I think what happens with a lot of casual wine drinkers like me is they experience a wine they like in a restaurant, remember the name, and then grab it if it appears on a grocery store shelf. I feel like if a winemaker can get on a restaurant menu, especially a chain (CPK, Cheesecake Factory), that’s the golden ticket.

On an unrelated note, I heard from a restaurant owner that a common strategy is to build in the largest profit margin on the *second* cheapest wine on the menu. He said customers tend shy away from the cheapest wine on the menu, and are immediately drawn to the second cheapest. I found that fascinating. So that second cheapest wine you see on the menu may actually be the one with the lowest wholesale cost, and it generates the largest profit margin.