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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/28636
Italian Wines by the Glass Marketing and Promoting Unique fl avor profi les, food friendliness and value distinguish these wines. By Johnny D. Boggs W hen Maggiano’s Little Italy launched a new private-label Italian wine last year, it gave consumers the opportunity to taste the new wine for only a quarter. T e Italian-American restaurant chain, with 45 U.S. locations, used a week-long promotion, where permitted, of two-ounce samples of Ruffi no Salute Amico, a cabernet sauvignon-sangiovese blend bottled exclusively for Maggiano’s by Italian winery Ruffi no. T at wasn’t all. “T e e-mail we sent to our Maggiano’s E-Club members was great at getting the word out to our guests,” says Angie Eckelkamp, Maggiano’s Little Italy marketing manager. “And we also created a video about Salute Amico that we’ve linked from our website and e-blasts, which we also showed to our servers.” All of which, Eckelkamp says, might explain why Salute Amico has become the most popular Italian wine served by the glass at Maggiano’s. “Our guests are really embracing this easy- to-drink, food friendly wine,” Eckelkamp says, while declining to say how many glasses are sold or how Salute Amico sales compare to other Italian wines. Owned by Dallas-based Brinker International, Maggiano’s off ers 14 Italian wines by the glass, priced from $7 to $12.50 for six- ounce pours. Salute Amico averages $8 per glass ($32 for a bottle), and Maggiano’s off er 23 other wines by the glass from $6 to $13. “Italian wines are ordered equally as much in comparison to the other wines on our wine list,” Eckelkamp says. “We’ve 36 | APRIL 2011 created a list that we feel appeals to the majority of our guests— while some may want to drink an Italian wine while dining with us, others may prefer to stick with their favorite domestic wines and select by varietal, brand or price.” GROWTH IN BY-THE-GLASS SELECTIONS FUEL ITALIAN SALES T e increasingly popularity of ordering wine by the glass in order to keep total bill cost down, try more wines or pair them with foods is also adding to Italian wines’ by the glass success. T ey off er such a range of prices and styles, as well as competitive pricing, making them a logical choice for operators to menu. And their popularity is not just limited to Italian restaurants.” Italian wines are great value wines, work well with food, are interesting, thought provoking and off er that classic rusticity people look for when they drink old world wine,” says Kyle Showen, wine director and buyer at Red Velvet Wine Bar, a 20-plus-seat wine bar in San Diego, California. Of the 39 wines off ered by the glass ($9 to $28), fi ve are Italian, priced from $10 to $12 for six-ounce pours. Showen hopes to increase the Italian selections. T at seems to be a trend for all wines. According to Cheers’ On- Premise BARometer 2010, published by the Beverage Information Group, Cheers’ parent company, the national average number of wines by the glass off ered in restaurants, hotels and clubs and www.cheersonline.com