Wednesday, August 25, 2010

8 Questions You’ll Get When Selling Your Business

When meeting with potential acquirers, you'll be grilled on all facets of your operations. Here are a few questions that are sure to come up.

One of the most intimidating parts of selling my last business was facing the barrage of questions during the various management presentations I did for companies interested in buying it. Every meeting had a different vibe, with each potential acquirer keen to dig into various aspects of the business.

Based on my experience in the hot seat, I’ve prepared a summary of some of the questions you’re likely to get when selling your business.

1. Why do you want to sell your business?

It’s a slippery question because if your business truly does have a bright future—and you want the buyer to believe that’s the case—the obvious question is, “Why would you want to sell it?”

2. What is your cost per new customer acquired?

The potential acquirer wants to find out if you have a predictable, economical and scalable formula for finding new customers.

3. What is your market penetration rate?

The acquirer is trying to understand how big the potential market is for your product or service and what part of the field remains to be harvested.

4. Who are the critical members of your team?

The acquirer wants to understand the depth of your team and determine specifically which members need to be motivated and retained post-purchase.

5. Who buys what you sell?

Strategic buyers will be searching for any possible synergies between what you sell and what they sell. The more you know about your customer demographics, the better the buyer will be able to assess the strategic fit. If your customers are other businesses, a buyer will want to know what functional role (e.g., training manager, VP of sales and marketing) buys your product or service.

6. How do you make what you sell?

This question is asked in an effort to size up the uniqueness of your formula for creating your product or service. Potential buyers want to know if you have any proprietary systems that would be hard for a competitor to replicate. They will also want to understand if the creation of your product or service is dependent on any one person.


7. What makes your product truly unique?

A buyer is trying to understand how big the moat is around your business and what kind of protection it offers from competitors who may decide to compete with you in the future.


8. Can you describe your back-office setup?


Most buyers will try to understand how easily they can integrate your back office into their operation. They’ll want to know what bookkeeping and billing software you use, how customers pay and how you pay suppliers. This is not an exhaustive list and will certainly benefit from your contributions. Please use the comments section below to share other questions you have been asked by potential investors/acquirers.

John Warrillow is a writer, speaker and angel investor in a number of start-up companies. He writes a blog about building a sellable company at http://www.BuiltToSell.com/blog

Monday, August 23, 2010

Faulty Wine? When to Put a Cork in it!

August 20, 2010
Faulty Wine? When to Put a Cork In It By WILL LYONS http://www.wsj.com/

Finding fault with a wine is a snob's dream. I remember one incident a few years ago, when a friend of mine, who had recently entered the wine trade, obviously wanted to impress his female dining companion and make his mark as a man who knew a thing or two about wine. It was the second bottle of an Italian red we had ordered and although, I have to admit, it did smell a little earthy, it was by no means corked. Undeterred, my friend insisted on calling over the sommelier.
Much theatrical posturing ensued in which the sommelier flamboyantly sniffed the cork before pouring himself a tasting measure of the wine in question and, after tasting, confidently declared to the table: "This is not corked." I had to agree but took no pleasure in watching my friend's expression crumple. I can't remember whether he actually brought himself to drink the aforementioned bottle, but I do recall enjoying the wine very much.
The problem with identifying wine faults such as cork taint, oxidation, sediment and tartrate crystals or brettanomyces (a subject I will return to later) is that more often than not there is no fault with the wine at all. It just doesn't taste quite how the drinker expected it to. Take our "earthy" Italian wine. If one is used to a softer, approachable, supple form of wine such as an Australian Merlot instead of the bitter, tannic and dry flavor of an Italian grape variety such as Nebbiolo, then naturally the Italian wine can come as a bit of a shock to the palate.
Similarly, when a wine is served with small pieces of cork floating inside the glass, it isn't actually corked, it is just that the cork has crumbled and fallen into the glass. These may seem basic rules to some but I wager right now there is someone beckoning the sommelier over, arguing that there are small bits floating on his wine and he will under no circumstances drink "corked wine."
So how does one identify corked wine? Firstly, it is worth pointing out that in the U.K. this is becoming less of a problem as more wine producers are reverting to screwcaps. Unfortunately for those wines bottled with a cork, there are still corks that are contaminated with TCA, a chemical compound 2,4,6-trichloroanisole that gives the wine an unmistakable pungent, mouldy odor.
By far a more common fault, in my experience, is the wine that has been ruined through oxidation. This is when a small amount of air has seeped in through the cork, leaving the wine smelling "sherried" or without any discernible fruit characteristics. Rarer these days, but still prevalent in some wines, is the occurrence of opening a bottle to find it is "off," displaying a foul-smelling nose. When I worked in the wine trade a few years back, I learned that this was because of the wine being contaminated by bacteria left over in the winery.
Sediment collected at the bottom of a wine glass can be unpleasant to drink but is entirely natural and expected in wines that are aged. Decanting the wine should avoid this experience. Small tartrate crystals that appear in white wine are also nothing to worry about; they form naturally in the winemaking process.







