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Cork popping equipment for English Wine Week

Author Damien Wilde
Posted On 15th May 2015

vineyardfeat

The Roman writer, senator and historian Tacitus once called described the British weather as being ‘objectionable’ and lamented that our climate wasn’t beneficial to the growing of certain types of vine and other crops, ones that would typically flourish in the warmer climes of Italy.

We’ll forgive him for his disparaging remarks, but at least we know that some Romans tried to establish vineyards here in Britain. And that should really come as no surprise given that by all accounts the Romans were fond of a glass of wine or two – a bit like us really.

Luckily though, some intrepid Roman farmers succeed where others failed, making it clear that Tacitus had obviously been hanging out with the wrong crowd. Archaeological work has found evidence that there were once commercial-sized vineyards in the south of England during the Romans’ tenure in Britain.

Unfortunately, others weren’t so keen. After the Romans left the United Kingdom then went through a spell of welcoming, repelling and submitting to a flurry of invading forces and our winemaking skills were left on the wayside and truth be told it wasn’t really until the 1950s that we saw a Great British wine revival.

But do the general public know about our rich history of producing fine wines? Admittedly, when you think of wine you think of sun-bathed vineyards in France, Italy and Australia – not grey old Britain.

So why not utilise the upcoming English Wine Week to showcase the best that Britain has to offer?

The Wine

With it being Wine Week, you’ll (obviously) need to get your hands on some British wine. If you don’t know where to start, then the English Wine Producers’ website has a handy list of vineyards that might be of use.

Alternatively, your regular supplier might be able to get hold of some bottles.

Ask around, you’re sure to find some!

Wine Chillers

Wine chillers and coolers are specifically designed units that are built to house multiple bottles of wine in a secure and temperature controlled environment. This might seem an obvious statement to make, but it’s a really important one!

A really good wine chiller can make all the difference, especially if you have one placed front-of-house in a prominent location behind the bar, directly in the eye line of customers. If people don’t see what you’re offering, it’ll never sell!

For a low capacity unit, look no further than Polar’s CE202 Wine Cooler. Capable of holding 11 bottles, this sleek black cooler can be placed in prominent back bar areas or on top of other appliances with ease. However if you are in need of a free-standing one to go alongside a number of bottle coolers, then the Lec 600SSWC Wine Cooler would be a fine choice. With reversible doors, digital display and five spacious shelves, it is easy to use during even the busiest of rush hours. And with a working temperature range of between 5-18° you can always be assured that your fine bottles of wine will be perfectly chilled.

At the other end of the spectrum is the Foster EP1440W Wine Cabinet, a large capacity double door cabinet that can hold 280 bottles of wine. Naturally we wouldn’t recommend this unit to anybody, but if you operate a wine bar or a high end restaurant that sells a large quantity of wine per night then you really can’t get much better than Foster Refrigeration’s premier unit. And you can get interest free credit on it too.

But what if you want to make a statement and position your primary wine cooler away? The free-standing Tefcold TFW365-2 Wine Cooler could be positioned away from the bar area and in a prominent area, near the head tables for example. Placed near to customers, sales and enquiries of wine will increase.

Glasswashers

One of the problems with seeing wine sales increase is that there’ll be more washing up to do during and after a day’s trading. Thankfully we have (mainly) moved away from the time consuming practice of washing up all the crockery, cutlery and glassware by hand – commercial glasswashers now perform that task for us.

On special offer at the moment is the Prodis E80X, a stainless steel under-counter glasswasher with a fast, dual speed rinse cycle.

Bottle Coolers

To further display your offering of English wine, you could strategically place a couple of bottles in noticeable areas on or around your bar, space depending of course. And easy way to achieve this is to use a couple of bottle coolers.

Normally associated with table service, these items can also be used to draw the customer’s focus towards showpiece areas on the bar. Picture the scene; a customer walks up the ordering area where they are greeted with a display of enticing bottles of wine and POS promoting your home-grown specialities. To maximise this effect, we suggest using the Vacu Vin Angled Cooler which will literally make your bottles stick out!

Glasses

Last, but by no means least, we come onto the topic of glassware.

A high profile event such as English Wine Week is the perfect time to update your range of wine and champagne glasses.

The traditionalists amongst us will surely opt for wine glasses from Utopia’s Reserva Collection which feature a classic, elegant shape topped off with a slender stem. For the more adventurous though, we also are able to supply both blue and red coloured wine glasses which are sure to go down a storm in trendy establishments that want to serve their wine with an accompanying wow factor!

Don’t forget that CS Catering Equipment is able to supply over 25,000 products and all orders over £75 qualify for free delivery. Shop online with CS Catering Equipment, the catering experts.

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