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This paper examines publicans' response to the growing UK market in pub wine sales. It considers the findings of recent market surveys relating to wine sales across‐the‐bar, looks at the breweries' commitment to wine sales (research, training, consumer interest) and considers the potential of sales in this field for the breweries and independent landlords. Despite the rapid rise in popularity of wine, evidence suggests that the brewers, as yet, have still to make a full response to market growth. It appears that across‐the‐bar wine sales have been influenced little by the increase in UK wine imports and sales or changing public interests and demands. Trends indicate that there should be a significant market for wine in pubs, yet currently wine sales account for only 4% of all across‐the‐bar sales; as such this section of the pub beverage market offers brewers and publicans real potential to develop their wine sales strategies thereby increasing their sales and improving the appeal of their pubs.

This paper seeks to explore whether a wine steward can affect wine sales in a restaurant, and to explore a theoretical framework that may eventually lead to more efficient application of wine stewards.

The authors reviewed ten months of wine sales from Houston‐area restaurants during 2004, and found that restaurants with wine stewards tend to outsell restaurants without wine stewards, sometimes by a wide margin.

To provide a further understanding of this effect, the authors reviewed the literature on personal selling and developed a preliminary model of how the wine steward may provide such a profound impact on sales. Our tentative model proposes that wine stewards have both an indirect and direct influence on sales.

The initial research did not study the effect of the wine stewards' level of education and certification in regards to wine sales; nor were the wine education programs in “non‐wine steward restaurants” accounted for. Future research will control for wine steward certification levels and type of training programs at non‐wine‐steward restaurants.

Restaurant owners/managers may want to consider employing a wine steward to strengthen the restaurant's wine program. This study is the first in a series that will attempt to quantify the sommelier effect and to create a taxonomy of wine stewarding with the objective of creating tools that will allow restaurateurs to identify the prudent level of investment in this activity.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact that tasting sheet sensory descriptors have on wine sales in tasting rooms that rely on direct-to-consumer sales to sell the majority of their wines, such as those in New York wine regions.

Nine tasting rooms participated in the study that took place on weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) during a six-week period in July and August 2012. Tasting rooms alternated tasting sheets by weekend, one including sensory descriptors and one omitting sensory descriptors. At the end of each weekend, tasting room managers compiled information on daily wine bottle and (in the case of seven wineries) dollar sales. A multivariate statistical model was created to measure the relationship between the treatment (tasting sheet with or without descriptors) and wine sales, controlling for other variables that could influence wine sales.

The authors found that both bottle and dollar sales were higher when tasting sheets without sensory descriptors were used, with dollar sales statistically significant at the 10 percent level. Other variables that impacted wine sales included the specific tasting room, the day of the weekend, and festivals occurring in the area.

Many tasting rooms, particularly in New York, rely on the tasting room for the majority of wine sales. Determining factors that affect sales can help tasting room managers/owners optimize the tasting room experience for maximized profits.

While there have been studies involving the impact of descriptors on sales of food and wine products, these studies have all taken place in a grocery store or restaurant setting where many different brands and varieties are offered. There has been no research studying the impact of descriptors on wine sales in the tasting room, where tasters have a limited selection and an option to sample products before purchasing. There has also been little research studying aspects of tasting sheets.

The purpose of this paper is to present a model for promoting professional sales in winery visitor centers, as well as the results of an exploratory study to test the model.

A survey methodology was used to evaluate the sales behavior of winery personnel in three popular wine tourist regions of California, USA. In total, 284 mystery shopper evaluations were completed and analyzed. In addition, a professional sales model for winery visitor centers was developed based on secondary sources drawn from the literature.

Results indicate that some of the winery visitor centers have adopted professional sales techniques and trained their staff to perform these tasks, but there is still ample opportunity to improve. Sales presentations could become more interactive in many cases, and relationship and trust building actions could be emphasized more.

The study was limited to three wine regions in California, and only provides descriptive statistics of service and sales in the tasting room. Further testing of the model in new locations with expanded statistics would be useful.

The study highlight effective professional selling tactics used in winery visitor centers which could be adopted by managers. It also identifies areas for improvement.

This paper introduces a new model on professional sales in winery visitor centers. This is the first of its type to be applied to the wine industry for direct to consumer sales.

The selling of wines is usually performed by a sommelier in the context of an upmarket restaurant. However, many restaurants cannot afford to employ a sommelier and must rely on the food and beverage service personnel to assist customers with the selection of wine. The food and beverage service personnel are generally not qualified to do this. Restaurants usually do not provide training with regard to wine knowledge, wine service skills and wine selling skills. The purpose of this paper was to establish whether wine service training had an influence on the wine sales of a restaurant.

A quasi-experimental research design used two restaurants from the same franchise. One restaurant was the control group while the other was the experimental group. Wine sales were monitored and recorded for a period of three months, the second month being used for the training intervention of the experimental group.

Although the results were not statistically significant, the results indicated that wine service training increased the wine sales in the restaurant of the experimental group.

This study contributes to the literature in the South African hospitality sector and establishes that wine service training is a necessity for wine sales to explore further in the restaurant industry.

This study statistically examines the shifting distribution channels in the American wine industry based on the growth trajectory of sales, seasonality and disruption due to consumers switching to online platforms. The purpose of this paper is to design a model that will have general applicability beyond the wine industry.

