NEWTON, MA– Restaurant Sciences LLC, an independent firm that closely tracks food and beverage product sales throughout the foodservice industry in North America, today released its annual Wine-By-the-Glass Price Study, revealing several shifts in wine-by-the-glass popularity in the first three quarters of 2013. For the first time, Pinot Noir surpassed Merlot in wine-by-the-glass sales. While on-premise patrons preferred Chardonnay for white and Cabernet Sauvignon for red, blended wines increased market share for both whites and reds.
"Pinot Noir wine-by-the-glass sales continued to soar," said Chuck Ellis, president and CEO of Restaurant Sciences LLC. "We also saw blended reds make a strong showing and Muscato crack the top five wines-by-the-glass compared to 2012 preferences. American diners cooled to Red Zinfandel, as they are increasingly selecting blended reds and Malbecs by the glass."
Following is a chart of the most popular wine-by-the-glass varietals, along with average pricing for family dining, casual dining, upscale casual dining, fine dining, bar nightclub and hotel bar:
| Red Varietals | — Across All Orgs — | —Average Price per Glass— | |||||||||||||
| Share of Red | 2012 Rank | Family Dining | Casual Dining | Upscale Casual | Fine Dining |
Bar/ Nightclub |
Hotel Bar | ||||||||
| Cabernet Sauvignon | 31.6% | 1 | $6.40 | $7.75 | $11.65 | $13.15 | $6.01 | $10.41 | |||||||
| Pinot Noir | 19.9% | 3 | $8.55 | $9.33 | $11.91 | $13.31 | $7.57 | $10.45 | |||||||
| Merlot | 15.3% | 2 | $6.19 | $6.57 | $10.95 | $12.29 | $5.15 | $7.20 | |||||||
| Blend, Red | 8.8% | 6 | $7.97 | $7.90 | $11.29 | $13.14 | $7.26 | $5.91 | |||||||
| Malbec | 8.6% | 5 | $7.84 | $8.30 | $9.54 | $11.51 | $7.71 | $12.56 | |||||||
| Zinfandel | 3.0% | 4 | $7.64 | $8.91 | $9.97 | $12.11 | $7.60 | $13.14 | |||||||
| Sangiovese | 2.9% | 8 | $7.68 | $8.16 | $9.59 | $12.25 | $7.03 | NA | |||||||
| Tempranillo | 1.5% | 10 | $9.24 | $7.02 | $10.27 | $11.83 | $7.71 | $12.92 | |||||||
| All Other Reds | 8.3% | 9 | |||||||||||||
| White Varietals | — Across All Orgs — | —Average Price per Glass— | |||||||||||||
| Share of White | 2012 Rank | Family Dining | Casual Dining | Upscale Casual | Fine Dining |
Bar/ Nightclub |
Hotel Bar | ||||||||
| Chardonnay | 44.8% | 1 | $6.28 | $7.46 | $10.09 | $11.00 | $5.51 | $9.07 | |||||||
| Pinot Grigio | 23.2% | 2 | $6.81 | $6.84 | $9.24 | $9.81 | $5.58 | $7.02 | |||||||
| Sauvignon Blanc | 15.5% | 3 | $8.21 | $8.26 | $10.16 | $10.88 | $7.18 | $10.92 | |||||||
| Riesling | 7.1% | 4 | $7.15 | $7.55 | $9.82 | $10.10 | $6.25 | $10.72 | |||||||
| Blend, White | 1.8% | 6 | $7.52 | $6.75 | $9.35 | $11.46 | $6.50 | $7.46 | |||||||
| Pinot Gris | 1.8% | 5 | $8.20 | $8.55 | $10.83 | $10.20 | $6.83 | $12.12 | |||||||
| Muscato | 1.8% | 10 | $5.49 | $6.41 | $9.19 | $9.72 | $5.35 | $7.54 | |||||||
| Chenin Blanc | 1.1% | 8 | $7.37 | $8.53 | $8.56 | $12.88 | $7.64 | $13.75 | |||||||
| All Other Whites | 2.9% | 9 | |||||||||||||
Americans were willing to pay a hefty price for wine when they go out with average wine-by-the glass prices ranging from $5.49 for Muscato at family dining establishments to $13.75 a glass for Chenin Blanc at hotel bars. Restaurant Sciences analyzed 30 million guest checks from January 2013 through October 2013 at all full service restaurant segments, bars, nightclubs and hotel bars.
About Restaurant Sciences
Restaurant Sciences is the premier provider of syndicated data and insights on food and beverage consumption in restaurants, bars, nightclubs and other foodservice establishments. The company delivers market share, market basket, competitive analysis, pricing, promotional, trend, segmentation and custom analytics to food and beverage manufacturers and distributors, as well as to restaurant companies. Restaurant Sciences transforms nearly $1.5 billion per month in guest check-level sales information into detailed data and insights across all segments of the foodservice landscape in the United States and Canada. Insights are delivered online through their business intelligence tool or through custom analytics.
Source: Restaurant Sciences LLC
