289577 Wed Jun 12 13:47:57 -0700 2002 8 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1568497 I'm interested in opinions regarding what one should pay by the glass. Let's say the wine is $20 in the wine store. What is reasonable for a restaurant to charge for a glass? Wed Jun 12 13:47:57 -0700 2002 0 Danna 1 1568501 $10 Wed Jun 12 14:17:47 -0700 2002 1568497 0 Alan H 1 1568504 Well it depends on the size of the serving. A standard bottle contains 6 standard servings (4 for big glasses). That would mean the cost to the restaurant would be (1) $20/6 plus a portion of overhead (hey, overhead has to come from somewhere). Anything over that would be mark-up. These days, it is quite common for establishments to mark up at least three times over cost (double cost used to be a more standard rule of thumb, and some places still stick closer to that). Wed Jun 12 14:28:37 -0700 2002 1568497 0 Karl S. 1 1568507 I haven't kept up with this, but it used to be generally three times wholesale cost. Divide glass size into 750 ml (roughly 6 glasses per bottle). The ratio is not immutable...I recently dined in a place that charged $22.00 for a wine I could get at Trader Joe's for $2.99. Some markup, huh? I does seem a bit absurd that a bottle of unremarkable wine can cost more than the entree. Wed Jun 12 14:35:30 -0700 2002 1568497 0 Jim H. 1 1568520 Reasonable or not, I think this is the rough formula for by-the-glass (BTG) programs: The traditional formula is that the restaurant attempts to make back their investment on the first glass, the remaining glasses are profit. Say you see a wine on the shelf for $20. The winery sells the wine to the wholesaler at approximately 50% of the suggested retail cost, so $10 a bottle or $120 a case roughly. The wholesaler marks it up approximately 30%-40%. So in this case, let's say 35%, so now the wine is sold to the restaurant for $13.50 or $162 a case. Some restaurants are varying this formula, for example dropping the BTG price from the $13.50 bottle price by a couple of bucks. Additionally, if a winery is eager to get it's wine on a BTG list at a specific restaurant, they will often cut a deal and drop the price accordingly for that account only. Note also that the markup for wines sold by the bottle is a different thing. As an aside, no wine is worth the BTG price if it's been open too long. So when I order, I like to ask which BTG wines have been opened today, or are not yet opened, and then choose from those. Wed Jun 12 15:59:17 -0700 2002 1568497 0 Jennie Sheeks 1 1568532 Danna, I've skimmed what the others wrote, but think (most of the time and in the end) the mark-up will be what the customer is willing to pay. I've paid anywhere from $4 to perhaps $20 a glass, depending upon the wine and the place. Wed Jun 12 16:50:09 -0700 2002 1568497 0 TR 1 1568565 The new TimeOut New York has an interesting article about sleazy wine practices in New York restaurants (e.g., misrepresenting appellations, switching vintages, egregious pricing). The general attitude taken by restaurants in re: wine by the glass is that the drinker doesn't care what they're getting, so they might as well get screwed. So, a typical glass of wine may cost more than the entire bottle. Thu Jun 13 09:14:16 -0700 2002 1568497 0 OPJK 2 1568657 Does this surprise you? Most diners don't know what they are drinking, and wouldn't dare complain. Some complain to impress their fellow diners. Except for those very few real connoissuers (sp), people will drink swill and pay premium prices...better to bring your own and pay corkage. Fri Jun 14 00:16:41 -0700 2002 1568565 0 Jim H. 3 1568677 Agreed. I find it simple and convenient to carry a couple bottles into most places I go, whether I actually open them or not. Often the restaurant has something on their list I'm interested in, sometimes not. Selection is more the issue than price, here; it's not that I don't want to pay $7.95 for Turning Leaf; I don't want Turning Leaf at all. Fri Jun 14 11:08:57 -0700 2002 1568657 0 Shepherd B. Goode