Why Is Wine So Expensive At Restaurants?

Sommelier André Hueston Mack breaks down the logic behind the markup you'll find on wine bottles when eating out.





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[BubsyMupsy]

This still didn't explain WHY it is so expensive!!!

[andrewbuck]

Keep in mind that the markup is on the wholesale price paid by the restaurant, so it's not 3x what you'd expect to pay at the wine store. Also, markups tend to be somewhat less for more expensive/rare wines. A well-curated wine list will include bottles you can't readily find at local shops - unless I see a screaming deal on a wine list (or I'm at a business dinner where people expect to drink specific well-known producers, like big Napa cabs) I tend to go looking for those hidden gems.

[Frobone]

i like how this doesn't actually explain everything, the 300% markup is just completely off the dome

[Nutie]

Yeah I'm with the others on that one it's kind of insane that the baseline for wine out is so insanely expensive for basically no reason. Bring your own wine places represent

[NDK]

It's expensive because the restaurant needs to make money. Most restaurants are lucky to get 10% out of the revenue

[MrBakersPops]

This doesn't explain why it's so expensive at all lol... Just states they charge you 3x as much... No reason for it lol

[LocalRagamuffin]

I just store Welch’s grape juice in my shed for a week and get wine for pennie’s on the dollar.

[edwardquadros]

How about 5-6X markup? This is what I typically find. Best to skip the alcohol and concentrate on the food. A cocktail is a better value than wine!

[Orc-icide]

That explains why chipotle has $10 wine

[yecatsyam]

I’ll will just stick with my Box O Wine, and some delivery 😂

[corsair]

Explained how expensive you can expect it to be, but not "why". And don't give me this the restaurateur stores the wine, so does my local grocer and doesn't mark up 300%. They do it because they can.

[micht]

Why you should skip the wine. Thats crazy.

[marktacchi]

You missed the key word... Retail. The 3x markup you're talking about is based off a retail price. The restaurants don't buy wine at retail.

[bromanguydudesir]

I want to hate this dude because he's a sommelier. I simply cant, he is so straight up and candid. I dig it.

[sirid]

That $80 wine at the US restaurants is $20 at a local supermarket 😂 and if it’s a French, Italian or Spanish wine, then it probably sells for 5-6 EURO in those countries for that particular $80 wine at the US restaurants. 😂

[ilovestitch]

Why wine is so expensive at restaurants: They pay pretentious people to talk down to you about the $30 bottle of wine you're paying $90 for.

[bitcoinsig]

What about when Robin spent $800 per bottle of wine?

[rerolley]

Here in the Midwest at a nice restaurant, wine by the glass is about $8-9. I asked the owner of the restaurant about linking the price of wine to the price of an meal and his reaction was there was no relationship between the two,

[RhubarbSlushie]

And this is why i do t drink at restaurants.

[latunshapatterson]

So if they spend a lot on their food then you assume "they got it ball out" and over charge them for the wine 😂