Reasonable Restaurant Wine Pricing: Weighing Cost, Concept, and Competition, And Never Losing Sight of Your Customer

Whether you're selling tires, doughnuts, or a pleasant dining experience, proper pricing is based on many factors, and requires a disciplined approach. Pricing wine in your restaurant is no exception.

Ingredients in your pricing decision include your "cost of goods," your restaurant concept, the amount of money and effort you've invested in your wine program, and your competitors' pricing, sprinkled with a pinch of common sense, instinct, and experience.

Be forewarned: Today's wine drinkers know what wine costs. Overly aggressive pricing will raise eyebrows, and result in disappointing bottle sales and lost patronage. -- Joyce Angelso Walsh

First of All, Know Thy Customer

Be forewarned: Today's wine drinkers know what wine costs. Overly aggressive pricing will raise eyebrows, and result in disappointing bottle sales and lost patronage. That said, diners do not pay just for the product; they pay for the experience, and your margins should be consistent with the type of dining experience you offer. If your service is heavily "value-added," such as a "white table cloth" establishment with an extensive cellar inventory, imported crystal and a sommelier, you will require a significant average margin on all your bottle sales to recoup overhead. The good news is if your service and presentation are well-executed, your patrons will be willing to pay a premium. If you operate a family pizzeria that serves table wines in a water glass and with little if any ceremony, you have a much smaller investment in wine service. Price accordingly.