10 Mistakes to Avoid on Your Wine List

Creating a wine list is not always easy: what information to include? What format to use? How to categorize your wines? All this without making errors that could undermine its credibility.

1. Having a Selection That Is Too Narrow or Too Broad

Unless your restaurant or wine bar has a very specific theme, you cannot exclusively offer red wines, white wines, or wines from a single region. To appeal to a broad audience and ensure everyone finds something they enjoy, it is essential to balance the selection by including wines from various regions and with different grape varietals. The trend of organic, biodynamic, and natural wines should also be considered.

However, in trying to satisfy everyone, you also risk overwhelming the consumer by offering too many choices. Try classifying your wines into different categories: for instance, separating light-bodied reds from full-bodied reds, or crisp and mineral whites from round and fruity ones. Include a few in each category, ensure a balance between regions and grape varietals, and you should achieve an appropriately sized selection.

Finally, just because we primarily discuss whites and reds doesn't mean other categories should be neglected. It is, of course, beneficial to also offer rosés and sparkling wines (Champagne and/or Crémant, the choice is yours!).

2. Incorrectly Classifying Wines

If wines are not classified correctly, the consumer will be lost within the selection and will not be guided in their choice according to their tastes and preferences. If it takes too long to find something suitable, they may become resigned or choose something at random.

The best approach is to first establish categories based on what you wish to highlight: by region or by wine type (color, round, mineral, fruity, powerful, light-bodied…). Then, within each category, it is advisable to classify them by ascending price, allowing the consumer to clearly perceive the progression in quality and price.

3. Displaying Inconsistent Pricing

When a customer reviews prices, they always try to assess whether investing a certain amount for a bottle or a glass is justified. If the price per glass is the same for two wines, while their respective bottles are €20 and €30, the customer will not accept paying the same for both. This seems logical, yet wine lists frequently feature inconsistent multiplier coefficients between the price per glass and per bottle.

Also read: 6 Tips for Better Sales with Your Wine List.

4. Errors Regarding Region or Vintage

There is nothing worse than misplacing an appellation in the wrong region or indicating a specific vintage only to serve a different one at the table. While customers may not always notice, if they do, it creates a poor impression.

Be sure to verify the region corresponding to the appellations or geographical indications. Also, check the vintages available in your inventory and update your wine list as needed. While legally not mandatory to indicate the vintage, it is highly valued by consumers. Furthermore, if you do indicate it, the law requires you to be able to justify it with the bottle's label or invoice if necessary.

5. Failing to mention the producer

While legally not mandatory to mention the producer's name, omitting it is not considered a serious offense. However, it is still a mistake to avoid. Consumers prefer to know the estate whose wine they are about to taste, especially to remember what they have enjoyed. Anyone with a basic understanding of oenology knows that there can be a huge difference between two Saint-Émilion wines depending on the producing estate.

Today, consumers are increasingly seeking to connect with the producer, to understand the precise origin behind a product, and even its history. Highlighting the producer on the wine list will therefore always be very well received.

6. Having a static, outdated wine list

Once a selection is finalized and deemed perfectly balanced, it's not always intuitive to consider changing it. However, it is always beneficial to evolve it regularly.

This allows you to keep up with consumption trends, such as that of natural wines currently. It also helps retain your customers by allowing them to regularly make new discoveries, encouraging them to return. It's also a great excuse for social media marketing campaigns, showcasing the new gems you've unearthed.

Finally, it's essential to adapt to seasonality: for instance, adding some rosés for summer, or a new Champagne for the year-end festivities.

7. Forgetting to mention mandatory information

It is important to know that there are three mandatory mentions on a wine list: the legal sales designation, the quantity served, and the price. The legal sales designation refers to how the wine is described and presented on the bottle or invoice.

Naturally, just because these mentions are mandatory does not mean they are sufficient. It is always preferable to add other information such as the vintage or the estate. To learn more: the 3 mandatory indications on a wine list.

8. Offering unavailable wines

When maintaining a dynamic wine list with vintages, it is crucial to ensure that the wines in stock match those on the list. Therefore, the list should be re-edited regularly if necessary. And if a wine or vintage is no longer available but the list has not yet been re-edited, it must be clearly and legibly indicated.

9. Creating an illegible wine list

For a legible wine list, wines must be properly categorized as discussed above. However, attention must also be paid to the amount of information provided: the more precisely the wine's origin and characteristics are detailed, the more consumers appreciate it. But if too much information is included, it risks making the list illegible.

The goal is therefore to present all this information clearly and consistently. Design and formatting play a crucial role here. Arrange each piece of information in the same order for every wine, and vary fonts and sizes to ensure the information is legible and understandable.

10. Making spelling errors

This may seem obvious, but wine lists are still often found with misspelled estate names or appellations, or where plural agreements are overlooked. We have seen "Gewurtztraminer" instead of Gewurztraminer, or "Pommerol" instead of Pomerol. Therefore, it is essential to proofread word by word to ensure no typos have slipped into the list, at the risk of appearing unprofessional.

You now have all the keys to create an attractive wine list that meets consumer expectations. The wine list is a genuine marketing tool for a restaurant — it deserves to be well-crafted and effectively utilized.