Red Cat

Crank, Lancashire

The Red Cat is situated in an area of central Lancashire where you might expect beer to be the favourite pub drink rather than wine.

But the fact that customers often travel 50 miles or more to enjoy the pub's gastro food and quality wines marks it down as a fairly special venue.

In five years, licensee Ian Martin has developed the Red Cat into one of the region's top venues for food and drink.

For peoplewho enjoy drinking wine, whether it is a bin end at a bargainprice or a £150-a-bottle Batard Montrachet, the Red Cat is the place to be.

Martin rarely bothers presenting customers with the pub's full wine list when they arrive for a meal.

Simply reading through the huge selection of more than 300 wines would be a major exercise in itself.

Most diners are therefore shown a condensed list of 22 wines, ranging from £9.50 to £25, with the option of a blackboard choice of bin-end specials.

Martin, who has experience as a chef in top hotels around the north, arrived at the Punch-owned Red Cat five years ago when it was operated by Greenalls.

He took on the pub in conjunction with his wife and, with the help of his chef Greg Walsh, the trio quickly built up the Red Cat's reputation.

Wine arrives at the pub from some 20 different suppliers based all over the UK to ensure thatthe pub's list remains diverse and ever changing.

Martin deals with the pub's wine service and is always on hand to answer any queries customers may have.

"Due to the vast amount of wine on sale, it would be impossible for me to expect the staff to try to sell it.

Any queries are always referred to myself and can involve some fairly serious questions at times.

Many of our customers are knowledgeable and affluent and are preparedto pay a lot of money for the wines they want."

Nevertheless, humble Chilean Merlot at £9.75 remains one of the most popular choices, although Grand Cru Burgundy or Bordeaux sells well,particularly for special occasions.

The pub also has a substantial range of wines available by the glass to satisfy a growing on-trade sales sector.

Careful storing procedures ensure wines are stocked in the best conditions, a policy that has helped the Red Cat secure a string of top awards including ones from Les Routiers, and become a finalist in the Gossett Champagne Trophy.