One fault beloved of wine snobs is that of "brett," or brettanomyces, to give it its full name. Hugely controversial, brett is a yeast that imparts a distinctive flavor to a wine, best described in my experience as a sort of smoky bacon flavor. It is found predominantly in red Bordeaux, and for many the taste actually improves the wine, adding complexity and character. Those who don't like the taste, and there are many, often say that it is a result of bad winemaking.
But as Master of Wine Anthony Barne says: "It is a taste that is almost endemic in older clarets and one we all came to know and love as part of the taste of red Bordeaux.
"If you go back 20 years, it was really the Australians who were perhaps more scientific winemakers then the Bordelais were in general. They had identified brett as what they considered to be a wine fault, and then they were finding it in a lot of clarets and were always looking for an angle as to why Australian wines were superior to French wines. But unless it is really strong, I don't see it as a huge problem, I must say."
A view echoed by Simon Staples, sales director at Berry Bros. & Rudd wine merchants, who says, "It's a fault I rarely come across and if I had to be honest, if you mention it, I don't think most people know what you are talking about." Which is precisely why the wine snobs love it so much.
Kevin L. Brown- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, August 16, 2010

Whole Mind Thinkers Win with Mind Mapping

August 16, 2010
Posted by Marla Tabaka at 9:36 AM -Inc Mag-  http://ow.ly/2qhrg
 
As entrepreneur’s problem-solve or seek the next steps to grow their company, they tend to toss ideas around in their mind, waiting for the magic solution or next brilliant idea. No doubt, it will come - but then what? Most entrepreneurs will come up with more than one great idea and they merge in the brain to confuse, overwhelm and produce frustration. Making lists of your ideas is a good way to get them out of your mind but doesn’t offer much opportunity for exploration and expansion of your concept. How can we take our ideas, goals, and problem solving to the next level?

The “Information Age” is giving way to a whole new world where right brain thinkers and whole mind thinking are the power weapons necessary to create success. People and companies are recreating themselves, learning to think differently, becoming more creative, empathetic and purpose-driven. I witness this daily as I work with my amazing clients; most of whom have a “greater purpose” for running a successful business, a purpose that takes them beyond the profits.

Mind Mapping gives us an opportunity to engage right brain thinking. It’s a creative process that is easy for the brain to follow, expand upon, and remember. For me, the key to mind mapping is asking the next question, drilling down and then drilling down some more.

If you wish to consolidate information, create a process, think through a complex thought or brainstorm an idea, try this process. You can get as creative as you like, or keep it simple. There are computer programs you can utilize or you can use a white board, poster board or large piece of paper. I really like using the paper because using my own hands to draw and write seems to pull more creativity out of me.

Begin with your main topic. For the sake of today’s discussion let’s say that you are creating a process to release your new product. In the center of your paper, write the word “product release.” Then ask yourself questions like “what do I need to have in place to launch”? Draw a line from your center topic for each thought that comes to mind. If the thoughts are linked, create a tree branch-like effect and continue creating. Write down all of your thoughts, one will lead to another as the process continues. You might consider using different colors for various lines of thought. Get creative, have fun and be amazed at what surfaces. Drill down, keep asking questions like, “and what do I need to have in place to do that”?

Consider your resources and create a branch for all of those as well. As challenges arise, they may merit another mind map or you might resolve them after drilling down with a few more questions. There are no rules here – let your whole brain guide you to the answers!

See some great information and examples at Mind Tools and Litemind. Then try it today and let us know the outcome!
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm
http://litemind.com/what-is-mind-mapping/
Kevin L. Brown www.kbsinsight.blogspot.com

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

What Makes a Wine Ageworthy?

