The WBTG Shift: When Everything Changed

 

Wine by the glass used to be an afterthought. A placeholder. A single red and a single white tucked at the bottom of the drinks menu, priced on instinct and poured from whatever bottle was open. That world no longer exists, and yet too many Irish venues are still operating as if it does.

 

This case study traces how wine by the glass evolved from a reluctant concession into the single highest-margin revenue line in the restaurant and bar category, what the critical turning points were, and what today's guests expect when they sit down at your venue.

 

 

A Brief History of Wine by the Glass

 

Before the 1970s: The Placeholder Era

Before the mid-1970s, wine menus offered by the glass were virtually nonexistent. Restaurants typically offered a generic red or white 'house wine', a basic option without specific varietal or vintage details. This wine was often just a placeholder, not meant to impress but to serve a purpose. If guests wanted anything beyond a basic house wine, they had to buy the whole bottle.

 

The 1970s–80s: The First Wave

The shift began when forward-thinking suppliers and distributors started rethinking how wine was presented in on-premise settings. By placing bottles of Cabernet, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Fumé Blanc, and Champagne visibly at the bar, beverage professionals created an entirely new dynamic: guests could now enjoy a diverse selection without committing to a full bottle.

This model spread rapidly through the US and UK through the 1980s, driven by growing consumer interest in wine culture and the rise of the 'dining experience' concept. WBTG programmes began opening the door to variety, and with variety came exploration, and with exploration came spending.

 

The 1990s–2000s: Professionalisation

Wine education became more accessible. WSET qualifications grew in popularity. The role of the sommelier expanded beyond fine dining into casual and mid-range venues. Wine lists lengthened, and WBTG sections moved from the back of the menu to the front.

Pricing conventions emerged. The '1 glass = 1 bottle cost' rule of thumb gave operators a simple margin anchor. By this point, the industry had broadly accepted that WBTG was a high-margin category, but few had built truly strategic programmes around it.

 

The 2010s: The Turning Point

Three forces converged to transform WBTG from a convenience into a commercial weapon:

 

•       Wine preservation technology (Coravin, Enomatic, nitrogen systems) made it viable to offer premium and rare wines by the glass without spoilage risk.

•       The Millennial generation emerged as a driving force in wine consumption, younger, more curious, more experience-led, and far less loyal to the wine list conventions of their parents.

•       Social media created a visual and cultural demand for discovery; guests wanted something interesting, something worth talking about, not a generic Merlot.

 

Premium WBTG programmes began appearing at casual dining venues. Tasting flights became a feature, not just a fine dining gimmick. The volume of wines offered by the glass grew, and with it, the expectation of variety and quality became the baseline.

 

Post-2020: The New Normal

The pandemic reshaped everything. Guest frequency dropped, but spend-per-head increased. Operators who had invested in their beverage programme found they could hold average spend even with fewer covers. Those who had not found themselves scrambling to justify the margin on food alone.

By 2024–2026, restaurants offering diverse WBTG options were seeing 15% year-on-year growth in wine by the glass sales. The category was no longer growing; it was accelerating.

 

The venues that built structured WBTG programmes in the 2010s were the ones generating consistent margins through the cost pressures of the early 2020s. The venues that didn't are now asking the same question: why is wine underperforming?

 

What the Market Looks Like Now

 

The GP Opportunity

Wine by the glass is, commercially, the most efficient line on the menu. The numbers are well established across the industry:

 

Target GP on WBTG (Irish hospitality)	70–75%
Target GP on bottles	65–70%
GP on food (typical)	60–68%
WBTG as % of total wine sales (active programmes)	Up to 75%
Spoilage allowance (unmanaged open bottles)	10–15% of volume
YoY growth in WBTG sales at venues with structured programmes (2024)	15%

 

The maths is simple: the same wine that generates 65% GP as a bottle sale generates 75%+ as a glass sale. Every glass poured to the right formula is more profitable than every bottle sold. And yet most Irish menus still treat the bottle as the default and the glass as the accommodation.

