Hold the wine, waiter, and bring me a beer
Cork that bottle of blush zinfandel and down-size the restaurant wine list; according to a new survey, restaurant diners far prefer beer and mixed drinks to wine.
A recent survey by Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food consulting firm, found that consumers were twice as likely to order beer or mixed drinks than wine when drinking away from home.
Only 18 percent of occasions when consumers dine and drink away from home included the consumption of wine, while 46 percent included the downing of beer, Technomic found.
But wine stewards can rest easy; wine still remains the beverage of choice for business meals and romantic dinners, Technomic said; it's those other dining-out occasions when ales, stouts, and mixed drinks rule.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
