Upselling Wine ...

... do you like it when a sommelier or waiter suggests an expensive wine? Here's a story. Up until fairly recently, I really enjoyed choosing my own wine with dinner. I've always enjoyed putting my wine knowledge to use to pick out the values on the list ... the Gigondas, for example, instead of an over-priced Bordeaux that is too young to drink.

Now, when a sommelier asks if he or she can suggest someting, I listen and take careful note of how persuasive they are in their selling. A few sommeliers do it quite well. You can tell they are enthusiastic about their product, or just naturally smooth.

However, one waiter in a French Bistro where dinner items range around $25 began by giving wine suggestions at $250, $350, and $450. My friend, a man, was privately upset and couldn't believe how he dared give five-star restaurant wine suggestions in what was pretty much a neighborhood pub - a place where upper east side locals go for dinner instead of making it themselves.

"Look around the room," I said, gazing around at the well-to-do crowd, a lot of foreigners dripping in jewels, some film actreses, and others who probably owned corporations. "They have more money than most of the tourists at Per Se."

Was the sommelier right to make such high suggestions? Hey, why not? Why presume or put a limit on what people should spend?

At any rate, this is a long-winded way of introducing the topic of suggestive selling. Restaurants need to sell wine, drinks, and "extras" to succeed in a competitive environment. Very few waiters I've encountered do this well, but perhaps I'm not sending out the right "please upsell me" vibes.

According to the article from the Morning Adviser, the best candidate for being upsold is someone who looks nervous, apprehensive, unsure, and (rather strangely) looks at the menu for a long time.

Also, the best way to upsell a customer is instead of asking if he or she would like a 3oz or 6oz glass of wine, NOD YOUR HEAD and ask "The six ounce glass, right?" According to their research, most customers will say yes.

The article also stresses that preparation is key. So if you are going to recommend a $350 wine, you should explain WHY it's priced that way. The best sommelier who did this effectively was a sommelier at Restaurant Daniel, who explained the Bordeaux wines at three price points quite well.

Finally, just have to remark on a demo guy at a Whole Foods who was selling wine flavored sorbet. He was at the lonely back of the store giving examples, yet was so wildly enthusiastic about the product and so fun to listen to as he explained the features of his sorbet, I had to ask him if he was on commission. He shrugged and said he was an entertainer by profession and really believed in the product.

So there you have it!

I'd love to hear your stories about the way you upsell, or ways you enjoyed being upsold. Please reply using the comment feature.