Let’s take customer A and customer B walking in to an average pub or bar.
Customer A fancies a pint of premium imported lager and after perusing the various draught beers on offer asks for a Beck’s.
The bar tender looks at all the various pint glasses hanging on the bar and picks out the individually branded glass proudly displaying the familiar Beck’s logo. They then pour a beautifully crisp, cold pint of lager and hand over the drink with the Beck’s logo shining brightly on the bar.
Customer B then asks what wines by the glass the outlet has. They are given a choice of three whites or three reds. Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Or Pinot Noir, Malbec and a Shiraz.
Customer B decides they want a large glass of Chardonnay. The same bar tender turns to the fridge and takes out a bottle with an inch of wine in the bottom. They then turn to the tray of wine glasses that have just come out of the washing machine and pour the remains of the wine in to the nearest glass to them.
Customer B then has to wait whilst the bar tender disappears to the cellar to get another bottle which has not been refrigerated.
They quickly open it up and fill the glass to the required level, handing over a glass that now contains wine from two bottles. One of which came from the fridge, the other straight out of a box in the cellar.
Customber B takes a sip of their wine and realises it is not chilled enough so asks for a couple of ice cubes to be added.
Customer A and Customer B then retire to a table. One happily admiring their ice cold beer which is dribbling down the glass over the famous Beck’s logo.
The other wondering why they had just spent the best part of £10 on a luke warm glass of wine that was now being watered down by the ice in the glass.
Must do better
OK we exaggerate for effect, but for many customers this is exactly the kind of service they can expect when ordering a glass of wine at a bar.
It is not surprising that Simon Jerrome, purchasing director at one of the country’s major drinks suppliers, Matthew Clark, believes the on-trade is only scratching the surface in what can be achieved with wines by the glass programmes.
He explains: “We are now seeing customers are happy to spend £10 on a glass of wine. But we also need to look at how we can help operators perfect the way they are serving wine. We can take ideas from soft drinks and beer where there is a specific glass for a Coca-Cola or a brand of beer. We can do more of that in wine where you are normally just given a standard glass.”
He adds: “There is still so much to be done when it comes to serving wine by the glass.”
There is arguably just as big a job to be done in developing consistently good quality draught wines. But Jerrome believes there is no reason why wine can earn its place amongst all the taps for craft and local breweries.
It has, for example, been conducting a trial with New Zealand wine brand, Villa Maria, to see not only how draught wine goes down with drinkers, but how a widely recognised supermarket brand can work sitting alongside beer brands on a bar.
“It has been a big move for Villa Maria. But they have been trendsetters by doing this trial, and it is all about working towards providing a perfect serve for wine. It is such a great opportunity and branded wine could be the way to do it,” claims Jerrome.
The future of draught wine clearly lies in its quality, but improvements in the kegs being used means it is becoming more of a regular fixture in a wide variety of outlets from Vinoteca to Pizza Pilgrims to Meat Liquor.
So there’s the challenge. It is not just a case of having the right wines to offer. It is making sure how they are served is of such good quality.