We cellar wines because we believe they will transform. But what qualities indicate that potential?
Matt Kramer -Wine Spectator http://ow.ly/2kZdt
Posted: August 3, 2010
A few weeks ago, during the discussion from my column "What Syrah Really Needs" (short answer: time in the cellar), Robert Hight asked, "What is it that you sense in a wine that makes it ageworthy?" He added, "My experience in my cellar is only one or two out of 10 wines I open have benefited from extended aging."

This is what I call a "nub question," which is to say, one of those fundamental inquiries about fine wine that we all confront, consciously or otherwise. Anyone who accumulates more wine than he or she intends to drink in, say, a month's time, runs smack into this elemental feature of wine loving—wine living, you might say.

This business of aging wine for a better tomorrow proceeds from a single premise, one that often goes unstated but is nevertheless ever-present: the concept of transformation. There is no reason to age wine except in the belief that it will transform. This is not the same, mind you, as merely enduring.

Today, most wines will endure for varying spans of time if kept in a cool space. This endurance will vary with the grape variety and the region where it was grown, but nearly all wines today are well-made, and it's amazing how sturdy many of them are.

Yet these same (simple) wines, though capable of enduring, won’t actually change. If red, they may get smoother, shedding whatever tannins they had. If white, they'll slowly oxidize into oblivion. But nowhere along the continuum of youth to old age will they have become dramatically, dimensionally different from what they were when first made. They do not transform.

Now, back to Mr. Hight’s inquiry: "What is it that you sense in a wine that makes it ageworthy?" First comes this business that a wine can transform.

Most of the time your "sense" in this matter is intellectual: You're told that such-and-such wine gets much better with aging. I don't think anybody tasting a young grand cru Chablis or a great Savennières could possibly imagine what these wines can become after 10 or 15 years of aging in a cold cellar, so caterpillar-to-butterfly are their respective transformations.

Red wines tend to be less extreme, if only because they bring so much fruit with them in youth. You may not be able to imagine what, say, a truly mature Barolo or Gattinara might taste like after 15 years of aging, but the young fruit gives at least a hint of what might be in the wine's future.

With these examples you're dealing with traditional wines that have long histories of both appreciation and cellaring. You have reason to believe—thanks to reports from the old-bone contingent—that these wines will age well, which is to say, transform.

This is not the same, by the way, as knowing which particular producer or vintage might be best for that long haul. More about that in a moment.

Today, however, there's a new challenge: What about wines that have no significant track record? Will Malbecs from Argentina, which seem so promising, reward cellaring? Will they transform? Or will they merely smooth out and eventually just exhaust their abundant fruit without becoming anything different, let alone greater, than when they began?

The list of such wines today is vast. There’s a huge array from California, Oregon, Washington, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and South Africa that are unknown quantities. Even in Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy and France, whole new areas have been revived or radically modernized to such a degree (Languedoc, Rias Baixas, Priorat, Puglia, Sicily, nearly all of Greece) that we cannot confidently extrapolate from past efforts what today's wine-modernized future holds. We can only guess.

This is the key word in Mr. Hight's question: "What is it that you sense ... ?" That's it, isn't it? Today, with all these new wines, we can only sense a wine's aging possibilities.

When I was living in Argentina this past winter, it was this very question that I had uppermost in my mind when visiting Malbec producers. Are these wines worth cellaring? Will they transform? Not surprisingly, producers insisted that Malbecs deserved additional aging.

But their certitude became less assured when confronted with the question of transformation. It seemed to me that they didn't really know. Today's Malbecs, made in a modern fashion and with low yields, are too new to Argentina's wine history for nearly anybody to be certain about the scope of their transformational capacity.

So what do I sense—which is to say, intuitively seek—with such wines, whether from Argentina or California or Italy or any other locale?

You would think that the first order of business is grape variety, but it's not. Although grape variety is hardly unimportant, it's not necessarily the determining factor in a wine's ability to cellar successfully and transform.

Many grape varieties have not, until very recently, been lavished with the care and consideration that they deserve, either in the vineyard, the winery, or, finally, peoples’ cellars. I would include among these varieties Aligoté, Aglianico, Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Gamay Noir, Melon de Bourgogne and Sémillon.

We've had some "messages," you might say, such as Sémillon from Australia’s Hunter Valley; some great Gamay Noir from Morgon or Moulin-à-Vent; the occasional impressive Melon de Bourgogne from Muscadet; and an increasing number of profound Barbera d'Alba and Barbera d'Asti.

