Even in a challenging economic climate, the holiday season carries expectations for wine directors. “People are much more willing to spend more on a memorable bottle because it’s a celebratory time with their family,” says Nick Heileman, the general manager and beverage and wine director for Aspen, Colorado’s Bosq.
Merely bulking up on expensive, bold reds and high-end Champagnes is no longer the tried-and-true method it may once have been, however. “You might see a little bit more diversity of what people are drinking on a single table,” says Amanda Danielson, an advanced sommelier and the founding partner of Trattoria Stella in Traverse City, Michigan. “Some people don’t drink wine at all, or they only want by-the-glass, or they drink cocktails all the way through a meal.”
In addition to regulars and business clients booking large, expensive parties, the holidays also include many first-time or special-occasion-only diners. “It’s more about capturing new regulars during the holidays,” says June Rodil, MS, the CEO and partner of Goodnight Hospitality in Houston, “because our current regulars are doing parties or booking larger reservations and bringing in people who will hopefully be new regulars for the next season or the next year.”
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Tight wallets also mean that not everyone will have a blockbuster budget, though they might spend a little more. “I think people trade up one position wherever they are,” says Anthony Taylor, the wine director of Cleveland, Ohio’s Cru Uncorked. “If you’re comfortable with a $50 bottle, maybe you’re more comfortable during the holidays at $80. If you’re comfortable at $400, maybe you’re comfortable at $500.”
Ahead of the end-of-year sprint, SevenFifty Daily spoke to six wine directors from around the country about how to best prepare both inventory and expectations for a successful holiday season.
Start with Data
Trends and spending habits may change over time, but nothing can tell you how to best prepare for the current holiday season more than looking at data from previous years. “You can’t force what you hope the holidays will bring,” says Rodil. “You can absolutely have a vision of where you want people to go, but it has to start with being able to have things that people want. It’s important to understand what events have happened during Q4 for the last several years, as well as purchasing and sales patterns.”
There are ways to glean intel even if a restaurant is brand new, either from previous experience in the regional market or data from the current year. “I’m somebody that starts planning for the holidays up to three months in advance, where I’m starting to pull that data on what my guests have liked drinking in the past, and the categories of wine that they tend to look for more this time of year,” says Marcie Gsteiger-Cox, the wine director at Passage at The Inn at Langley in Whidbey Island, Washington.
This year was different, though; Passage just opened over the summer, so it doesn’t have any prior holiday sales period data. “I’m looking at what the trends have been for my guests in our dining room since we’ve opened our doors and noting where we see the most success in our existing wine program,” says Gsteiger-Cox, “and then finding opportunities within that to bulk up in key areas that can make the overall beverage program feel more celebratory, more occasion-driven, without necessarily increasing a huge amount of the volume that we’re working with on site.”
Rodil agrees that there’s a sweet spot for quantity. “It’s finding that very delicate balance of not overbuying, but having enough inventory to give people really wonderful options to go big if they want, without forcing a high amount of inventory into the cash flow,” she says.
Double Down on Familiar Selections
The holidays are not the best time to get experimental, nor is it appropriate to only bulk up on high-end options. Consider that the holidays often bring a wider variety of guests, with many first-time diners with varying budgets.
“The trend that I’ve noticed for the past five years is familiarity,” says Beckie Lambson, the wine director of Postcards from BKLYN hospitality group in St. Louis. “People are here to celebrate and to enjoy the company of people they maybe haven’t seen in a number of months or even years, and they want familiar wines.” Though Lambson’s wine program tends to be less traditional, she leans more on “selections that you don’t even have to think about” during the holidays, like Barolo.
Taylor agrees with the importance of approachable selections. “You’re getting people out for the first time or that only come out during the holidays, and we want to have something to make them comfortable,” he says. “So whether that’s non-alcoholic options or a Prosecco for $45, we want to have that for them.” Value also paves the way for a good experience; Taylor says that Spanish and Portuguese reds deliver on both richness and affordability.
Offering various price points within those familiar categories can also lead to incremental trade ups during the holidays. “If you have something that’s a category that is known for being economical, like Portuguese wines for example, we can move to something like Barca Velha, which is the highest end red wine within that category,” says Rodil. “I will have those pockets ready to go, but not a high level of inventory.”
Lean on Accessible Styles of Sparkling
While sparkling wine has increased in popularity as an option throughout the entire year, it reaches an apex during the holidays. Rising prices might pose difficulties during this notoriously Champagne-heavy season, however.
“Something that I’ve certainly noticed is that demand for Champagne has started to pivot just a little bit,” says Gsteiger-Cox. “Wines that we used to be able to access at a fairly reasonable price point are now much more expensive on a bottle list.”
Rodil likes to lean into accessible Champagne, citing Roederer and Billecart-Salmon as good options. “Something that is a bigger, well-known house, but still in that quality tier where it hits those notes for someone who may have really unique standards, as well as a guest who wants something that’s relatable,” she adds.
Gsteiger-Cox has spent time researching other styles of sparkling wine “that offer guests a familiar experience in terms of texture, acidity, and freshness, but maybe from a new appellation or in a style that they haven’t heard of.”
And that familiar experience doesn’t necessarily need to come from the traditional-method sparklers. “We run a low-intervention, natural style wine program, so I like to look for pét-nats that hit more of that traditional mark to really open up people’s eyes to the category,” says Lambson. “You can still get that wonderful, dry, brioche quality, but in a pét-nat from a region you maybe have never had it from.”
