The process of getting your wine on a restaurant's menu can be complex, but with a few strategic approaches, you can make a lasting impression and boost your sales.
Enter Your Wines for Sommeliers Choice Awards. Super Early Bird Deadline, October 31, 2024.
Key Tips for Selling Wine to Restaurants
For many wine brands, especially small boutique wineries, it can seem like an impossible task to get their wines on the wine list of a national restaurant chain or sold at the bar of a major hospitality venue. However, it can be done both efficiently and effectively. The secret, quite simply, is coming up with a detailed strategic plan that covers everything from how you plan to stand out in a crowded marketplace, to what type of customer support you plan to offer these restaurants on an ongoing basis.
1. Find the right restaurants for your wines
To effectively sell wines to restaurants, start by identifying the right establishments for your portfolio. There are two key distinctions to consider: casual vs. fine dining, and controlled vs. semi-controlled wine lists. Casual dining focuses on affordable, high-volume wines, while fine dining emphasizes depth and high price points. Semi-controlled lists offer more opportunities for local sales, as individual restaurants have greater influence on wine selection. Tailor your pitch to restaurants that naturally align with your wines, such as Italian varietals for Italian chains or hearty reds for steakhouses. Focus on high-traffic, premium restaurants that host wine events, have large wine lists, and emphasize food pairings. Prioritize the top 20% of restaurants that generate the most success.
2. Understand the competitive marketplace
Selling wines to restaurants is highly competitive, often requiring a weaker wine to be removed for yours to be added. A recent survey of 110 casual dining chains revealed that the average wine list includes only 20 wines by the glass (BTG) and 22 by the bottle (BTB). Popular varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay already dominate, making it tough to convince wine managers to add more of the same. You'll need to strategically decide whether to compete in these popular categories or focus on niche varietals. It's also essential to stay ahead of market trends, as consumer preferences evolve—like the shift from Zinfandel and Shiraz to wines such as Moscato and Prosecco.
3. Focus on ways that you can offer a competitive business advantage
To succeed in selling wines to restaurants, position yourself as a valuable business partner offering a competitive advantage. Restaurants seek to boost overall wine sales, encourage higher-priced bottle purchases, and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. To stand out, ensure your wines are in demand, offer premium or exclusive selections, and deliver exceptional customer service. Common complaints—such as inconsistent supply, fluctuating prices, or quality issues—can be turned into opportunities to showcase your reliability. Additionally, support the restaurant with promotional activities like wine dinners, staff training, and marketing efforts. If your wines prove to be high-velocity and popular with patrons, you could earn more orders or even a national mandate from corporate headquarters.
4. Align your strategic goals with those of the on-premise establishment
Finally, it almost goes without saying that you should have business goals that complement and reinforce those of the on-premise establishment. This is all about “fishing where the fish are” – if you are selling the right wines to the right establishment, that is when you can maximize your revenue and, ultimately, your overall profitability. Just think of the restaurant chain as your partner, and you will have the right strategic mindset. Stop focusing so much on price and product, and instead, focus on delivering competitive advantage and business value. By doing so, you will be able to sell your wine into restaurants effectively.
Sommeliers Choice Awards gathers the top restaurant wine buyers, Master Sommeliers, and wine directors who have a direct influence on the US on-premise market. If you're looking to get in front of the top sommeliers and on-premise wine buyers of the USA, now is the best time to enter your wines. Wine brands from around the world now have an opportunity to grow their business and gain the attention of wine buyers, wine directors and influencers within the U.S. on-premise industry.
Time to submit your wines and get the super early bird savings. Learn more about the SCA Entry Process & Fee here.
Stand out from the crowd, increase your brand's visibility, and open new doors into the restaurant market by entering your wine into the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards.
Key Dates:
Super Early Bird Ends - October 31, 2024
Registration Closes - April 18, 2025
Warehouse Closes - April 25, 2025
Judging Day - May 19, 2025
Winners Announced - June 10, 2025
Pricing:
Super Early Bird Pricing - $80 per wine (now to October 31, 2024)
Early Bird Pricing - $100 per wine (November 1, 2024, to January 31, 2025)
Regular Pricing - $120 per wine (February 1, 2025, to April 18, 2025)
Quantity Discount Available
4 to 9 entries: 10% discount
10 to 14 entries: 15% discount
15 or more entries: 20% discount