Selling Wine: Most People Don't Prefer Wine in the Bottle, They Prefer It in a Glass

If you consider selling wine by the glass a necessary evil to please guests who are too cheap to buy a bottle, you're not alone. You're wrong, but at least you've got company. Many restaurateurs tolerate but do not promote wine-by-the-glass sales, in belief that these programs generate only a fraction of the revenue reaped by bottle sales.

You need to understand how much a wine-by-the-glass program can influence what your customers talk about, taste and buy. And when strategically priced, promoted and stocked, a wine-by-the-glass program can be profitable and a boon to your overall wine sales.

Selling More Wine, Even by the Glass, is a Good Thing

For more than a decade, wine sales trends indicate that consumers are drinking less but better wine. Whether because of the health warnings of alcohol abuse or stiffer penalties for driving under the influence, folks would rather savor than guzzle the fermented fruit of the vines. Over the last 20 years, wine sales by volume have declined on average; however, sales by dollar have increased every year for the past two decades.

The lesson is that customers seek quality when dining out, including their choice of wines. As in all aspects of the restaurant experience, the wine-by-the-glass program should intrigue and entertain your customers. Remember, your customers will purchase less wine as time goes on, but they will be willing to pay a premium for wine with a high perceived value. Understand this key point, as it is critical to any restaurateur who wishes to succeed at selling wine.