Still, too few producers are sufficiently committed and exacting. And equally too few wine lovers have pursued these and other wines as assiduously as they might (or as generously in what they’re willing to pay), to say nothing of lavishing on them the necessary cellaring. All of this is beginning to change (particularly with Barbera, for example), but it's still in the early days.

Like all experienced tasters, I look for what the French call "harmoniousness," which is another way of saying that everything should be in balance.

I look hard for a sense of originality. The wine has got to have something to say—or at least suggest that it does.

Personally, I prefer single-vineyard wines. I like the intellectual tidiness of them. Also, since site is so critical to character, it offers insight into potential reliability for future vintages.

In addition to a rewarding site, other features necessarily must be present: good acidity, clean winemaking, an absence of excessive oak, and—it has to be said—a decent cork or a good screw cap.

All of these elements are important. But none of them will carry the (long) day without midpalate density.

Midpalate density is the key "seek" for me, the indispensable element. Wines, like trees, die from the inside out. A wine without a dense midpalate core has little chance of enduring, let alone having sufficient stuffing for substantive transformation. (A young, thin Chablis from overcropped vines becomes, over time, a scrawny, screechy older wine with depressingly little to say.)

What about Malbec, you ask? I came to the conclusion—not with certitude mind you, but only an intuitive sense—that Malbecs from Argentina with dense midpalates will indeed transform. A vertical tasting of multiple vintages of Malbecs from Achával-Ferrer, for example, demonstrated to me a significant and worthy transformation after eight to 10 years from the vintage.

But these wines are at the pinnacle of Argentine Malbec, made from very old vines and offering magnificently dense midpalates. Whether one can legitimately extrapolate from such "pinnacle wines" is a leap. But yes, I think it will be true for other top-rank Malbecs as well.

In looking at the wines I've actually purchased (in case quantities, I might add) for my own cellar, I can tell you that you can learn all about midpalate density (as well as superb winemaking and the virtues of great vintages) from wines such as Domaine Leroy Bourgogne Aligoté 2006, which will, in a single sip, persuade you of the potential of the underrated Aligoté grape variety.

Ditto for such wines as Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Clos Sénéchal 2005 (Cabernet Franc) and Királyudvar Tokaji Sec 2006 (Furmint), both of which I celebrated as some of my "wines of the year" in 2008. The midpalates on both wines are simply stunning, as is the deferential winemaking.

Among Malbecs, I'm planning on laying in a case of 2008 Colomé Estate when it arrives in this country, as I believe it's the best vintage yet from this remarkable high-elevation property in Argentina's Salta province.

Among Muscadets, I've previously praised various vintages from producers such as Domaine de l'Ecu, Domaine de la Pépière and Château de Chasseloir, among others. Just the other night I cracked open a single-vineyard Muscadet from Domaine de la Pépière, the 2003 Clos des Briords, and it was thrilling: vibrant, tingly with minerality and, yes, transformed from its original "closed fist" flavor reluctance.

These bottlings, among the many others I’ve tasted over decades of cellaring wines, buttress my conviction that midpalate density is the prime prerequisite. Every Pilates instructor will tell you that core strength is critical. And who wants to argue with them?

Monday, August 2, 2010

The Great Cloud Migration: How to Stay Ahead of the Pack

More businesses are using software hosted over the Internet -- or in the cloud -- for a range of applications. But the cloud can also be used to test out new apps, calling into question the traditional model of software testing and sales. By Zvi Guterman http://ow.ly/2jW0V
Aug 2, 2010
For the small and mid-sized business, the "cloud" is already a familiar friend. Small businesses have increasingly found ways to reduce capital expenditures and operating costs through cloud computing, in which computing is provided by shared resources and software on the Internet on an on-demand model. As a result, they continue to move many business functions from on-site servers to the Web. However, few businesses truly have a cloud "migration" strategy and even fewer have successfully leveraged the cloud in vendor relations.

Cloud-based outsourcing
Maybe you've ditched the Microsoft Exchange server in favor of Google Apps. That was easy. It's just like your Gmail account, but for work. Or perhaps all of your files are securely backed up -- not on a bulky external hard drive, but on Box.net. And they're accessible from any Internet browser on any computer.

Whether you realize it or not, your business has already begun an important migration. But few small businesses have thoughtfully managed this transition and even fewer are fully taking advantage of business in the cloud. Using the cloud as a cost reduction tool is increasingly common -- reducing paperwork, lowering transaction costs, and investing in less hardware (and with fewer resources to manage it) can yield immediate impact in accelerating your growth. Less understood, however, is how to use the cloud as a business enabler.

