Pre-Sell Your Wine
Howard Tinker • September 7, 2015
Why You Need to Pre-Sell Your Wine
Here's an inventive way to get people into your restaurant.
If you have an off-premises license where people can buy and take the wine away, you can market to your list and pre-sell the wines from your wine list. People call and pay, then pick wine up by the box to take away. This worked so well for one of my restaurant clients who had excess wines when they changed sommelier, that they now market wines to their list twice a year. You can also offer your excess wines at a discount and have people pre-order their wine for their meal.
IMPORTANT: Check your licensing laws first.
- With the correct alcohol license, you can sell wine from your cellar for people to take away.
- You can allow people to pre-order wine for the table before they dine.
- You can make offers to your wine club to encourage membership.
- Once they have pre-ordered and bought their wine, you know they will arrive.
- This has the WOW effect if you have a great wine list.
Please check your local laws and your wine license before using this strategy. If in doubt, consult an expert in license laws.
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