FAQ — 518
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Vocabulaire et dégustation pro·Informational
Wine faults are off-flavours or aromas caused by contamination, microbial spoilage, or winemaking errors. The most common ones are cork taint (TCA), oxidation, reduction, volatile acidity (vinegar), Brettanomyces (barnyard), and unwanted refermentation. Roughly 2-5% of cork-sealed bottles are estimated to be corked.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Informational
Building a restaurant wine list typically costs between EUR 3,000 and EUR 15,000 depending on your concept. A casual bistro can start with 30-40 wines and around EUR 3,000-5,000 in stock, while a fine-dining venue might need 80-150 references and EUR 10,000-15,000 upfront. Monthly restocking usually runs 20-30% of your initial investment.
Vocabulaire et dégustation pro·Informational
A maderized wine is one that has been cooked by heat and gone prematurely brown and oxidised. It gets its name from Madeira, where deliberate heating is part of the winemaking process. In any other wine, though, it is a fault. Look for amber or brown colours where you would expect freshness, and aromas of stewed fruit, caramel, and stale nuts.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Informational
Training restaurant staff on wine comes down to three pillars: weekly 30-minute tastings of wines on your list, simple tasting cards for each reference (grape, region, pairings), and mentoring from the sommelier or floor manager. An annual budget of EUR 500-2,000 in training can turn your service team into a genuine sales force.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Informational
Offering wine by the glass means selecting 6-12 references covering key styles (dry white, light red, full red, rosé, sparkling), using a proper preservation system (Coravin, nitrogen, or fast rotation), and pricing each glass at roughly 1/4 to 1/5 of the bottle price. By-the-glass sales typically account for 30-40% of wine revenue in a well-run restaurant.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Informational
Pairing the wine list with the menu means offering at least one matching wine per signature dish, following the principles of concordance (match intensity) and complementarity (e.g., acidity to cut richness). Chef and sommelier should collaborate on 3-5 flagship pairings that anchor the entire list.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Informational
Organising a wine tasting in a restaurant means choosing a theme (region, grape, vintage), selecting 5-8 wines in progressive order (lightest to boldest), planning simple food pairings, and setting a per-person price between EUR 35 and EUR 75. The sweet spot is 12-25 guests for a 90-minute to 2-hour event.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Informational
Managing wine rotation means tracking weekly sales per reference, setting reorder points at 2-3 weeks of stock for best sellers, and refreshing 10-15% of the list quarterly to keep it interesting. Any wine that has not sold in six weeks should be moved to by-the-glass or removed.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Recommendation
A bar should offer 6-10 wines by the glass covering the main taste profiles: a fresh aromatic white (Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling), a rounder white (Chardonnay), a fruity easy-drinking red (Merlot or Pinot Noir), a bolder red (Syrah or Malbec), a rosé, and bubbles (Prosecco or Crémant). Glass prices typically range from EUR 5 to EUR 10 in a standard bar.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Informational
The ideal number of wines on a list depends on your venue: 25-40 for a bistro, 50-80 for a mid-range restaurant, and 100-200+ for fine dining. The golden rule is that 40 well-chosen, always-available wines beat 120 references riddled with stock-outs.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Comparative
A digital wine list (tablet, QR code, or app) offers instant stock and price updates, enriched descriptions with photos and tasting notes, and zero printing costs. On the flip side, it can feel impersonal, exclude less tech-savvy guests, and requires an initial investment of EUR 500-3,000 depending on the platform.
HoReCa et carte des vins·Informational
Negotiating with a wine supplier hinges on three levers: volume (5-15% discounts from 50-100 bottles), payment terms (30-60 days net), and added services (free delivery, sale-or-return, staff training). A well-prepared restaurateur compares at least 3 suppliers and negotiates an annual framework agreement.
Tendances et nouveautés·Informational
Low-intervention wine is made with as little winemaking manipulation as possible, think native yeasts, no added sulfites (or just a tiny dose), and skipping heavy filtering or fining. It's a broader umbrella than 'natural wine' and covers everything from biodynamic to minimalist approaches, all united by one goal: let the grape and the land do the talking.
Tendances et nouveautés·Informational
Yes, blue wine is a real thing, though calling it 'wine' is legally tricky in the EU. The blue colour comes either from anthocyanin-rich grape varieties (like Alicante Bouschet) or from adding indigo dye (E132) to white wine. Spanish brand Gïk launched the first commercial blue wine in 2015, and it sparked a massive debate about what counts as wine and what's just a wine-based drink.
Tendances et nouveautés·Informational
Wine on tap means serving wine from stainless-steel kegs (10-30 litres) through a draught system pressurised with inert gas, nitrogen or a nitrogen/CO₂ blend. Over 3,500 US restaurants used the format in 2024. It cuts the carbon footprint by roughly 40 % compared to glass bottles and keeps wine fresh for 4-6 weeks once tapped.
Tendances et nouveautés·Comparative
Tetra Pak wine is a smart choice for the planet and for everyday drinking — but it has real limits. The carton format is 80 % lighter than glass, slashes transport emissions by 40–50 %, and keeps wine fresh for 12 months unopened. It works brilliantly for everyday wines under €8 per litre. For complex or age-worthy bottles, though, glass still wins. In Scandinavia, Tetra Pak already accounts for over 40 % of wine sales by volume.
Tendances et nouveautés·Informational
Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, gravitate toward natural wine for three big reasons: they want transparency about what's in their glass, they care about environmental impact (organic and biodynamic farming ticks that box), and they prefer the relaxed, unpretentious culture around natural wine over traditional wine snobbery. Wine Intelligence reported in 2024 that 38 % of European millennials actively seek out natural or low-intervention wines.
Tendances et nouveautés·Informational
Wine NFTs are unique digital certificates stored on a blockchain that prove who owns a bottle, confirm it's genuine, and track its full history. You buy a digital token linked to a real, physical bottle kept in professional storage. It's a powerful tool against counterfeiting — which affects an estimated 20 % of fine wine sales according to Wine Spectator — and makes reselling on secondary markets far more transparent.
Tendances et nouveautés·Informational
'Drink Less, Drink Better' is a consumer trend where people cut back on how much they drink but spend more on quality when they do. It started gaining traction in the mid-2010s, mainly in the UK and US, and it's now a defining force in European wine. IWSR's 2024 data shows the premium-plus segment (above €10 per bottle) growing at 5 % annually in Europe, even as overall wine consumption drops 2 % per year since 2019.
Tendances et nouveautés·Informational
Yes, CBD-infused wines exist, mostly in the US, where brands like Rebel Coast and House of Saka sell bottles containing 20-40 mg of CBD. In Europe, it's a different story: the EU's Novel Food regulation (2015/2283) restricts adding CBD to food and drink, and no CBD wine is currently approved for sale as 'wine' within the EU.