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BARTENDER'S
WINE EXPERT: JOSEPH DELISSIO |
HOUSE POUR
- Wines By The Glass
by Joseph DeLissio |
There is little doubt that the Holy Grail of wine sales is house
wine. Also known as the house pour, no restaurant wine placement is
more cherished by wine salesmen, distributors, wineries, and accountants than the wines served by the glass.
While prestige and ego gratification offer part of the reason, it is
profit and frequent reorders that bring this group of wine professionals the most satisfaction. Consider the fact that a single
case of wine placed on a wine list can take weeks, even months to sell, while the busy bar or restaurant can easily go through 5-10
cases of wine in a single night when sold by the glass.
Wines by the glass and house wines offer restaurants an enormous potential for profit. Buyers should beware of the fact that buying
and offering the cheapest and often inferior pouring wines can be a
costly strategy. Look for quality and value based house wines to pour.
Speaking of buyers, it is bartenders, yes bartenders, who buy and sell more wines by the glass than all of those specialized "silver
cup around the neck" wine people combined. This is an important fact
that only now is being recognized by the wine industry.
Though bartenders of the past were not very involved with wine, today bartenders are on the cutting edge. Let's face it, who has more
direct contact with wine sipping consumers than the bartender? Who
gets to observe tasters reactions firsthand more than the bartender?
This being said, today's bartender should also give wines by the glass a little more attention and respect than in the past.
Below I will answer some important and frequently asked questions on
wines by the glass.
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