Restaurant rose caught up in ‘pay to play’ scheme where owners get cash for selling wine

Owners of expensive restaurants are being bribed with substantial cash payments by vineyards to stock their wines, a disgruntled sommelier has revealed.

Victoria James, the beverage director and partner at Cote Korean Steakhouse in New York exposed an email she was sent from a wine account salesperson offering her ‘funding’ in exchange for buying from their brand. 

The whistleblower said the outbreak of ‘big-brand pink swill on otherwise nice restaurant menus’ makes her ‘furious’ as she revealed one representative offered her $5000 (£3,892) to stock their wine.

Victoria James, the beverage director and partner at Cote Korean Steakhouse in New York exposed an email she was sent from a wine account salesperson offering her ‘funding’ in exchange for buying from their brand

She added that it’s regular practice for brands to offer ‘trips, dinners, sporting game tickets and complimentary product’ in order to get an edge.

Penning an article for Bon Apetit, the sommelier said: ‘The world of wines in restaurants is not a very public one.’

‘When it comes to rosé, sneaky deals like this have become par for the course as the wine becomes more and more popular. We call it pay to play, and it’s caused an outbreak of sh***y rosé on wine lists everywhere. Specifically on by-the-glass lists, which sell the highest quantity and where diners are more likely to order based on name-brand recognition’ she added.

In the post, the 27-year-old told of how a rosé company ‘might realise a restaurant is popular or has some buzz’ and explained how a representative ‘might stop by, drop off a business card, send an email, and hint that they’d make it worth your while to add their wine to the list.’

She added ‘someone straight-up offered me $5,000 to feature their watery, tasteless rosé for the summer season. This means being an ambassador for the product, a role that I view as at odds with my responsibility as a sommelier.        

The problem isn’t exclusive to New York. 

An explosion of 'sh***y rosé' has hit expensive restaurants, a sommelier has said

An explosion of ‘sh***y rosé’ has hit expensive restaurants, a sommelier has said

A UK-based wine consultant told the Times, one of Britain’s biggest wine dealers recently paid a newly launched London restaurant £20,000 in exchange to provide all the wine on the menu.

The recent boom in Rosé’s popularity has led to a surge in so-called ‘pay to play’ schemes, which aren’t illegal under UK bribery laws.

Jonathan Downey, the owner of Milk and Honey in central London told the Times this practice was ‘standard in Britain’ and deals have been struck like that ‘forever’.

He admitted Skye Vodka offered him £75,000 in exchange for exclusively stocking his brand for a year across his eight bars. 

The 52-year-old added his approach was different with vodka than with wine because the standards are ‘more variable’ but he would still consider the approach with red wine.  

The recent boom in Rosé's popularity has led to a surge in so-called 'pay to play' schemes, which aren't illegal under UK bribery laws (stock image of a vineyard)

The recent boom in Rosé’s popularity has led to a surge in so-called ‘pay to play’ schemes, which aren’t illegal under UK bribery laws (stock image of a vineyard)

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