In a group or hotel, wine should be reviewed with the same attention as other food-and-beverage costs and revenue, rather than looking only at overall spend or food cost.
Wine can contribute margin, but this must be checked against the establishment's sales and costs. You cannot assume it is the most profitable product line.
The 8 metrics you should monitor each month
1. Weighted gross margin on wine
Calculate the aggregate percentage as (net wine revenue − cost of those sales) / net wine revenue × 100, provided revenue is greater than zero and cost is defined consistently. Do not average percentages without weighting them by revenue. As an illustration, wines with a 55% margin and others at 75% do not establish the combined margin until you know how much each group contributes to revenue. Review recorded wastage and do not confuse margin with turnover or capital.
Your own target: no industry benchmark has been validated for this article. Set it using the venue's costs, mix and context; a range does not guarantee profitability.
2. Glass/bottle ratio
The percentage of net wine revenue coming from by-the-glass versus bottle sales, using the same period and currency. Do not mix the number of glasses with the number of bottles. Margin depends on costs, pour sizes, prices and wastage; it is not automatically higher by the glass.
| Venue type | Illustrative by-the-glass revenue scenario, not an industry target |
|---|---|
| Casual restaurant | 25-35% |
| Gastronomic restaurant | 15-25% |
| Wine bar / hotel | 40-60% |
3. Average wine spend per table
Not overall average spend, but wine spend specifically. How much each table spends on wine on average.
Why it matters: it allows changes to be studied, but a rise or fall does not by itself demonstrate team success or failure. Review prices, table size, occupancy, mix and customer profile.
4. Wine penetration rate
Calculate tables consuming wine / tables served × 100 over the same period, defining how you treat events or services without wine. No universal threshold has been validated for this article; consider audience, occasion and offer before diagnosing a problem.
5. Average turnover per wine
Distinguish between average days per unit sold and days since the last sale: they are not the same indicator. To estimate the former, divide days in the period by units sold; with zero sales there is no finite rate, and the record should be reviewed. The following ranges are classification examples to adapt to the business, not universal benchmarks.
How to read it:
- < 15 days: star performer. Protect.
- 15-30 days: good performance. Maintain.
- 30-60 days: monitor. Does it need more visibility?
-
60 days: action plan or removal.
6. Capital tied up in dead stock
The total value of bottles that have gone more than 90 days without selling. It is money that is not working for you.
Your own target: define a threshold based on stock value and each wine's role; no normal percentage has been validated in this article. A wine intended for cellaring or seasonal use needs context.
7. Sales concentration (Top 10 / Top 20)
The percentage of your wine sales concentrated in your 10 or 20 best-selling wines. High concentration may justify a review, but it does not prove that the rest of the list is useless. Define whether you measure revenue or units and consider margin, demand and the wines' roles.
8. Obsolescence index
Define an inactivity criterion in writing and apply it to a six-month window. Do not mix zero sales throughout the period with fewer than one sale each month: they would produce different results. Report the numerator, total number of wines and cellaring or seasonality exceptions before proposing action.
Recommended monthly dashboard
| KPI | Frequency | Source | Action if it worsens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted gross margin | Monthly | POS + costs | Review pricing and mix |
| Glass/bottle ratio | Monthly | POS | Train the service team, adjust the by-the-glass offer |
| Average wine spend | Weekly | POS | Review service-team recommendations |
| Wine penetration | Monthly | POS | Improve the opening recommendation |
| Average turnover | Monthly | Inventory + sales | Review slow-moving wines for removal |
| Tied-up capital | Monthly | Inventory | Clear or return |
| Top 10 concentration | Quarterly | POS | Diversify recommendations |
| Obsolescence index | Quarterly | Inventory + sales | Remove or reposition |
Barriers to review in obtaining these metrics
- Data that is hard to access. Check whether it is scattered across the POS, spreadsheets, supplier invoices and the sommelier's knowledge.
- Wine is delegated to the sommelier. Clarify responsibilities and help the sommelier and F&B share wine and business criteria, without presuming how a person works.
- Lack of a shared report. Check whether wine has a report with agreed definitions, just like the establishment's other costs and revenue.
- The assumption that "wine is doing well". Check that impression against your own records, without attributing unmeasured percentages to the establishment.
Additional metrics for groups
For F&B directors with multiple venues, there are additional metrics that are only possible through internal benchmarking:
- Margin variation between venues for the same wines on the core list.
- Turnover differences for the same wine at different venues.
- Average purchase cost per unit for the same wines, identifying whether one venue pays more than another.
- Comparative wastage between venues: who manages by-the-glass service better.
These comparisons may help if definitions, periods, formats and costs are comparable; they do not by themselves prove a competitive advantage.
Frequently asked questions
Shouldn't the sommelier look at this rather than the F&B director? The sommelier should look at wine-list performance metrics. The F&B director should look at business metrics: margin, capital, penetration and comparisons between venues. They are different levels of analysis.
How long do I need to set up this reporting? It depends on volume, record quality and integrations. Measure the time needed for an initial review and its updates; no durations or automatic savings have been demonstrated for this article.
What should I do if I do not have all the data? Start with what you have. Even average wine spend and approximate turnover can help you make better decisions than having no data. Add metrics as you improve your record-keeping system.
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