On this front, companies like Salesforce.com and SuccessFators continue to push forward. Without installing any software, vendors can manage the entire customer lifecycle or HR processes with greater data detail and accuracy than ever before. No longer do you need a file cabinet of paperwork or indecipherable database for these important business processes. Outsourced to the cloud, your data becomes globally accessible and more secure and redundant -- all while saving you real money.

But as the cloud becomes more pervasive, maximizing the value for your business means going beyond Salesforce.com and Gmail. What if the cloud could help you keep your business on the cutting edge? Start thinking about the cloud as more than just a tool you use -- anyone you do business with should be in the cloud as well.

The cloud can level the playing field

Small and mid-sized businesses have long missed out because of their size: they don't have the budget to buy hardware and don't have the scale to show up on the radar of innovative software vendors. The cloud is leveling this playing field.

As an executive, your number-one job is to sell your product -- and there are hundreds of hardware and software solutions that could potentially help you achieve that goal. If only it was easy to decide which one to choose. It's not. You are inundated with calls, e-mails, and advertisements from countless vendors and, if you're like me, ignore most of them. Or, you select a few to try and next thing you know, your team has invested days or weeks evaluating products. But here too, the cloud can help.

There is a new cloud model for software sales that is enabled by what we call IT as a Service (ITaS). ITaS changes the economics of product demos and evaluations significantly -- instead of days, they take minutes to set up. Using ITaS , software vendors can provide actual, hands-on IT (such as fully functional product demos) to multiple end-users in minutes without any on-site presence. In the end, it's you (the buyer) who benefits most because you can test each product without the tribulations of costly and time-consuming on-site evaluations and ensure that ultimately you receive the best product for you. Some of the largest software vendors in the world have embraced this vision of using the cloud to optimize and speed sales cycles (Cisco, SAP, and McAfee are early adopters). This is where the cloud is going.

Imagine if, instead of having to endure countless marketing pitches, you can get your hands on any IT product you are interested in and try it within minutes -- without delay or download. This is yet another way the cloud can save you time and, as a result, money.

Products that enable ITaS are by no means the first non-traditional uses of the cloud to make your life easier. Salesforce, Google, Ooyala, Discus, and Cordys for instance all deliver relevant cloud services to the small business market.

Your business's size is no longer a limiting factor. As we see more SaaS and ITaS, even a two-person company can buy from the big boys -- the Ferrari's of enterprise software -- and test-drive before they buy. The cloud can help you gain access to new solutions and ensure they match your business needs -- all without wasting your valuable time.

•If you can hold it, question it. Physical assets cost you money. In many instances, there is no longer a reason to have hardware. Wave goodbye to external hard drives, e-mail/Web servers and filing cabinets. Your business will be lower¬-cost in the cloud.

•Do what you do best. You have limited hours -- spend them wisely. Why waste time with tedious CRM or HR processes -- it's not what you like to do OR what you are best at. Outsource those tasks -- Saleforce.com and SuccessFactors would be happy to do it for you -- and focus on your core business instead.

•Don't just save money -- make money. Be proactive. Don't get caught up treating the cloud as merely a vehicle for cost reduction. Executing core functions in the cloud can make your company more agile and more effective.

•Expect others to move to the cloud. To fully capitalize on the cloud, you should ensure that your business partners are leveraging the cloud in their interactions with you. Expect instantaneous demos of software you are considering buying.

Ordering Wine? There's an App for That

Apple's iPad propels electronic wine lists into a new domain
Nathan Wesley-  http://ow.ly/2jVuR - Wine Spectator
Posted: July 30, 2010
Until recently, most electronic wine lists were more techie toy than fully realized tool capable of adding value to a wine program's bottom line. Diners often had trouble navigating cumbersome menus with limited search options, and wine directors complained that poor software and lack of compatibility meant they had to manage multiple wine lists—one for the guests and another for inventory—doubling their work. But Apple's iPad is beginning to change that.

"The iPad was such a sensation that we coupled an overdue product for the restaurant industry with a hot new product," says Jennifer Martucci, founder and senior vice president of product development and marketing for Incentient. The firm's SmartCellar wine list software for the iPad is being used by roughly 40 different restaurants, though most are still in the development stage. Todd English, Gordon Ramsay and Cleveland's Michael Simon have all signed on. New York's South Gate at the Jumeirah Essex House introduced their iPads featuring SmartCellar July 15.

