Red Wine Boosts Food Checks
	According to The NPD Group, Americans like to drink alcohol with their meals. The recent study found that 37 percent of adults (ages 21 and over) include alcohol with their casual/fine dining restaurant dinners from Friday to Sunday, compared to 34 percent between Monday and Thursday.
Whether people prefer to drink beer with steak, or wine with pasta, or cocktails with nachos, there is no denying that Americans like to drink alcohol with their meals. Although it is no surprise that Saturday is the peak day of the week for consumption of alcoholic beverages at casual/fine dining restaurants, Monday through Thursday are not far behind. According to leading consumer and retail information company The NPD Group, 37 percent of adults (ages 21 and over) include alcohol with their casual/fine dining restaurant dinners from Friday to Sunday, compared to 34 percent between Monday and Thursday. Additionally, the type of alcohol consumed varies by meal as well. Lunch versus dinner Although weekend lunch is an important occasion for beverage alcohol, consumption nearly triples between lunch and dinner (13 percent of the time when an adult visits a casual/fine dining restaurant for lunch, they order an alcoholic beverage, whereas 36 percent of the time for a dinner meal, alcohol is ordered). While beer consumption dominates at lunches that include an alcoholic beverage (55 percent of 'drinking' lunches include beer), as opposed to dinner (45 percent), cocktails and wine take the lead at dinnertime. Happy hour, the hours between 4:00 and 7:00 PM, is the highest consumption of beer (58%), and cocktails during this time are on par with dinnertime consumption (34%). In any event, the more people drink, the more they spend. Red wine garners highest check size The average eater check is about $12.00 without beverage alcohol. With alcohol, the average check amount almost doubles. Despite the fact that different foods surely impact check size (especially when pairing steak with red wine and pasta with white wine, for example), the type of wine still affects the average check amount. People tend to have a higher check when they order red wine, a moderate check with white wine, and a lower check with blush wine. Other key findings • Desserts are ordered more often if someone had wine with their meal. • Thursday is the peak weekday for consuming alcoholic beverages. • While wine is consumed throughout the week, cocktails rely most on the weekends. 'What we're seeing is that alcoholic beverages have an important place in people's lifestyles that go beyond Saturday nights,' said Michele Schmal, vice president of The NPD Group. She adds, 'everyone has different tastes, and it is never more apparent than in their selections of alcoholic beverages.'