Increasing your wine-by-the-glass sales can add up to big money for your business. On average our customers see a 15-25% increase in sales in a year. What does that translate to? Anywhere from $50,000 – $250,000 depending on the size and scope of your business. The holiday season is upon us! This is when we see a natural increase in demand for wine and consumers who are willing to pay more for premium wines-by-the-glass. Now is the time to rethink how you’re serving wine to better your business.

 

Consumers become more and more adventurous with their wine selections this time of year. They want to try new varietals, vintages, and wines that will impress their guests for holiday dinner parties and entertaining. Where do they discover these new wines? In YOUR WineStation, of course. Not only from a discovery standpoint, but consumers who are traveling, entertaining guests, or out and about holiday shopping tend to break for a wine interlude to escape the holiday rush and stressors that are increased during this time of year. Wine sales tend to spike in November and December.

 

We recently checked in with one of our partners at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Jeff Blair. Blair noted that since installing WineStation, they’ve earned over $50,000 in additional sales in the last year alone! 

 

“Napa Technology creates the ability to offer Premium Wines at a Premium Price ($20-30) by the glass- without waste or spoilage.” 

 

Analysts from Vinexpo found that wine lovers are drinking less overall, yet when they do drink, they are drinking higher quality, premium wines. Ruth Chris was able to serve premium wines in their WineStation and in turn, increased profits and offerings. WineStation is accounting for 9-14% of all their by the glass sales. 

 

For retail locations, now is the prime opportunity to put some of your more luxury priced wines at $200-$400 a bottle in your WineStation to encourage purchases. For restaurants and bars, it is a time to capitalize on value-driven consumers looking for upscale by the glass offerings.

 

According to the Silicon Valley Bank State of the Wine Industry Report 2019, “Retiring baby boomers are slowing both their spending and alcohol consumption as they age. Frugal hedonism has overtaken our younger drinking cohort, and they don’t want to pay restaurant markups. Young consumers know they can buy a bottle of wine at a store for less. In the restaurant, they are more likely to start with a craft beer or a premium cocktail vs. a glass or bottle of wine.”

 

To appeal to this younger demographic as well as wine lovers who want premium, high-end wines, it is essential to offer them new, exciting, and most importantly, flexible ways to experience their wine. If the perceived value is there, younger consumers are willing to pay. For instance, offering them a premium wine they can’t afford to purchase by the bottle in the grocery store, yet they can taste it at your establishment for a fraction of the cost, is a way to capture this more value-driven audience.

 

How can you offer luxury wine by the glass and still make a profit? Offering 2-4 ounce tasters of an expensive bottle of wine allows you to increase the margin per taste, but lowers the price for the consumer who wishes to experience this wine and treat themselves vs. buying the entire bottle which would be much higher priced for them individually. One of our clients put a bottle of Screaming Eagle in their WineStation, and it sold out in less than 24 hours all via 2 oz pours. It was the most profitable 24 hours in the hotel’s history.

 

The only way to be able to profitably serve these types of wines in any commercial setting, be it a hotel bar, retail location, or restaurant, is to use a WineStation. Ensure not a drop of this high-end wine goes to waste with 60-day preservation once uncorked. With pouring accuracy features, a 5-ounce pour is ALWAYS a 5-ounce pour. When it comes to being profitable, every ounce counts. No longer will you need to rely on outdated measurement or inventory methods.

 

To learn more about WineStation, drop your contact information here, and one of our knowledgeable sales reps will reach out to you about how you can use WineStation to enhance your business.