WINE IS FUNDAMENTAL IN THE CHOICE OF AND FINAL DECISION ON A RESTAURANT. IN FRANCE, IT IS AN ESSENTIAL CRITERION FOR 66% OF CUSTOMERS, BUT NOBODY REALLY READS THE WINE LIST, THEY ASK THE SOMMELIER, WHO IS AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT FIGURE

Wine is a fundamental element in the choice of the restaurant or where one will spend the evening, at least according to 45% of French consumers that participated in the IRI study of hundreds of businesses in France’s “the Hexagon”. The study revealed that wine is even more important at the final decision, as 66% of customers consider it an essential criterion, which is why French customers are particularly attentive to offers, service, prices and the advice of waiters and sommeliers.
So, the average "vote" improves (in 84% of cases) when the waiter provides explanations and information about the wine. Even though only one in four customers actually take the waiter’s advice, it is quite useful, as it influences the choice of wine in two cases out of three, which is often its name.

“The waiters’ advice”, commented the authors of the study, “is a key factor for the success of a restaurant”, because the level of attention of French customers on the choice of wines is frankly quite low: 35% admit that they do not even look at the wine list, 37% limit their choice to color and 28% to price. More information on the characteristics of the wine, pairing it with dishes on the menu, its region of origin, producer and vintage, would help in choosing, and would even encourage drinking more, which is work for sommeliers and skilled restaurant staff, more than for gargantuan wine lists…

Info: www.iriweb.org