Harness the Power of Large Formats
One way to add a sense of occasion to the holidays is by emphasizing the availability of different bottle sizes, especially when people are dining in larger groups.
“Our sales of large formats go up during the holidays for sure,” says Taylor, whose program at Cru Uncorked skews 80/20 in bottle sales versus by-the-glass, year round. “It’s almost always for bigger parties, and our lead sommelier does a great job of pointing out that large formats are just cool.”
The eye-catching nature of large formats can also encourage sales around the room, and not only for big groups. “I like to play with maybe one or two big-format bottles for our pairings, using a Coravin for those,” says Heileman. “A couple years ago we got a six-liter bottle of Oddero Barolo, and we may not even have needed a Coravin due to the amount of pairings we were selling because of it.”
“It’s like the fajita effect,” concurs Rodil. “Also, people don’t always want to take the time to read through a 70-page wine list, so we’ve just got to say ‘hey, here’s an option.’” Some of Goodnight’s establishments have a mechanical wine cradle that is especially handy for big bottles. “People love it,” she says. “It’s the wow effect.”
Use Dessert Wines and Half Bottles to Offer Attainable Splurges
“Turn times are going to increase because people are celebrating, so you’ve got to be able to increase your price-per-person average,” says Rodil. Rather than having guests linger over coffee, consider stocking a wider selection of dessert wines. “People want to keep the party going, so I absolutely increase classic selections like vintage Ports, really old Madeiras, and Sauternes,” she says.
The holidays are also an apt time to add a few more expensive selections to your after-dinner drink list. “Those are really prime opportunities because rather than people straying in terms of categories, you’ll see an increase in what they’re willing to pay [for familiar categories] because they’re celebrating,” says Rodil.
Similarly, half bottles can offer opportunities for splurge-worthy moments that feel less intimidating than trading up on a standard bottle. “We also sell more small format bottles during the holidays,” says Taylor. “What’s the difference between Saint-Estèphe and Margaux? Well, here’s an easy way to find out. We have half bottles of both.”
Don’t Forget About Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Non-alcoholic beverages aren’t just for “dry January”—a deep non-alcoholic selection can be a real sales driver during the holiday season. “You see a little bit more diversity of what people are drinking on a table, even during the holidays,” says Danielson.
Many of the guests at Bosq have traveled to Aspen to ski and are therefore slowing down after a busy day on the slopes. “[A robust non-alcoholic program] really can help save the night when you can actually have some offerings that create a more enjoyable experience for guests who aren’t drinking, but that can create some revenue for the restaurant in a meaningful manner,” says Heileman. French Bloom, Copenhagen Sparkling Tea Company, and MURI have all been popular on the list.
Start the Sale Before Guests Arrive
Securing wine selections ahead of time can both increase revenue and save time at the table during the busiest services, and this doesn’t have to apply only to private parties.
“We try to make a more bespoke experience right at the beginning and proactively ask,” says Danielson, who approaches presales from a hospitality perspective. “Like, ‘we’ve noted that there’s six of you. We’d love to make it extra special. Can we choose a special bottle for you and have it decanted and prepared in advance, so that you’re really going to get to experience it in the best way possible? Would you like Champagne on the table when you arrive?’”
Reaching guests ahead of time about wine selection “is so great as well for turning tables, and efficiency, because then you don’t have one person bogarting the wine list and not being part of the experience with the rest of the table,” says Rodil. Given an opportunity ahead of time via email or phone, a guest can speak to Rodil or one of her sommeliers to pick out wines. “They’ve had their solo time with the list already, and then whenever they get there, they’ve already been the hero and picked out a wine, and then can happily be part of their experience.”
Make Sure High-End Glassware Is Prepped
For guests who lean into higher-end wine selections, making sure you have the right service pieces and glassware on hand and accessible should be part of the preparation.
“If we used Zaltos for everything, we’d be out of business quickly,” says Heileman. “Our day-to-day Riedel glasses are great for typical selections, but if someone’s drinking a bottle of Grand Cru Burgundy, the great glassware and the beautiful decanter bring that experience up a bit more and create a little bit more memorable feel to it.” Because more guests trade up during the holidays, “We definitely want to make sure we have ample stock cleaned and polished,” he says.
Goodnight Hospitality has an off-site storage facility for backup glassware, which includes Zaltos and decanters; to prepare, Rodil does a full inventory of the off-site glassware ahead of Q4. ”[Zaltos] are usually for events with higher-priced wines, which we know are coming in. I try to buy those in September, so they’re ready to go in October if we need any kind of replenishment,” she says, which also works well with her budgeting strategies since Q3 is a slower period.
“We also noticed that a lot of people really love to decant these days,” she adds, “so that’s also taking anything out of storage and moving things around in the restaurant so we have it at the ready rather than having to bust anything out mid-service.”
Dispatch
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Pamela Vachon is a freelance writer whose work on food, beverages, travel, and especially the intersection of those elements has appeared in Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Travel & Leisure, VinePair, and Bon Appétit, among others. She was formerly a bartender and captain at New York’s The Modern, and teaches classes at Murray’s Cheese. She splits her time between London, New York, and Castlerea, Ireland, where she hopes one day to make cheese.