 

What a Standard Programme Looks Like in 2026

The benchmark has shifted significantly in the past decade. A well-run WBTG programme in an Irish restaurant, hotel bar, or gastropub now typically includes:

 

Programme Element	Minimum Standard	Best Practice
Number of WBTG selections	4–6 (red, white, rosé, sparkling)	8–14 across tiers
Price architecture	Single tier	3-tier (accessible/mid / premium)
Sparkling option	Prosecco only	Prosecco + Champagne or Crémant
Premium WBTG option	None	1–2 wines at an elevated price point
Tasting flights	Not offered	Available on request or featured
Staff knowledge	Basic varietal awareness	Region, producer, pairing fluency
Preservation	Open bottle / same day	Preservation system or managed rotation

 

The Tiered Architecture: Why It Matters

The single most powerful structural change an operator can make to their WBTG programme is moving from flat pricing to a three-tier architecture. The behavioural economics behind this are well established:

 

•       The compromise effect: When presented with three options, the majority of guests choose the middle option. Removing the 'middle' forces all selection pressure onto the entry point, and drives the conversation toward the cheapest wine on the list.

•       Price anchoring: A premium option at the top of the list makes the mid-tier feel like a reasonable choice, not an upgrade. It repositions the entire WBTG section in the guest's mind.

•       The upsell trigger: Staff can offer '... or for €3 more you could have the ...', a credible, natural upgrade conversation that flat pricing makes structurally impossible.

 

The three-tier model is not about persuading guests to spend more. It is about giving them a structure within which spending more feels like a natural, value-aligned choice.

 

What Guests Expect in 2026

 

Customer expectations around wine by the glass have undergone a structural shift. The guest sitting down in an Irish restaurant today, whether in Dublin, Galway, or Killarney, has more wine experience and higher service expectations than any previous generation of diners.

 

1. Quality, Not Just Availability

The baseline expectation has moved from 'can I get a glass of wine?' to 'will this glass be good?' Guests increasingly expect WBTG to deliver the same quality signal as a mid-range bottle. A single, unnamed house red poured from a litre carton does not meet that expectation, and guests will notice, even if they can't articulate why.

Value is no longer defined purely by price. Guests define value through experience: does this wine feel right for this meal, this occasion, this venue?

 

2. Freshness and Trust

Freshness is the most important quality signal in WBTG. Guests may not be wine experts, but they can tell when a wine is oxidised, flat, or poorly preserved. When they receive a glass that doesn't taste right, the instinct is not to complain but to disengage, and to mentally downgrade the venue's quality perception.

Trust underpins the entire WBTG transaction. When guests believe that the wine in their glass is fresh and properly kept, they are far more willing to explore and to trade up for something more expensive or unusual.

 

3. Variety and Discovery

Today's guests, particularly those in the 25–45 age bracket that dominates Irish dining, want options that reflect a point of view. A WBTG list that only offers one red and one white signal disinterest. A list with a curated selection, including something unfamiliar, signals credibility.

There is a growing appetite for flexibility: flights, half-pours, and rotating selections that allow guests to shape their own wine journey. These formats work especially well in casual venues and hotel bars, where variety and experimentation are part of the experience proposition.

 

4. Story and Context

Producer stories, provenance, and sustainability have all entered the mainstream dining conversation. Guests do not need a lecture, but they do appreciate a line of context from well-trained staff. A server who can say 'this is from a small family producer in the Rhône, it's a bit different to most Grenache-based wines' is adding perceived value to every pour.

This is not a fine dining concept. It has migrated fully into casual and mid-range venues. The expectation is no longer that staff will know nothing about wine; it is that they will know enough to be credible.

 

5. Pricing Transparency and Fairness

Guests are now significantly more price-aware than they were even five years ago. Cost-of-living pressures have made hospitality guests more attentive to what they are getting for their money. This does not mean they won't pay for quality; they will, and they will pay a premium for it. What they resist is feeling overcharged for something generic.

The implication: a WBTG programme priced at €10–12 for a well-sourced, interesting wine at 75% GP will perform better than one priced at €8 for an unbranded filler wine. The guest perceives value in quality and story, not in price alone.

 

6. The Occasion Dimension

Not every table is in the same mode. A couple on a first date, a table of four friends catching up, a solo diner at the bar, a business lunch, each of these occasions has different wine dynamics. A strong WBTG programme serves all of them, because it offers flexibility at every price point without requiring the commitment of a bottle.

This is especially true in the current market, where moderation is growing as a cultural trend. Guests who are drinking less are not necessarily spending less; they are often spending more per drink, not less. A premium WBTG selection directly captures that guest.

 

What 'Underperforming' Looks Like: The Diagnostic

 

Most Irish operators know their wine by the glass is underperforming. They can feel it in the cover data, in the low attach rate, in the frequency with which guests order a pint or a soft drink instead. What they often don't know is why, and what to fix first.

