On-trade too brand-averse

I know, without any doubt, the reassurance that they offer to mainstream wine consumers, who can easily find themselves lost among rows and rows of wines.

So what's different in the restaurant business? I have talked to brand owners, to specialists, to restaurant wine-buyers and sommeliers. Time after time, it has been made clear to me that brands and restaurants don't go together.

But why? I fully accept that white tablecloth restaurants want uniqueness and exclusivity in the form of a few magical gems unavailable elsewhere. No problem: such restaurants are comparable to the fine wine specialists and independents in the off-trade. They have have well-trained sommeliers to guide customers through the lists.

Where I lose the plot is with gastropubs, restaurant chains, and so on -the very places where those consumers who buy brands in supermarkets go to eat. If they look for reassurance when doing their shopping, why wouldn't they in a restaurant?

I suggest, in the on-trade's view, the needs of such customers come second to the comparative price perception of brands.

Yet when you can buy a fillet steak for 4.50 in a supermarket but pay 12 in a restaurant, or pay 3 for a pint of Stella, which costs 40p a bottle at home, the price comparison argument begins to falls short.

Too often I see lists dominated by no-name offerings whose presence is dictated by the lack of retail-price comparison, thus allowing the establishment to add a significant multiple of the original cost price and charge premium prices, in a way which is less easily done with brands.

And too often I see customers at gastropubs and restaurant chains looking confused. They want to make a quick selection in order to enjoy the experience, but the wine list is hard work.

I have seen the look of relief on people's faces when they find a wine that they have heard of on a list. It eases the selection process, removes the stress, and enables many, on-wine-focused consumers to relax and enjoy. It may even encourage them to trade up.

With Champagne, customers gravitate towards brand names they know and accept the on-trade mark up. Why not with still wine?

Angela Mount is MD of Love That Wine and associate director of Wine Intelligence