The research uses regression-based additive decomposition of time series data to predict the trajectory of the market share for the digital distribution channel. The study develops a statistical prediction model using time series data between 2007 and 2020, inclusive, sourced from US Annual Wine Reports and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms databases.

The results show an increasing trajectory of wine sales through the online distribution channel with predictable seasonality. The disruptive effects of consumer switching behavior point to a steady increase in sales due both to increasing demand and accelerating switching. Nevertheless, the model shows that bricks and mortar purchases will remain strong and continue to account for the bulk of wine sales. COVID-19 has caused a step function increase in online sales but this should moderate after the crisis subsides and can be tested further.

This study is original in developing a model for an industry where bricks and mortar sales are growing and are expected to remain strong while there is still identifiable switching to online sales. The wine industry presents a classic case of accelerating switching behavior where there is still a strong franchise for in-store purchases. The model should have general applicability to distribution channels beyond the wine industry where steady growth, marked seasonality and disruptive consumer switching are in evidence.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between feelings toward buying wine on mobile phones and m-commerce website loyalty by examining the mediating role of sales promotion and the moderating role of service attributes of the m-commerce websites in influencing the mediation.

A total of 3,318 completed surveys were collected. Drawing on a large non-probability criterion-based purposive sample across six countries (France, Germany, Greece, South Africa, USA and Canada), mediation analysis was performed to examine the hypothesized relationships.

Results show that sales promotion mediates the relationship between feelings toward buying wine on mobile phones and m-commerce website loyalty. Moderated mediation reveals that the indirect pathways (sales promotion) through which feelings toward buying wine over mobile exert its effect on m-commerce website loyalty are dependent on the value of service (wine delivery) attributes of the website. The results demonstrate that sales promotion and service are of paramount importance to wineries and wine marketers.

Wine producers and retailers should consider the use of sales promotion to enhance sales and loyalty to m-commerce websites.

Wine producers and retailers should consider use sales promotion (such as SMS or push notifications) to enhance sales and influence consumer feelings and hence their loyalty.

Wine m-commerce studies are limited, especially with an international perspective comparing six different countries: three from the old world (France, Germany and Greece) and three from the new world (North America with USA and Canada; and South Africa). Altogether, these six countries represent around 40 per cent of the world’s wine consumption.

Although sales activities in the wine industry are becoming increasingly important, there has been little research on the sales capabilities in wine businesses. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by examining the most important salesperson and sales management capabilities and emerging trends related to the management of sales capabilities in the wine industry.

Empirical analysis based on an explorative research design was conducted in the Italian wine industry. Sales directors from 4 of the 30 largest Italian wine producers were interviewed. Textual data were analysed using template analysis.

Analysis of the findings revealed the most important capabilities of salespeople and sales managers and identified four emerging trends related to sales capability management in the wine industry – capabilities enrichment, capabilities balance, capabilities specialisation and capabilities acquisition process.

Given that only large wine producers in the Old World were interviewed, caution should be exercised before extending the findings to small and medium-sized players and to those in the New World.

The trends identified in this study provide actionable insights for designing strategies to manage sales capabilities in wine businesses.

This was one of the first studies to address the capabilities of salespeople and sales managers and to provide an in-depth examination of sales capability management trends in the wine industry.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on both the sales effects of free wine tastings and the effects on attitudes towards future purchases four weeks after the tastings.

Store scanner data for the four weeks before and after each of ten wine tastings are used to measure the effect tastings had on sales. A total of 170 consumers, who attended a free tasting in wine shops across 4 cities, are interviewed as they leave the store and 37 of these consumers respond to a call back survey one month after the free tasting.

Scanner data shows a 400 per cent increase in sales of the wines tasted on the day of tasting, and a small but significant effect on sales during the four weeks afterwards. The survey shows that there is no difference in purchasing between those attending a tasting with the intention to purchase and those just stopping by. Both groups purchase at about the same rate. Only about 33 per cent of the attendees purchase; the other two‐thirds are boozing.

Free tastings boost immediate sales just like most price promotions, but the effect on the intention to purchase is stronger for those who made a purchase. The study is conducted in one country among a small number of buyers, which limits its generalisability.

The results and implications of this research can be used by retailers and wine companies to make more informed decisions about free tastings. From this small study, attracting the maximum number of tasters to increase sales and long‐term purchasing intentions would be recommended.

The paper's objective is to investigate the relation between direct and indirect marketing channels applied by French wine producers, and to identify the elements that can enhance the success of direct distribution methods.

Secondary data collected though a questionnaire survey, and published in a study of Viniflhor was analysed in order to identify the distribution channels used by French wine producers. In the second part of the study, primary qualitative data obtained through face‐to‐face interviews with 17 wine producers was used to explore their direct marketing approach.

The findings indicated that French wine producers use a large variety of both direct and indirect marketing channels, although the importance of these distribution methods varies with the size of the producer (defined in terms of vineyard area and wine production). An integrated distribution strategy is applied by more than a half of the respondents. Although the strategic planning process is applied informally and intuitively, a series of innovative elements are combined in order to enhance the value of the product offer and to develop long‐term relationships with satisfied customers.

The low response rate obtained in the application of data collection methods raises questions regarding the possibility to generalize the findings to the entire population of study.

The paper applies a three layer analysis to the situation of the French wine producers from various regions, creatively combining focused investigation with an integrative perspective.