Napa Technology Survey Finds Wine By The Glass Consumption On The Rise Wine Preservation Systems Meet Consumer Demand
Napa Technology, developer of the WineStation, commissioned a survey of top sommeliers wine directors, and hotel and restaurant operators that found that wine by the glass consumption is increasing and consumers are willing to pay more for an expensive glass that would otherwise be cost prohibitive by the bottle.
Today’s consumers are demanding more wine by the glass, are savvier, willing to pay more for better quality, and accept that wine preservation is a beneficial, if not necessary, system.
More than 85 percent of professionals in the industry believe that consumers are demanding and ordering more wines by the glass than they were in previous years. This may be due to the belief by more than 8 out of 10 (88 percent) of respondents who indicated that consumers are more knowledgeable about wine than they were just four years ago.
Consumers are no longer satisfied with a glass of the house red or white and establishments are responding with more robust wine by the glass lists that boast a wide variety of choices. In fact, more than 7 out of 10 (73 percent) agree that high end, rare, or expensive wines by the glass are enticing consumers to purchase what they would otherwise not purchase by the bottle.
When consumers order wines by the glass they expect it to be pristine in both taste and temperature. Wine experts and operators surveyed, are increasingly turning to intelligent wine preservation systems to deliver the perfect pour each time.
Furthermore, 81 percent of experts surveyed, believe that it is important to have a wine preservation system to have a more profitable wine by the glass program with more than half of respondents report utilizing a system at their venue.
Reacting to the growing demand and need to maintain profitability, many were prompted to invest a wine preservation system for the ability to offer finer/high priced wines, reduce waste due to spoilage, and to provide a more pristine product in terms of taste and temperature of the wine. Consumer reaction also supports these findings, as the experts report that guests are having a positive reaction to wine preservation systems with some expecting it for finer wines.
The most surprising result from the survey is that even though industry insiders report consumers spending is less on wine overall, more than 8 out of 10 believe that wines by the glass spending has increased.
Methodology
Commissioned by Napa Technology, the wines by the glass survey took place in April 2011. The sample size included a mix of 188 sommeliers, wine directors, restaurateurs, hotel operators and buyers who were contacted by Ink Foundry via a private database, select open and closed social networks and one to one phone interviews.
Individuals who participated in the survey were existing users of wine preservation systems, non-users of preservation systems, multi-unit restaurant chains, upscale single-unit fine dining restaurants, and national luxury hotel brands.