Factors influencing restaurateurs’ choice of wines and wine lists: A replication study in a South African context

Abstract

Orientation: The restaurant environment is highly competitive. Restaurants’ wine lists offer value, prestige and positive emotional experiences to customers.

Research purpose: The research problem studied here focuses on the factors that restaurateurs consider when they design a wine list for a fine dining restaurant. The objective is to replicate the work of Sirieix et al. (2011) in a South African context.

Motivation for the study: The primary motivation for this study is the absence in academic publications about why and how South African restaurateurs select wines for their wine lists.

Research design, approach and method: Sixty one restaurants offering fine dining, are not part of a franchise and offered wines from other estates and producers were approached and agreed to participate in the study. Personal interviews were conducted with owners, managers or sommeliers. Restaurateurs’ strategy preferences were analysed with Finn and Louviere’s (1992) Best-Worst methodology.

Main findings: The two individual factors selected the most by South African restaurateurs for inclusion on a wine list, that a wine should match well with the food offered and that it must taste good, are similar to those of the Sirieix et al. (2011) study.

Practical/managerial implications: The findings may enable wine producers and wine marketers to refine their marketing strategies and tactics to restaurants that offer fine dining.

Contribution/value-add: Wine contributes on average 29% to the turnover of restaurants and is therefore by implication of great importance to customer satisfaction and restaurateurs.