Executive Summary: Fine Wine and the Restaurants

Covid-19 has shaken up the hospitality sector like little else. For the last two years, the crisis disrupted all facets of hospitality, precipitating major changes and revealing underlying trends. Following a series of closures, chefs, sommeliers, restaurant owners and investors were pushed to rethink not only their operations, but also about their vision and quest for meaning. Many were forced to reinvent themselves and their menus, conceiving of new ways to work with their team and build relationship with customers.

Are these transformations cyclical, or structural? Have premium restaurants evolved during the pandemic? What prepandemic
trends are shaping the re-opening of restaurants? Pre-pandemic, the on-trade accounted for 30% of total European wine sales – representing 50% of all wine value. What do all these changes mean for the wine list? And what role will sommeliers play in the post-pandemic world?

The following chapters present a global analysis of international trends and results based on extensive desk research and data compilation, combined with a dedicated interview programme of key personalities of the hospitality sector.

Major themes covered:

• Two years after the start of the pandemic, what is the current state of the restaurant trade, and where is it going next?
• How did the wine lists change during the pandemic?
• Did restaurants re-open with more, or fewer wines on their wine menu?
• Did sommeliers substantially change their pricing strategy? If so, why?
• Do consumers still expect the same things when dining out? What kind of experience are they looking for? Are there any worries that need to be addressed?
• When it comes to buying wine in restaurants and other on-trade establishments, what is most important for them?

Fine Wine and the Restaurants report:

• 50 pages
• Three chapters of extensive qualitative and quantitative research
• Key markets covered: Paris, London, San Francisco, New York, Switzerland, Tokyo-Osaka
• Wine Services and Wine Intelligence data points
• Insight from our dedicated interview programme