Preserving the profits

Yes, 40 - all of their list, in fact. And they've watched their wine sales increase by 17% since launching this push last November.

There are four Nicholls Brasseries in all, located between Berkhamstead in Hertfordshire and Bedford, plus a pub in Soulbury, Buckinghamshire. And they all have the same wine list, including the pub.

Nicholls Brasseries started life in 1994, set up by former chef Greg Nicholls. He served his apprenticeship at Gleneagles and got a "chef to watch" commendation from the Good Food Guide back in his head chef days at the Swan hotel in Leighton Buzzard. And though things have been ticking along nicely, he wanted to move the business forward. But how?

Then he spotted the Le Verre de Vin wine preservation system used by, among others, restaurateur John Hoskins MW, at the Old Bridge hotel, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

What if he could open up his whole wine list to everybody? "People could go wherever they want on the list," he says. "I know customers are thinking more about food and wine pairing these days, and are drinking less but better, and offering a decent number of wines by the glass seemed the obvious solution."

And sales have exceeded all expectations, he says. Before Le Verre de Vin was installed, his six red and six white wines represented 52% of wet sales. After Le Verre de Vin (AVV), that figure reads 67%.

Nicholls prefers to use just one wine supplier for his 40-bin list. "I find it easier," he says. Berkmann Wine Cellars got the £250,000-worth of business, but the London-based wine company did throw in the Le Verre de Vin systems too (from £1,500). How did Nicholls swing that? "We promised them exclusivity for a year," he says.

Berkmann also trains Nicholls's staff. "It's important for all of our staff to know their way around the wine list," he says. "They taste every wine, and if they get behind a particular wine, then it sells. It's as simple as that."

Wastage is "minimal - a maximum of 2%," he says. "The preservation system means that wine can be kept for up to 21 days. If a particular wine isn't moving so well, and its time is nearly up, we'll sell it as a house red - so it could be a £12.95 glass of Nuits St Georges they're getting for £3.50."

Wines range from £3.50 to £12.95 for a 250ml glass (125ml for the six bubblies on offer), and the list skips the globe. One negative point is that the list is missing too many vintages and producer names, but Nicholls can just about be forgiven as the list is helpfully divided into flavour categories: dry and fruity; aromatic and fragrant, etc.

For more information on Le Verre de Vin, contact Bermar International on 01473 612062.

Shorts
Caterer food and wine pairing event Caterer and Californian wine producer Trinchero Family Estates have teamed up for what promises to be a novel (read, fun) food and wine matching experience to be held in London on Monday 17 May.

Hosted by two-Michelin-starred restaurant Pied … Terre, the event will kick off with a food and wine matching workshop for beginners, featuring the wine company's own Aroma Wheel of Fortune (Caterer, 18 March, page 50), where participants learn how to define wine aromas, understand off-aromas and develop an aroma vocabulary.

This will be followed by a food and wine pairing lunch, cooked by Pied … Terre's multi-award-winning chef, Shane Osborn, with wines supplied by Trinchero Family Estates, and commentary courtesy of the winery's wine education whiz, Barry Wiss.

An afternoon workshop completes the day, and includes the Tongue Fu Challenge (where participants learn the meaning of wine terms such as flat, thin, flabby and hot, and are challenged to correctly identify wines that have been slightly altered to accentuate such things as volatile acidity and tannin) and the World Wine Challenge (spin the wheel to land on a wine region and field questions about its wines).

This should be huge amounts of fun, and it's free - apart from the lunch, which costs £55 per person.

But places are limited, so hurry. Contact Emma Wellings on 020 8747 2071, or e-mail her on emma@ew-pr.co.uk.

The land of milk and honey
Last month, a new industry initiative was set up in London to give UK bar, club and restaurant professionals their own members' club. Called the Soho Honey Club, it takes place every Monday night at both the Player and Milk & Honey bars, and the £35 membership (by invitation only) includes deals on drinks, the lowdown on new launches, a free copy of drink consultant guru Dale DeGroff's bar bible, The Craft of the Cocktail, and access to events throughout the year.

Applications for membership can be made online at www.hnyclb.com.