WINE INTERPRETATION FOR THE TRADE

Together, Billy Munnelly and Kato Wake have over 50 years of experience in the food, wine and hospitality sector. Trained in Ireland and England, Billy has a thorough understanding of every aspect of the business, and has been chef, dishwasher, sommelier and restaurant owner – a few times! Kato was service instructor for 8 years at the Stratford Chef School, and has created training programs and wine/service training manuals for large and small restaurants. She has worked in both high end and bistro restaurants, has a wealth of food knowledge and understands both the front of house and kitchen needs. Sales, service and communication are given top priority.

How are we different?
Our method of teaching (with hospitality staff OR the general public) by-passes the traditional 'old boys wine world' and gets right to the point of what's important – talking about wine to the average consumer in a friendly, educational, non-intimidating, non-'wine geek' way. Our methods WORK, have been tested and well received with thousands and reflect our philosophy of wine and life.


FOR RESTAURANT OWNERS
Interested in having a Billy's Best Bottles wine event in your restaurant?
We have conducted hundred's of 'sell out' wine evenings in just about every Ontario city and town. From Gananoque to Thunder Bay and Windsor and everywhere in between.

Does your hospitality / service / wine staff need training?
Does your restaurant wine list need help?


Billy's Best Bottles
STAFF TRAINING

We have years of experience training service staff across Canada in both corporate and small business environments. Each program is custom designed to address your needs and budget. We have proven results in the following areas:
1. product knowledge (food and wine)
2. technical skills (food service, wine protocol)
3. selling and hospitality skills (how to talk about the menu and wine, suggestive selling, opening lines, wine and food pairings)
4. wine list construction and management

Areas of Focus
The emphasis is ALWAYS on the customer experience and increasing sales. Both of us (Billy Munnelly and Kato Wake) participate in the conception, design and implementation of each program. We also provide written materials for all segments.

1. PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE: FOOD & WINE
wine 101
menu / ingredients 101
wine tasting seminars – knowing your list
varietals: classic descriptors/characterization of grapes
categorizing wine styles
using categories to spark sales
wine and food pairing strategies

2. SERVICE SKILLS
a. OVERVIEW
nature of service, sales and hospitality
the cost of one unhappy customer
handling complaints
general hospitality - hello/goodbye, posture, language
team building exercises

b. TECHNICAL
glass and tray handling
wine protocol
opening wine, pouring wine
serving and clearing – handling plates, cutlery, setting and re-setting, coffee service

c. SELLING
sales 101
opening lines
selling /upselling food and drink
team building sales ideas

3. WINE LIST
a. analysis of sales
b. analysis of existing inventory
c. sourcing product
d. design or redesign
e. updating and maintenance
f. training staff

Options are:
a. one half day (4 hours) for front of house
b. a series of half days
c. an on-going training program for a specific time period
d. train-the-trainers program
e. written training manual to support hands-on training
f. on site observation for feedback
g. hands on one-to-one training on locatio

To get things started, we recommend that you
1. state your needs
2. state your time frame
3. state your budget range

EMAIL us any questions, or to discuss the possibility of working with you.



FOR WINE IMPORTERS, WINE RETAILERS and MARKETING BOARDS
Need a new spin on merchandizing and selling wine?
We can be of assistance to wine retail outlets, wine councils, wine marketing boards and wine importers with our integrated merchandizing, sales and wine education system. No one knows or understands the consumer better than Billy's Best Bottles. Are you interested in implementing programs and strategies that don't just 'talk to the same converted audience? We have the 'ear of the people' and have successfully educated over 5000 'non-wine people'. We have the ability to penetrate new target groups and increase your sales.

Contact Billy or Kato to discuss your ideas.