Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

CHARDONNAY IS MORE THAN A FOOTBALLER'S WIFE

CHARDONNAY IS MORE THAN A FOOTBALLER'S WIFE

52% stick to wine they know
62% rate wine knowledge as average to poor
Name of wine our preferred way to choose wine

The success of Footballers' Wives has given many the encouragement to order 'Chardonnay' with confidence, but over half (52 per cent) of us prefer to stick to what they know to save embarrassment of mispronouncing anything new. But that is about to change!

Managers at the 130 Chef & Brewer pubs across the country have undergone pronunciation training to assist them with the launch of the new Chef & Brewer Wine List.

Not only will the managers helpfully advise customers on pronunciation of their Chorey les Beaune to Sancerre, the pubs will also recommend wines suitable to customer's tastes and choice of food from the daily menu.

And this is not a minute too soon, according to the research by Chef & Brewer, an astounding two-thirds (62 per cent) of the population rate their knowledge of wine as poor to average, and rely on TV programmes and friends to suggest something new.

You would be forgiven for thinking there's a science to choosing wine. In fact, when we do finally pluck up courage to venture from our favourite tipple, there are over 100 personal techniques we adopt - with consumers relying on everything from the size of the label, down to measuring the hollow of the bottle.

Surprisingly, there may well be science behind it according to Clare Vintner, Director of drinks at Chef & Brewer: "Women are thought to have more taste buds making them a better judge of wine, but at the end of the day the right wine for you, is the one you enjoy. Which is why we have also introduced the opportunity to try before you buy across all our pubs."

Footballer's Wives has worked wonders for re-invigorating interest in the world's most popular grape, and is it just a matter of time before we see the likes of Sancerre and Shiraz battling it out on our TV screens?

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Stats available on request
Contact Jon Bennett at BCLO PR 0117 973 1173 or 07980 881 682 or bennett@bclo.co.uk