Comments on: Pouring one million cases

By: John

John — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:23:33 +0000

You would think that most on here should applaud the fact that they are selling so much wine and introducing it to some who just might get the wine bug and begin a life long affair with wine.

The only comment I have is that they should use their buying leverage to try and source out new and exciting wines from up and coming producers,regions…as limited as an endevour as it may be with the limited list they carry.

Trust me, if they are selling that much wine no matter the quality level or price level well they definitely weild tremendous buying leverage and should use it as such.

By: Chelsie

Chelsie — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 07:09:09 +0000

I am not above enjoying an entree with a glass of “affordable” wine at Olive Garden. Being a chain, the Olive Garden is in many places that interesting wine is not. And it introduces wine-tasting to an entire array of people who might have ordered the latest cocktail on the menu. I think it’s wonderful for them to sample their wines… I wish all establishments would do that.

By: buffooooooon

buffooooooon — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 20:41:00 +0000

to bradford;

you do sound like a snob. Just so you know.

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 12:24:00 +0000

Just saw this snippet on Bloomberg–no doubt the wine is falling to the bottom line! (maybe the Moet White Star?)

“Darden Restaurants Inc., which operates the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, rose $2.03 to $36.83 after the company raised its profit forecast. Darden expects per-share profit growth of as much as 20 percent for fiscal 2006 ending in May. It previously expected “low double-digit growth.”

By: Bradford

Bradford — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 22:06:00 +0000

Pretty funny that they use Vacu-vin to preserve their wine. There’s no evidence that it has such an effect, and most posts on the internet say the contrary. I remember Matt Kramer wrote an entire column on how this device does nothing years ago in the Wine Spectator. (Refrigeration is a very good preservative.)

And, not meaning to sound like a snob, but it’s kind of sad that people actually get engaged there.

By: allan

allan — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 14:17:00 +0000

Olive Garden provides a good introductory experience for many people learning about wine. I think it provides a much broader experience than most chain restaurants, and it appears that they take their wine selections seriously.

By: WaterintoWino

WaterintoWino — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 10:30:00 +0000

MMM all you can eat salad and breadsticks…I’ve been there a few times in the distant past and never really looked at the wine list. I suppose for a wine salesman landing their account must bring a huge bonus.

By: sui generis

sui generis — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 09:20:00 +0000

Except for the markup on wine, Olive Garden is cheap and the food is actually not too bad. You could do worse than to check it out.