Create a wine list • 25 October 2025

Restaurant Wine List: Complete Guide, Examples, and Tools

The search for a restaurant wine list often hides three intentions: finding inspiring examples, learning to structure and price effectively, and comparing digital solutions (QR code, tablet, virtual sommelier). Here you will find a complete method, ready-to-adapt templates, and concrete advice to transform your list into a true lever for experience and revenue.

What your customers really look for when they open your list

Your guests want to decide quickly and confidently. A successful wine list meets three needs:

• Immediate understanding: clear categories, logical sorting, readable prices.
• Reassurance: useful information (region, producer, style, vintage), price consistency.
• Guidance: pairing suggestions, favorites, options by the glass.

Whether you are a gourmet restaurant, bistronomic, wine bar, or hotel, the structure, design, and updating of your wine list remain crucial for experience and profitability.

The fundamentals of a wine list that sells and pleases

Hierarchy and readability first

• Categorize by color (sparkling, white, rosé, red, sweet/fortified) then by region or style.
• Limit line length: producer, cuvée, appellation/region, vintage, price.
• Highlight by-the-glass sales to facilitate entry.
• Clearly display prices and formats (glass, 50 cl, 75 cl, magnum).

Useful information, without overload

• Producer and cuvée: the identity of the bottle.
• Appellation or region, country: geographical markers.
• Grapes and style: dry/fruity/oaky/sparkling, to guide without jargon.
• Vintage when relevant.
• Serving degrees and pairing suggestions if they help the decision.

Food-wine pairings that trigger purchases

Associate each major section with 2-3 pairing suggestions from your menu. For example: "Seafood: lively muscadet, taut chablis, saline albariño." On a digital wine list, these pairings can be dynamic based on daily dishes.

By the glass, bottle, large formats

Offering multiple formats smooths the purchase:

• By the glass: a selection of 6 to 12 balanced references (price, styles, regions).
• Carafe/50 cl: useful for sharing tables.
• Magnums: ideal for parties and upselling on house signatures.

Paper, tablet, or QR code: which wine list for your establishment?

Advantages of the digital wine list

• Instant updates: no more crossings out or reprints.
• Filters and search: by price, style, region, food-wine pairing.
• Multilingual: reassures the international clientele of hotels and tourist restaurants.
• Contextual highlighting: favorites, new arrivals, wines by the glass.
• Reduction of errors: synchronization with your stocks, out-of-stock displayed in real-time.

When to also keep a paper list

The paper list remains appreciated in gastronomic contexts or for prestigious cellars. The ideal: a short paper version (signature, icons, QR to see everything) and a complete and always up-to-date QR code wine list.

The best of both worlds: the hybrid approach

Combine a clean paper list with a tablet/QR code wine list for cellar depth, tasting notes, and detailed food-wine pairings.

Step-by-step method to create your restaurant wine list

1. Clarify your positioning: cuisine, average budget, clientele (local, business, international), throughput.
2. Define the architecture: colors > regions > styles > prices; or styles > intensity > prices; choose a logic and stick to it.
3. Select the range: 60-70% safe bets, 20-30% discoveries, 10% favorites/limited editions.
4. Structure the by-the-glass offer: 6-12 wines, monthly/weekly rotation based on volume.
5. Write micro-descriptions: 5-12 words max for wines that need it; ban obscure jargon.
6. Set prices consistently: coefficients by cost bracket, readable rounding, controlled by-the-glass markup.
7. Prepare visuals: clear icons (organic, nature, bubbles, barrel), flags optional for international.
8. Choose the medium: robust and stylish paper, or digital wine list via tablet/QR code.
9. Create an update protocol: additions, out-of-stocks, vintages, price changes.
10. Train the team: 10-second pitches, key pairings, alternatives in case of out-of-stock.

Examples of effective structures

• By color, then region: Sparkling (Champagne, Crémant, Cava…), Whites (Loire, Burgundy, Rhône, Italy…), Rosés (Provence…), Reds (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône, Languedoc, Spain, Italy…), Sweet/fortified.
• By style: Crisp and mineral whites; Round and gourmet whites; Light and fruity reds; Structured reds; High-altitude wines; Orange wines, etc.
• By usage: Aperitif; Sea & Shellfish; White meats; Grilled & Aged; Cheeses; Desserts.

Writing useful descriptions

• Prioritize the benefit: "lively chenin, citrus, saline finish" rather than "aging on lees, low pH".
• Avoid vague superlatives, prefer 2-3 aromatic or texture markers.
• Add an emblematic pairing: "perfect with dorade tartare".

