What's a good pour cost for wine by the glass?
Target 20–25% pour cost on by-the-glass wine at a high-check steakhouse. Price each glass from true bottle cost divided by usable pours - not menu aspiration - and audit over-pouring weekly. A “22% on paper” program often runs 28–30% on the floor without line checks.
The pour cost formula
Pour cost % = (cost of wine in the glass ÷ glass price) × 100.
Example: a bottle lands at $24 wholesale (750 ml). You get four usable 6 oz pours after line loss - cost per pour = $24 ÷ 4 = $6.00. At a $24 glass price, pour cost = $6 ÷ $24 = 25%. At $22 glass price, pour cost = 27.3%. At $26, it drops to 23.1%.
Most steakhouses standardize on 5 oz or 6 oz pours. The math shifts fast:
| Glass price | Cost per pour | Pour cost % |
|---|---|---|
| $20 | $6.00 | 30.0% |
| $22 | $6.00 | 27.3% |
| $24 | $6.00 | 25.0% |
| $26 | $6.00 | 23.1% |
| $28 | $6.00 | 21.4% |
At 5 oz pours you might squeeze five glasses - but only if your team pours consistently and you accept shorter wine life on partial bottles. Many operators plan four pours per bottle for margin safety; planning five and getting four is how programs miss budget.
5 oz vs. 6 oz: margin and guest perception
On a $24 bottle, five 5 oz pours = $4.80 cost each. To hold 22% pour cost, price = $4.80 ÷ 0.22 ≈ $21.82 - call it $22. Four 6 oz pours at the same target need $26–28 glasses to stay under 25%.
Steakhouse guests often compare BTG to bottle value. A $28 glass from a $24 bottle reads as fair when the bottle lists at $112 (4× markup). A $22 glass from the same bottle can feel like a deal but leaves less room for comp pours and spill.
Where margin leaks
Over-pouring
A “heavy hand” adding 0.5 oz per pour turns four planned pours into 3.5 effective pours. On the $24 bottle, cost per actual pour rises from $6.00 to ~$6.86 - a 14% cost increase before you change the menu price. Weekly: weigh three random bottles after service or use measured jiggers on one station and compare sales to depletions.
Oxidation and slow movers
A BTG slot selling two glasses/night loses a half-bottle to oxidation every other day. If that wine costs $18 wholesale, you’re donating ~$9/day in unsellable inventory - $270/month on one slow line. Slow BTG is a pour-cost problem disguised as a marketing problem.
Mispriced bottle-to-glass splits
Rule of thumb: glass price ≈ bottle list price ÷ 4 to ÷ 5, adjusted for your target pour cost. If the bottle lists at $100 but the glass is $19, guests arbitrage to bottles and your BTG line looks profitable only because nobody orders it. If the glass is $32 but the bottle is $96, guests stay on glasses - you move inventory but cap check average.
What this means for your program
Set BTG pricing from cost and pour count, not competitor menus. Hold 20–25% on your top-three movers; allow 26–28% only on strategic pushes you need to trial. Kill or rotate any BTG under two glasses per service day unless preservation is automated. Run a monthly depletion report: bottles opened vs. glasses sold should reconcile within one pour per bottle - if not, fix pouring standards before you raise prices.