Vin à la ficelle, literally in English 'wine with string', but do you know about this concept?

If you go to a restaurant, the waiter may suggest serving your wine with the "pay-for-what-you-drink" method. Here are a few explanations so that you are not confused by his suggestion...

First of all, don't worry, your wine will not be served in your glass using a piece of string. Clearly, not really ideal, because you can be sure that you will be covered in wine stains in no time, even though there are a few effective tips for getting rid of wine stains from clothes. In reality, serving wine "à la ficelle" means paying for the wine that you actually drink. This is really practical if you don't want to drink a whole bottle but fancy a bit more than a pitcher!

This concept dates back to the 15th

Century Although the pay-for-what-you-drink concept has only started to become popular in restaurants in the last few years, it did emerge a long time ago, since it dates back to the 15th Century. The legend goes that in 1487 an Auvergne innkeeper, called Gaultier, had the idea to use a piece of string to gauge the amount of wine drunk by his customers. In those days, wine was served in earthenware or tin pitchers. The innkeeper therefore measured the amount of wine drunk using regular knots that were spaced apart to represent 25 cl of liquid.

12% of consumers in favour of pay-for-what-you-drink 

Today, the pay-for-what-you-drink concept is a resounding success. And why? Consumption habits change and customers are increasingly in favour of wine by the glass, as highlighted in a Parisian survey by 'Aujourd'hui en France' published in 2014. According to this survey, 20% of consumers prefer wine by the glass whereas 12% support pay-for-what-you-drink...

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