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Our wine list doesn't fit the house and doesn't sell

High stock value, low turnover.

Typical for: leisure hotels with restaurant and half board · houses with a historically grown cellar · properties without an in-house sommelier

Documented by Hospis

How you recognize it

  • The stock value in the cellar grows every year, wine revenue does not
  • 80% of sold bottles come from 10% of the list, the rest just sits there
  • Guests page through the list and then order the house wine by the glass anyway
  • The service team only recommends the three wines they know themselves
  • The list still shows vintages that are either sold out or past their peak
  • There's no visible thread between kitchen, house style and wine selection

Matching Hospi

VW

Valentin Walch

MAJOVA · F&B · Wine · Menu Architecture, Lech am Arlberg
Works with protel · Mews · Mews POS · Smart Host
AdviseImplement

His core focus is wine lists that belong to the house: concentrating the range, costing it cleanly, turning the cellar into experience and revenue, and enabling the team to sell it.

Mapped to root cause
List architectureCosting & marginCellar as stageTeam enablement
View profilePersonally vetted · independent match

Matching software

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Which path fits your situation?

01

Diagnosis

390 € fixed price

A vetted Hospi analyses your situation in a structured way, in conversation and with a written result. Every statement clearly labelled: FACT, BENCHMARK, HYPOTHESIS or CONCLUSION. You get a concrete path, not a sales meeting.

  • A legitimate outcome is also: no engagement needed.
  • If an engagement follows, the diagnosis fee is fully credited.
02

Urgent support

Acute situation? Your case is reviewed with priority, with a response within 48 hours.

Cause fields and how to tell them apart

This situation rarely has a single cause. Usually two or three of these fields are at work at once. The point is to separate them before you act.

These fields are complete, and many properties get there on their own. That is what this page is for. The cost simply does not appear on an invoice: internal hours, a few attempts, and a season that keeps running in the meantime.

01

The list has grown. It hasn't been made

How you spot it

Every generation, every F&B lead, every supplier visit has left positions behind. The list is an archive of house history, not a selling instrument.

The way out

Radically concentrate the list: what belongs to the kitchen, the house and the guest, and what is only stock value? Fewer positions, clear signature, deliberate gaps. The rest is actively sold off rather than kept in storage.

02

Nobody costs the wine

How you spot it

Costing runs on a flat multiplier (factor 3 on everything), regardless of buying price, turnover or role on the list. Expensive bottles become unsellable, cheap ones give margin away.

The way out

Cost margin per position and differentiate the pricing logic: sharpen the calculation on fast-turning wines, price rarities realistically. The goal is contribution margin per evening, not a mark-up factor per bottle.

03

The cellar is dead capital instead of a stage

How you spot it

The cellar is full, but no guest ever sees it. No tastings, no cellar tours, no occasion that puts wine at the center.

The way out

Rethink the cellar, as a room and as a program: wine events, winemaker evenings, tasting formats that turn stock into experience and revenue. What the guest has experienced, they also order at the table.

04

The team can't sell the list

How you spot it

Without an in-house sommelier, recommendations stick with the safe option. New or special positions are never offered, not out of reluctance, but out of uncertainty.

The way out

Train the service team on the list: a few clear recommendation stories per course, regular short tastings within the team. A concentrated list is what makes this possible in the first place.

Frequently asked

Do we have to write off the cellar stock?
Rarely. A large share can be moved through events, promotions and targeted recommendation, often at a better margin than regular sales. Writing off is the last step, not the first.
How many positions does a good hotel list need?
Fewer than are on yours today. What matters is not the number, but that every position has a job: fitting the kitchen, covering a price band, or telling a story. Anything without a job goes.
Is this worth it without an in-house sommelier?
Yes, precisely then. A concentrated, well-costed list with a trained team sells better than a 400-position list nobody masters. External wine expertise is needed selectively, not year-round.

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Problem
Our wine list doesn't fit the house and doesn't sell

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