By Glenn Phillips, Director of Operations, Greystone Golf Club, Milton, ON
Wine continues to grow in popularity, even with millennials, and it’s not just the cheap stuff either.
The younger generation is investing in wine both through spending time learning more about it and financially through what they are buying. Similar to what we are seeing in other beverage alcohol categories, the “premium section” is what is growing the fastest and this is no different with wine.
Most surveys I have seen are saying that we are drinking less but buying higher quality products; and higher quality means more expensive. So as a club how can we best meet this demand? Finding products and being able to offer them at a price point that will make sense for the bottom line isn’t a problem. Well, it wouldn’t be if everyone was willing to drink a full bottle of wine, but unfortunately they are not.
Providing high end wines by the glass without losing your shirt in wastage and spillage, has been a challenge for many restaurants wanting to offer a better selection of products. Until now. Generally what happens is after you open a bottle of wine to serve a glass, you really only have that day to sell it at its peak. After that it starts to deteriorate and in a few days it has gone bad.
Now there is a system that will allow you to have a bottle open for weeks without any effect on the quality. Although these machines are not new, they are more accessible. There are a few different brands now available at a much more reasonable purchase price. If you don’t want to purchase one you may want to speak to one of your wine partners who may even loan you one for the season. These systems not only keep the wine fresh, they also keep it at the perfect temperature for both white and red. They also dispense the perfect amount each and every time, so no over pouring or spillage to worry about. All of this adds up to more profit for you and more value to your customers.
There are several of these systems available with different options. They can range from 1-16 bottle capacities, have single or dual temperature options, run on nitrogen or argon, and with the base (non-cabinet) price starting at around $600.00, these systems can make a lot of sense, and possibly a lot of profit in a short period of time.
For the fancier temperature controlled display cabinet units, they start at around $2,500.00. Either way, if wine is a priority at your club, investing in one of these is sure to help increase wine sales, profits and the guest experience.