New York's SD26 was the first restaurant to use SmartCellar, but on different hardware, and owner Tony May contributed to the product's development. The restaurant will switch to the iPad Aug. 2. "I brought my concept to May," says Martucci, "and he was key in saying, 'I want the guests to have as much or as little information as they want.'"

Martucci says that SmartCellar is not a read-only application, but rather a dynamic product that can be customized for each restaurant. At South Gate, guests can tap through the iPad wine list, searching by glass or bottle, red or white, variety or keyword. Results can be sorted by multiple options, like price or name, with selections saved to a personal list. For some wines, guests can also drill down for more information on varieties or regions. Standard information is provided by Incentient, but restaurants can add their own notes or graphics.

Mauro Cirilli, the wine director at Barbacco in San Francisco, has done just that since his wine list features many lesser-known indigenous Italian varieties. "You can bring info to the guest that you don't normally have time to bring," says Cirilli, "Vineyards, labels, varieties and info about how a wine is made. Guests are more excited about wine."

The technology, however, is still in the early stages of development and integration. Restaurants are having mixed results. At Barbacco, Cirilli updates and manages the iPad wine list manually, while at South Gate the iPad is fully linked by Wi-Fi to the restaurant's inventory. "If you sell the last bottle of a wine, the list is updated [immediately]," says South Gate sommelier Olivier Dufeu. "There's nothing worse for the guests than selecting a wine that has just been sold."

South Gate's iPad wine list also offers cocktails and beers, and the restaurant has ambitious future plans, such as adding Dufeu's personal tasting notes, additional graphics, posting a live version online and allowing guests to rate and review wines on the iPad itself during tastings. SmartCellar also offers a feature that allows guests to order directly on the iPad, but South Gate keeps it turned off to avoid a self-service environment.

Incentient is not the only company to capitalize on the iPad platform. Delicias, a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner in San Diego, is the testing grounds for a similar iPad application called i-Somm (somm is a popular industry abbreviation for sommelier). Delicias owner Owen Perry also owns the software firm behind the i-Somm app.

The restaurant's general manager and sommelier, Gino Campbell, says his iPad wine lists have been well-received and his regular guests are excited to offer constructive feedback. i-Somm doesn't currently link to the restaurant's point-of-sales system, however, but Campbell hopes that once it does he can customize the software so that when stocks run low, it will automatically order more. Both SmartCellar and i-Somm are expected to release what Martucci calls a 'residential' version of their wine list software through iTunes later this year, allowing wine collectors to keep track of their wines and offer the list to guests.

In China (where the iPad is assembled), Johnson Chan, who oversees operations and wine programs at three Grand Award-winning restaurants—Don Alfonso 1890 and Robuchon à Galera in Macao and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Hong Kong—also use an iPad wine list. With a core wine cellar that's approaching 200,000 bottles and more than 6,000 different labels, an iPad list is nearly a requirement. "For a large wine list, it offers the convenience of [being light-weight], as well as selection by price range, vintage, size, year, grape variety, etc.," says Chan. "It also allows the client to view a picture of a sample bottle if he or she so wishes." Chan developed his software in-house and says the cost is minimal compared to managing paper wine lists.

Apple prices the iPad from $499 to $849 depending on features, but companies like Incentient rent and maintain the devices for a monthly fee. Most restaurateurs agree with Chan that costs are relatively minimal and were not a factor in their decision to use the iPad. Delivering additional information and excitement to their guests was worth the price.

As for restaurant guests, many are still figuring out the iPad itself. South Gate, Barbacco and Chan all report that they still keep paper copies of their lists for guests who request them. They also report that the iPad has yet to increase wine sales, though Martucci says that wine sales have increased for most of her clients.

Could a fully-integrated iPad wine list push sommeliers out the back door? That's exactly what Jack Serfass, the owner of Naples Tomato, a Best of Award of Excellence winner in Naples, Fla., has in mind. In June, he announced plans to launch an iPad app later this summer that will replace the sommelier. In addition to offering standard search and information options, their iPad wine list will also recommend food-and-wine pairings. "The iPad that will let guests browse, search and expertly select from hundreds of wines without being pressured, misled or upsold," the restaurant announced in a statement.

Cirelli, Dufeu and Campbell say they are busier than ever, however, and that their guests still expect to see them tableside to assist with wine selection. "A lot of guests are regulars and prefer to talk to me," says Campbell. "They prefer to have interaction with a human."