the average price on the list is currently between twelve to fourteen dollars a glass then you might just be surprised if you have two or three wines for fifteen to eighteen dollars on the list. I would happily pay that if I was offered a glass of Te Mata, Bilancia, Odyssey or Man O’ War.

Pinot Noir too should include more than just the basic brands on the list. Misha’s Cantata, Pegasus Bay Vergence and Te Kairanga all offer fantastic drinking for a decent price. Both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are easy food and wine pairing varieties and if the opportunity to offer both local and international brands is available then I would consider Californian and French options such as La Crema and Domaine Parent.

Drier styles of Pinot Gris are more food-friendly and appetite-stimulating than off-dry or sweeter more alcoholic styles. For example, the Greystone or Nautilus expressions are excellent alongside seafood and fish dishes.

Popular or well-known brands are of equal importance as the not so well-known – they are safety-zone, wines for some customers who might not be comfortable with different brands, varieties or styles. Viognier (vee-on yay ) or Gewürztraminer (gee-verts-tram-e-ner) are common examples of wines that are fantastic with food or own their own but are not ordered as often perhaps because of the challenge of pronunciation or lack of understanding.

Bars are fast becoming venues where the food is a lot more sophisticated. And so too should the wine lists.