Transforming Wine Programs

Here’s the challenge: Making wine factual and finding metrics on which we can measure (an emotional) member response to our wine programs. 

BoardRoom’s mantra is ‘Facts over Emotions’, which has forced me to re-evaluate what we can define as wine facts. Let’s take this journey together.

Here are some ‘club’ wine facts as I understand them after 30 years in the wine business:

• 90 percent of club wine lists should be tailored to your members’ preferences

• 10 percent of club wine lists should rotate to show exciting regions, lesser-known varietals and regions in an attempt to broaden membership’s wine horizons

• Buy wines for the members, not for what you want/wish the members to drink

• Members appreciate tastings, locker sales, seminars and wine dinners and will support them if they are exciting, well-curated and fairly priced

• Vendors and distributors will always be willing to make deals, offer training, and set up events at clubs, but these often will be sales/brand-focused and may fail to train staff or educate members and guests on the broad topics of wine and wine service

• Data is king. If Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon represent 75 percent of your wine sales, there should be at least three offerings of different styles of these wines: Using Chardonnay as an example, offer a crisp Chablis-style Chardonnay, a balanced wine with a touch of richness and oak and a butter-bomb for those who prefer this style

• Always have a ‘Captain’s’ or ‘Reserve List’ for special occasions with wines priced at $100-plus. These wines, on a page easily seen in the wine list, will ‘anchor’ the prices of your less expensive options and also show your dedication to offering upscale, fine and rare wine.

How emotion may negatively impact club wine programs:

• Relying on just one or a few distributors/vendors you’ve become friendly with will limit both offerings and a balanced wine list for your members

• Having a member-based wine-tasting committee to guide wine purchases at the club can negatively and positively affect the bottom line of food and beverage. If the wine committee makes decisions and purchases that continue to improve selections (that sell!), it’s good to allow membership to guide the offerings. Often, though, I see wine committee members only consider their own palate preference or show preference to brands they are invested in or have friends that are.  I suggest a balance of member guidance and independent selection. Tread carefully

• The squeaky wheel: It’s been said that 10 percent of our customers give us 90 percent of our criticism and feedback. While we know that challenging members, spouses, vendors and employees often fill more time than we wish, we need to be cautious in our managerial decisions when it comes to wine. Finding ways to placate the ‘complainers’ while finding data and real-time solutions to make the ‘silent majority’ pleased with our wine programs requires a great deal of member interaction, staff sharing these honest chats and resisting the desire to quiet the difficult members at the cost of a substandard wine program.

There’s a lot to unpack here, both for me and F&B. I’ll expand on these points as we continue to focus on wine program facts. I’ll also offer a Q&A option at the end of each article, which will guide our next article.  

Q&A:  Art Barajas, CCM, CCE, COO/GM of Glendora Country Club, CA asks:

“How can we create a wine list that caters to a diverse membership with varying taste preferences while still ensuring staff can confidently recommend wines and navigate service effectively?”

Wes answers:  That’s a great question to guide our conversation in the next article. My first recommendation is that staff wine training include a ‘table reading’ of every wine on your list to make sure the staff selling the wine can pronounce each wine correctly. I’m always surprised how often staff cannot pronounce the wines they sell.  

If you’d like a wine question answered in BoardRoom, please contact: [email protected]

Wes Hagen is a 30 year veteran in California Wine, designated one of the ‘100 Most Influential Winemakers in the US’ by Michael Cervin (Wall Street Journal, et al).  Wes has hosted wine training and events at clubs from Phoenix, Maryland to San Diego.  He currently serves as Brand Ambassador for Native9 Wine (native9.com), a Wine and Spirits Top 100 Winery in the World. Chat with Wes about your wine program: [email protected] (805) 450-2324