Saving the varied winelist from extinction

Kim Maxwell sees a real danger to diversity in restaurant winelist sponsorship and control

I am not griping about poorly-informed waiters or consumers’ right to bring their own wines. Rather I am questioning the sustainability of wine lists which do not brazenly boost a network of big brands – those that creatively set out varieties from various regions, which intersperse bigger producers with interesting boutique styles, offer a cross-section of price points and even vintages, complemented by quality offerings by the glass. These do not have to be encyclopaedic; short, punchy wine pages also suffice.

Why should it matter? The winelands are one of South Africa’s prime tourist attractions, along with the big five, Table Mountain and Robben Island. If tourism generated an estimated R1.23 billion in South Africa in 2002 and grew by 11 percent, the expansion of wine tourism in the Western Cape is a logical transition. For many visitors, restaurants offer a first introduction to local labels, irrespective of where in the country their travel experience kicks off. While reviewing some 90 winelands restaurants for the annual Eat out restaurant guide, I’ve seen overseas visitors partner their dining experience with scenic winelands trips. Restaurateurs report an increasing tourist demand for local game on menus. They surely want a selection of wines to complement that.

Big brands are necessary for providing volumes and, through substantial marketing budgets, for propelling generic Cape wine in key export markets. But in a competitive domestic environment, where does this leave the small guy? Consumers warm to specialist grocers for the personal, quality touch; with eateries that sentiment is crucial. Yet restaurant wine lists are in danger of becoming amorphous resumés of multiple brand listings, as monopoly company reps take the pacman approach to competitors.

Kick-backs on offer

Reps from major wine and spirit groups offer a variety of kick-backs. It may be common for supermarket groups to extract promotional support from suppliers – they call it merchandising – but I don’t believe consumers are aware of the extent of product placement in eating establishments. Speaking anonymously, a national distributor to top hotels and restaurants tells me it is common for companies to offer incentives in the form of logo-endorsed waitress uniforms, umbrellas and mirrors, if a restaurant lists their products. One major group sponsors big ticket items – from printing winelists to furniture, merchandises and even shop fittings. The company reputedly picked up a restaurant’s refurbishment to the tune of R70 000, in exchange for the restaurant carrying 70% of their wine brands. Funding a few umbrellas is one thing, but complete interior decoration surely crosses the line.

The distributor feels cracks are starting to show. ‘Wine lists are definitely becoming more boring. Five-star restaurants are still going for expensive wines, but now that restaurateurs aren’t entering competitions, they’re not spending as much, and lists are getting smaller. Companies with multiple brands are benefiting from large-volume brands as house wines. Then they move in with other brands, and there goes diversity.’

Gavin Dittmar, of wholesaler/distributor Meridian, supplies around 550 restaurants in Gauteng alone. Their labels include Meerlust, Rust en Vrede and Kanu, plus more volume-orientated productions such as Beyerskloof and Arniston Bay. Dittmar confirms that incentives for bulk brand placements and ‘listing fees’ are common practice, and says the system is being worsened by ‘a few increasingly arrogant’ hotels and restaurant franchises. Meridian’s policy is of not paying to list, but Dittmar says establishments typically ask R3000–R6000 to list one brand in their national branches.

Bernhard Veller of Nitida Cellars believes that, while it’s a free market, the mechanisms of control loosen without wine list competitions. When Diners Club cancelled their 14-year sponsorship of restaurant wine list awards early in 2003, only upmarket restaurateurs moaned about hefty wine stocks and financial outlays. Diners Club said that ‘less than 300 annual entries’ made the competition ‘too niche’. They wanted something more representative of their total merchant base. Dietmar feels a competition merit system for restaurants encouraged establishments to set out proper lists, irrespective of financial incentives.

 Incentives wanted

Some reshuffling is in order, whether it’s wine lists or competitions. Linda Coltart, general manager and wine selector for Franschhoek’s Le Quartier Français, says creative incentives encourage restaurateurs ‘to get out and meet winemakers, and keep up with trends’. The restaurant even devised a wine menu, matching specific wines with ingredients like rocket, tomato or porcini. Outsourcing a competition administration to an independent body may help.

With financial and commercial institutions climbing on the wine sponsorship wagon – notably Absa, Fairbairn Capital and Spar – opportunities exist for closer co-operation between the wine and hospitality industries, which both target tourists. Routine customer grumbles criticise insufficient stocks of wines and a lack of mature vintages; so do trained wine selectors and waiters. Why invest in book-bound lists of out-of-stock wines, when a smart, computer-printed format allows daily or weekly updating?

Mark-ups

Restaurants typically multiply food costs a jarring four or five times on menus. Wine prices are usually marked up 150%, but some restaurateurs tip the scales at 300%. Presumably the higher food to wine ratio is explained by wines not being made on site. Agent John Collins reports that when higher-priced wines fail to sell, restaurateurs downgrade to cheaper second labels from good producers, yet expect to impose the same mark-ups. Many restaurateurs forget to cater to all pockets.

There are also seasonal fluctuations to consider. Collins cleverly suggests a winter wine list for the slower months, with summer lists fleshed out with more expensive products – menus change seasonally so why not wines? Of course, relying on tourists for summer sales is a dangerous strategy. They know when they’re being ripped off, and do not return. More restaurants should devise wine lists that correspond with their food style and, importantly, their average food spend per head. Restaurants are often accused of lazy wine selections, but wineries can also play a bigger role in wine promotion by actively hosting on-premise staff tastings, or inviting staff to their farms.

Let us encourage establishments that are less reliant on financial incentives, to avoid knocking out variety and stylistic diversity, boutique winemakers and consumer choice. It will be a sad day if South Africa’s wine achievements, international acknowledgements and diversity are reduced by restaurants to bland uniformity.

*Kim Maxwell is a writer on food and wine.