Most restaurants guess their wine margins, but successful operators calculate them precisely. While food margins hover around 30%, wine can deliver 75-85% margins when priced correctly. But miscalculate VAT or forget spillage costs, and you're leaving thousands on the table.
Why wine margin matters so much
Wine delivers the highest margins on your menu. Your food cost runs 28-35%, but pour costs on wine should stay between 15-25%. Every pricing mistake hits your bottom line hard.
💡 Example:
You sell 50 glasses of house wine daily. If your margin's 5% too low, you lose €2 per glass = €100 daily = €36,500 yearly.
VAT on wine: 21% (not 9%!)
Alcoholic beverages get hit with the high VAT rate of 21%. This trips up many margin calculations.
⚠️ Note:
Always calculate with prices excluding VAT. A €6.00 glass including VAT equals €4.96 excluding VAT (€6.00 / 1.21).
The basic formula for wine margin
Like food costing, you'll use the pour cost formula:
Pour cost % = (Cost per glass / Selling price excl. VAT) × 100
For carafes, apply the same formula using the total carafe contents.
Calculating cost per glass
This gets trickier than expected. You must account for:
- Bottle purchase price
- Glasses per bottle yield
- Loss from tasting, spillage, breakage
- Glass depreciation costs
💡 Example house wine per glass:
House wine bottle: €4.50 purchase price
- Glasses per bottle: 5 (150ml pours from 750ml)
- Loss factor: 5% (tasting, spillage)
- Actual yield: 4.75 glasses
- Cost per glass: €4.50 / 4.75 = €0.95
Calculating carafe costs
Standard carafes hold 500ml (3.3 glasses) or 750ml (5 glasses). Calculate the bottle fraction and divide the purchase price accordingly.
💡 Example 500ml carafe:
Same wine as above:
- 500ml = 66.7% of bottle (500/750)
- Carafe cost: €4.50 × 0.667 = €3.00
- With 5% loss: €3.00 × 1.05 = €3.15
Margin calculations with real numbers
Based on real restaurant P&L data, here's how the math works:
💡 Glass at €6.00 including VAT:
- Selling price excl. VAT: €6.00 / 1.21 = €4.96
- Cost price: €0.95
- Pour cost: (€0.95 / €4.96) × 100 = 19.2%
- Margin: €4.96 - €0.95 = €4.01 (80.8%)
💡 Carafe at €18.00 including VAT:
- Selling price excl. VAT: €18.00 / 1.21 = €14.88
- Cost price: €3.15
- Pour cost: (€3.15 / €14.88) × 100 = 21.2%
- Margin: €14.88 - €3.15 = €11.73 (78.8%)
Industry pour cost benchmarks
For house wine, these percentages are typical:
- House wine: 15-25% pour cost
- Premium wines: 25-35% pour cost
- Champagne/prosecco: 20-30% pour cost
If you're exceeding these percentages, you're probably underpricing your wine.
Including loss and breakage
Many operators forget about loss, which includes:
- Tasting: 2-3% of inventory
- Oxidation: Open bottles gone bad
- Breakage: Broken bottles and glassware
- Spillage: Bad wine, wrong orders
⚠️ Note:
Build in 5-8% loss to your cost calculations. Otherwise your theoretical margins won't match actual performance.
Different glass sizes impact costs
Not all wine glasses pour the same volume:
- Standard glass: 125-150ml
- Large glass: 175-200ml
- Tasting portion: 75-100ml
Adjust calculations for each size. Larger glasses mean higher costs but should command higher prices too.
How do you calculate wine margin? (step by step)
Calculate cost per glass
Divide the purchase price of the bottle by the number of glasses you get from it. Include 5-8% loss for tasting and pouring out. A bottle at €4.50 with 5 glasses becomes €0.95 per glass after loss.
Calculate selling price excl. VAT
Wine falls under 21% VAT. Divide your menu price by 1.21 to get the price excl. VAT. A glass at €6.00 becomes €4.96 excl. VAT.
Calculate pour cost and margin
Pour cost = (cost price / selling price excl. VAT) × 100. Margin = selling price excl. VAT - cost price. Aim for 15-25% pour cost for house wine.
✨ Pro tip
Track your actual glass yield from each bottle over 30 days - it varies significantly between bartenders. Most operators assume 5 glasses per bottle but actually get 4.6-4.8 glasses after accounting for real-world spillage.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a good pour cost for house wine?
Target 15-25% pour cost for house wines. Below 15% is excellent profitability, while above 25% suggests you're underpricing. Premium wines can run slightly higher pour costs but should still deliver strong margins.
How do I include loss in my cost price?
Factor in 5-8% loss for tasting, spillage and breakage. Multiply your base cost per glass by 1.05 to 1.08 to account for this. Track your actual loss monthly to refine this number.
Should I include the cost of wine glasses?
For precise costing, yes. Budget €0.10-0.20 per glass for depreciation, replacement and washing costs. With high volume service, this adds up and affects your true margins.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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