Pricing strategies and margins

• Consistency by segment: small accessible cuvées, comfortable mid-range, premium icons.
• By-the-glass policy: adapt the margin to the turnover; protect the quality of the experience.
• Readable rounding: avoid unnecessary cents; easy-to-navigate price classes.
• Hidden costs: anticipate breakage, evaporation, glasses, temperature; integrate them into the overall policy.

Design and user experience: your best allies

• Typography: a clear font, hierarchical sizes (titles, subcategories, lines).
• Contrasts: light background/dark text for nighttime comfort; on tablet, dark mode possible.
• Breathing space: airy sections, 5-9 references per block to avoid saturation.
• Subtle pictograms: bubbles, organic, barrel, regions; no more than 4-5 different icons.
• Multilingual: simple translations for styles ("crisp, fruity, oaky") on digital wine list.

Management, rotation, and stocks: the list that always stays accurate

Synchronization and controlled out-of-stocks

Nothing undermines trust more than an unavailable reference. A QR code or tablet wine list connected to stock updates out-of-stocks in real-time and suggests close alternatives (same region, same style), limiting disappointment.

Seasonal rotation and events

Adapt the offer: more lively whites and rosés in spring, gourmet reds in autumn, bubbles and large formats during holidays. Plan your focuses: "riesling month", "nebbiolo week", etc. Digital lists allow ephemeral visual focuses without reprinting.

Floor team: turning the list into a storytelling and sales tool

Pitches and common references

• 3 ambassador wines per color that everyone masters.
• A simple common lexicon: lively, smooth, gourmet, structured, spicy, salty.
• Funnel recommendations: 2-3 questions to pinpoint taste and budget; then 2 max proposals.

Sales assistance tools

A digital wine list system with a virtual sommelier displays filters, pairings, concise descriptions, and automatic alternatives. Teams gain confidence and consistency, even during peak times.

How Winevizer simplifies your restaurant wine list

Winevizer is a digital wine list designed for restaurants, wine bars, and hotels. You maintain control over the cellar, aesthetics, and prices while offering a modern and smooth experience:

• Virtual sommelier: instant recommendations by dish, style, and budget.
• QR code and tablet: access to your entire cellar in one gesture, multilingual.
• Powerful filters: by price, region, grape, intensity, occasion.
• Real-time updates: no more crossings out; out-of-stocks and vintages managed in seconds.
• Dynamic food-wine pairings: linked to your menu, including daily dishes.
• Intelligent highlighting: favorites, new arrivals, wines by the glass, large formats.
• Integrated visual identity: charter, bottle photos, tasting notes.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Information saturation: too many details kill the decision.
• Price inconsistency: unexplained gaps between similar styles.
• Uneven sections: one overloaded chapter, others empty.
• Unreported out-of-stocks: nothing worse for the experience.
• No by-the-glass offer: you lose impulse sales and food-wine pairings.
• No seasonal updates: a static list seems "dated".

Adapting the list to your type of establishment

High-turnover wine bar

• Large selection by the glass, weekly rotation.
• Sorting by style and intensity; filters by price and origin.
• Focus on producers/artisans, small stories that stick.

Gourmet restaurant

• Architecture by regions and verticals of vintages.
• Elegant paper lists + tablet wine list for cellar depth.
• Sober descriptions, high-end pairings, large formats, and grower champagnes.

Hotel, room service, and rooftop

• Multilingual list, QR code access from the room and common areas.
• Practical formats (50 cl, half-bottles) and international selection.
• Simple pairings with the snacking/night menu.

FAQ

How to quickly structure a restaurant wine list without making mistakes?

Start with colors, then regions, and offer a sorting by price within each section. Add a "by the glass" block at the front and highlight "favorites". Keep an airy layout and essential information.

QR code or tablet wine list: do customers follow?

Yes, provided the interface is simple, fast, and readable. Plan for a discreet QR code on the table and a tablet for customers who prefer to navigate with service assistance.

What information to include to help without overwhelming the reader?

Producer, cuvée, region/appellation, grape (or style), vintage, and price. A micro-description of 2-3 key notes and, if possible, an emblematic pairing.

How to set prices by the glass?

Avoid strict uniformity: adapt the by-the-glass price to turnover and the actual cost of the bottle. Stay consistent between styles and maintain readable tiers.

Should we abandon the paper list?

Not necessarily. Many establishments keep an elegant paper list and enrich it with a digital wine list for details, updates, and filters. The hybrid approach works very well.

Make your wine list a living asset

A well-thought-out restaurant wine list clarifies choice, reflects your cuisine, and smooths service. By clarifying the architecture, caring for the design, mastering your prices, and adopting modern tools when they make sense, you transform a static support into a living experience. To go further without complexity, a digital wine list with a virtual sommelier like Winevizer highlights your selections, adapts daily, and supports your teams. It's your turn: streamline, prioritize, make the decision simple and desirable.