Wine list
A wine list is the list of the wines and sparkling wines on offer in the field of gastronomy for enjoyment on site by the guest. It is used in businesses such as restaurants , bars , wine taverns , hotels , vinotheques , in beverage retailers or by winegrowers with a bar and / or sales license. Assortment lists in the context of the pure wine trade are sometimes also referred to as wine lists . In addition to the price , descriptions such as quality level , alcohol content , residual sweetness , age, taste, winery, winemaker, more detailed information on the process, location of the vines (height, area and soil), awards as well as label and image of the respective wine can be found in a wine list . Wine lists are usually available separately in the wine trade. In the gastronomic area, there can be combinations with food , drink and cards with other offers.
history
Already in the wine culture of ancient Egypt , the origin, vintage and winemaker of the wine were marked on jugs; the first wine lists have also come down from here, but they were used to manage the inventory and not to present the offer. The oldest evidence for wine lists in the real sense can be found in the 1st century BC. In the culture of ancient Rome: Different wines with their prices were painted on the wall of a caupona in Herculaneum . In the taberna of Hedone in Pompeii there was a graffiti with the wine offer: Assibus (singulis) hic bibitur; dupundium si dederis, meliora bibes; qua (rtum) (assem) si dederis, vina Falerna bibes. ("For an ace you can drink here; for a two you drink better; for four you drink Falerner wine.")
purpose
The purpose of the wine list is to present the wines on offer, describe their taste and thus give an overview of what the wine cellar has to offer. The exact listing of drinks and their price, including extracts at the entrance to a restaurant, is required by law in Germany ( Section 7, Paragraph 2, Clause 1 of the Price Indication Regulation ). The sale of wine in restaurants makes a significant contribution to sales and is an important part of the offer as well as the potential profitability.
In restaurants, the wine list is particularly useful for guests to find the right wines for their dishes. In addition to the waiter, a trained sommelier can advise on the wine list. In wine taverns or estates, this is also done by the owner or the winegrower himself. Studies have shown that the appealing presentation and presentation of the wine on offer can significantly increase the enjoyment of wine in restaurants, the same applies to tasting offers and suggestions for combining food and wine.
Content and structure
In 2009, innkeepers in Spain mentioned terms such as 'easy to use', 'easy to change', 'varied', 'comprehensive', 'knowledgeable', 'imaginative' and 'carefully selected' as important properties of a wine list. The more frequent change of the offer is also considered a quality criterion.
The classification of the wines is generally based on color ( red , rosé and white wine ), taste , grape variety and wine-growing region , and sometimes the quality level . The range of sparkling wines is usually presented separately from the rest of the wine. Maps of regional wines are also broken down by winery . To promote sales, other classifications are recommended, such as according to the dishes with which the wines can be drunk or according to price categories.
Mostly open wines (which are offered by the glass in the open bar) and bottled wines (which are only offered in whole bottles) are listed separately. A basic range of open wines or bottle wines generally includes at least one dry wine of each color. In some establishments, smaller bottle sizes (see Piccolo ) replace the range of open wines.
In specialized catering establishments, wine lists are sometimes very long - there are examples of wine lists with several thousand items. If there are more than 100 items, the wine list is usually structured by a table of contents .
layout
In addition to the 'classic' presentation in paper form, often as a booklet or book, and the display on boards, especially in wine cellars, wine bars, heurigen or restaurants, where attention is to be drawn to a rapidly changing offer, there has been since the end of the 20th Century also increasingly online wine lists or the presentation of the wine range on electronic devices such as tablets or screens. Extracts from the wine list are also presented as outdoor advertising on notice boards, showcases or posters in public spaces.
Since the individual creation of the wine list serves as a marketing tool with which the company identity is expressed, special emphasis is occasionally placed on the design criteria. The category and the requirements of the catering establishment are reflected in the wine list. This can be seen as a first impression in the choice of material for the card. The various cover and side materials such as cardboard, paper, plastic or (artificial) leather and the corporate design reinforce this.
Wine list on the Clara paddle steamer , 1852
Wine list in the Pioneer Zephyr , 1930s
Wine list in the Tour d'Argent , Paris 2008
Wine list in a Viennese wine bar, 2014
literature
- Natalie Lumpp : The Hallwag Handbook Food and Wine . 1st edition. Hallwag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-8338-2299-5 .
Web links
- Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht : Decanting on the Abyss, 2013, blogs.faz.net
- Historical Wine Lists - Collection of historical wine lists dating back to 1855
Individual evidence
- ↑ ewineplanet.com History of Wine (Eng.)
- ↑ CIL IV 1679, quoted after a presentation of the inscriptions at the tavern pompeiiinpictures.com
- ↑ a b c Lucie Sirieix, Herve Remaud: presentation on their study "Exploring wine list design strategy in French restaurants." 5th International Academy of Wine Business Research Conference, 8. – 10. February 2010, Auckland (NZ) ( academyofwinebusiness.com PDF, engl.)
- ↑ Pimp my wine menu - new ideas and possibilities. G-wie-Gastro, accessed on August 10, 2014 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Faßbender: 50 Simple Things You Should Know About Dining Out. Westend-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 9783938060131 , p. 106 ( books.google.de book preview)
- ↑ Teresa Schaur-Wünsch: 20 million in the cellar of Coburg: The best wine list in the world, diepresse.com 2014