Creating the perfect wine list for your business

What’s the perfect wine list for your business?

We’ve all been to places where there’s no wine list or it’s such a secondary thought that they search for one when asked and pull something out that hasn’t seen the light of day for some time! This shouldn’t be so - a wine list is super important to your business as it’s a tool to present not only your wines, but also your business. With a cleverly thought out and well-designed wine list, guests will feel confident in the professional nature of how the business is operated from the very start, setting the tone for a great experience. To make you stand out, a wine list should be clean, smart and on trend, not dog eared with sticky second hand drinks marks.
 

Creating the wine list?

What’s your food style, price point or geographical area? A wine list should complement the food menu and it shouldn’t be priced too high/low in comparison to your food menu.
How many wines should you list? This could depend on storage/fridge space or dining style - possibly a shorter list for casual dining and longer for special occasion/fine dining.
 

So how many wines should be listed?

8-10 whites, 8-10 reds, 3 rosés and 6 Sparkling/Champagne is a great starting point.  This will enable you to cover most of the wine producing countries/areas of the word and internationally grown grapes as well as a few lesser-known varieties.
 

And what about the business side?

A wine list needs to deliver choice and variety for your customer, but above all else, it needs to deliver a profit for your business. Setting prices too low won’t return the required margin and setting them too high will put off a sale altogether. Choosing the right wine by the glass size also plays an important part.

Tricks of the trade and bespoke wine list design

When designing a wine list, you need to think about:

- Positioning (e.g. don’t make the entry level wine the most popular grape and put it at the top of the list)
- Removing £ signs
- Highlighting recommended wines in boxes
- Including style sections and headings
- Including food and wine pairing suggestions
 

So, where do I start?

Why not get in contact with House of Townend… as a family-owned wine merchant since 1906, we have dedicated Regional Sales Managers that will come to you, talk through your business, listen to your requirements and tailor a wine list proposal and support package that’s right for you. All of the above will be discussed and taken into consideration at no extra cost…  simple and easy. Below, you can see some examples of wine lists designed by our team of dedicated graphic designs.
 

Before you know it, you’ll have “the perfect wine list for your business”!

Phil Taylor
Regional Account Manager

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