 

The most common patterns in an underperforming WBTG programme:

 

Symptom	Root Cause	Fix
Single house wine is doing all the work	No tier architecture	Build a 3-tier anchor with a premium
Low wine attach rate at the table	Staff not initiating wine conversation	Training + a specific opening line
Guests downgrading to beer or soft drinks	Price point feels opaque/high risk	Add producer context to menu descriptions
Wine sales flat, food spend growing	WBTG isolated from food offer	Staff-led pairing suggestions
The premium option is ordered rarely	Not recommended by staff	Sales brief + tasting for team
House wine is getting negative comments	Poor quality / stale open bottle	Upgrade product; rotation management
No sparkling wine by the glass	Missed occasion category	Add prosecco minimum; Champagne for premium tier

 

In almost every case, the fix is structural rather than product-driven. The solution is not necessarily a different wine; it is a different architecture, a different conversation, and a different service approach.

 

The Irish Market Opportunity

 

Why Now Is the Right Time

The Irish hospitality sector is under significant cost pressure. Labour costs, energy, and food inflation have all increased operating costs materially. In that environment, the highest-GP line on the menu, wine by the glass, should be receiving more attention, not less. Yet in most venues, it remains the most underdeveloped revenue category.

At the same time, inbound tourism to Ireland has resumed strongly. Dublin Airport reported an 8% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers in late 2025, with strong US demand. International visitors, particularly from the US, have significantly higher wine spend expectations than the domestic average. A venue that can't sell wine confidently to a table of American visitors is leaving meaningful per-head revenue behind every service.

 

The Financial Case

The following model illustrates the incremental GP available from restructuring a WBTG programme. These figures are based on a typical 40-cover Irish restaurant running 4 services per week:

 

Scenario	Current (House Only)	Restructured (3-Tier)
Avg. WBTG selling price	€7.50	€10.50
Glasses sold per service (est.)	30	38
Weekly glass revenue	€900	€1,596
GP% on WBTG	65%	75%
Weekly GP from WBTG	€585	€1,197
Incremental weekly GP	—	+€612
Incremental annual GP	—	+€31,800

 

These are conservative projections. They do not account for bottle upsells triggered by a stronger WBTG conversation, nor for the increase in wine attach rate that typically follows when staff are trained, and the list is restructured.

 

A structured WBTG programme is not a wine project. It is a margin project. The question is not whether you can afford to invest in it — it is whether you can afford not to.

 

What a Strong WBTG Programme Delivers

 

A well-constructed wine by the glass programme does more than sell wine. It anchors the entire beverage experience and feeds into how the venue is perceived at every level of the guest journey.

 

For the Operator

•       Predictable, high-margin revenue that outperforms food GP across all service types

•       A structured upsell architecture that removes the awkwardness of staff-driven upgrades

•       Reduced spoilage through managed rotation and appropriate tier depth

•       A competitive differentiator in a market where most WBTG programmes are still underdeveloped

 

For the Guest

•       Confidence to explore - the list does the work of making wine feel accessible

•       Value clarity - they understand what they're getting at each price point

•       Quality trust - the wine is fresh, correctly priced, and served with some knowledge

•       An experience they can articulate and recommend - a memorable glass creates repeat visits and word of mouth

 

For the Team

•       A clear, confident sales conversation - they know what to recommend and why

•       A genuine upsell mechanism that doesn't feel pushy - structure does the heavy lifting

•       Pride in the product- staff who understand the list sell it better

 

 

How I Can Help

 

I work with Irish hospitality operators to build wine by the glass programmes that are commercially grounded, operationally practical, and genuinely credible for their guests.

 

A typical engagement includes:

 

•       Diagnosis of the current programme against the market benchmark

•       Three-tier architecture design - product selection, pricing, and menu language

•       GP modelling across selling price scenarios

•       Staff training - product knowledge and the sales conversation

•       Ongoing support through Wines Direct supply relationships

 

I work across all venue types: fine dining, casual restaurants, hotel bars, gastro-pubs, wedding venues, and multi-site café operations. The programme is always built for the specific venue, its covers, its guest profile, and its margin targets.

 

 

Gavin Keogh

Beverage Programme Consultant

sales@winesdirect.ie

0818 579 579

trade.winesdirect.ie