Improve your wine by the glass profit margin with practical pricing, stock and menu advice. Learn which wines deserve valuable fridge space.
For many venues, improving wine by the glass profit margin isn’t about increasing prices. It’s about making better use of limited fridge space, understanding what actually sells and removing wines that tie up stock without generating meaningful revenue.
Every bottle sitting in a wine fridge occupies space that could be used by something more profitable. Yet many restaurants and gastropubs continue to offer by-the-glass wines based on habit rather than performance.
If you’re running an independent restaurant in Aberdeen, a gastropub in Banchory or a seafood venue in Stonehaven, it’s worth asking a simple question:
Does every wine on your by-the-glass list deserve its place?
Why Is Fridge Space So Valuable?
Most venues don’t have unlimited chilled storage.
Every bottle added to a by-the-glass programme creates costs and operational considerations:
• Storage space
• Stock holding
• Potential wastage
• Staff training requirements
• Ordering complexity
A larger wine list doesn’t automatically produce higher sales.
In many cases, a carefully selected range of high-performing wines will outperform a longer list that confuses customers and creates waste.
What Is the Real Cost of a Slow-Moving Wine?
Let’s look at a practical example.
Suppose a restaurant carries a premium white by the glass:
• Bottle cost: £10.50
• Selling price: £9.00 per 175ml glass
• Potential revenue per bottle: £36.00
• Potential GP: £25.50
On paper, that looks excellent.
However, if the wine regularly remains open for days and staff end up discarding part of the bottle, the numbers change quickly.
If one glass is lost to wastage:
• Revenue falls to £27.00
• GP falls to £16.50
The theoretical margin may look attractive, but actual profitability tells a different story.
Which Wines Typically Perform Best By the Glass?
Should House Wines Get the Best Fridge Space?
In many venues, yes.
House wines often account for a significant proportion of sales volume.
Consider this example:
• Bottle cost: £6.80
• Four 175ml servings
• Glass price: £7.25
• Revenue per bottle: £29.00
• GP: £22.20
• GP percentage: 76.6%
More importantly, these wines tend to move quickly.
Fast turnover reduces waste and improves cash flow.
A wine that sells six bottles per week is generally more valuable than a premium option that sells one bottle every fortnight.
Which Styles Work Well in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire?
Local menus should influence by-the-glass decisions.
For example:
• Crisp whites often perform well alongside Peterhead langoustines and Scottish seafood dishes.
• Medium-bodied reds frequently work with Aberdeen Angus beef and game.
• Dry rosé styles can provide useful flexibility during warmer months.
• Sparkling options often create upselling opportunities for celebrations and business dining.
The objective isn’t to chase trends. It’s to support the menu and customer base you already have.
How Many Wines Should Be Available By the Glass?
Is More Choice Always Better?
Usually not. Many successful independent venues work with a relatively focused selection.
For example:
• Two or three whites
• Two or three reds
• One rosé
• One sparkling option
This approach often simplifies:
• Ordering
• Stock control
• Staff recommendations
• Customer decisions
A 25-item by-the-glass programme may look impressive but can become difficult to manage unless sales volumes justify it.
Are Customers Really Asking for More Options?
Sometimes operators assume that additional choice drives sales. In reality, many diners simply want a confident recommendation.
A shorter, well-curated list can often produce better results than an extensive offering where half the wines rarely sell.
As a general rule:
If staff struggle to recommend a wine, customers may struggle to order it.
How Should You Measure Performance?
Which Wines Earn Their Fridge Space?
Every by-the-glass wine should be reviewed against three factors:
• Sales Volume
How many glasses are sold each week?
• Gross Profit
How much profit does each bottle generate?
• Turnover Speed
How quickly is an opened bottle finished?
The strongest performers tend to score well in all three areas.
A Practical Comparison
Consider two hypothetical wines:
Wine A
• Bottle cost: £6.50
• Revenue per bottle: £28.00
• GP: £21.50
• Bottles sold per week: 12
Weekly GP contribution: £258.00
Wine B
• Bottle cost: £11.00
• Revenue per bottle: £40.00
• GP: £29.00
• Bottles sold per week: 2
Weekly GP contribution: £58.00
Wine B delivers more profit per bottle.
Wine A delivers significantly more profit overall.
This is why analysing performance at list level is often more useful than looking at individual bottle margins.
When Should You Remove a By-the-Glass Wine?
What Are the Warning Signs?
It may be time to review a wine if:
• Staff rarely recommend it.
• Customers rarely request it.
• Bottles remain open for extended periods.
• The wine duplicates another style already on the list.
• Stock turnover is consistently slow.
Removing underperforming options often creates space for styles with stronger commercial potential.
How Often Should the List Be Reviewed?
For most venues, quarterly reviews are sensible.
You don’t need to reinvent the wine list every month.
What matters is regularly checking:
• Sales data
• Waste levels
• GP performance
• Customer preferences
• Seasonal menu changes
A wine list should evolve alongside the business rather than remaining unchanged because “that’s what we’ve always stocked.“
Why Profit Isn’t the Only Measure That Matters
A common mistake is focusing entirely on margin percentage.
The most successful by-the-glass programmes balance:
• Profitability
• Simplicity
• Food compatibility
• Customer demand
• Operational practicality
A wine generating a 78% GP means little if it creates waste, confuses staff or sells too slowly.
The best by-the-glass lists are often surprisingly straightforward.
They’re built around wines that complement the menu, sell consistently and contribute meaningfully to the venue’s overall profitability.
When fridge space is limited, every bottle should justify its place.