By-the-Glass (BTG)
By-the-glass refers to wine sold in single-serving pours rather than full bottles, priced on configured glass volumes and the underlying bottle cost.
What by-the-glass means
By-the-glass (BTG) is the practice of selling wine in individual pours instead of whole bottles. A standard bottle of 750 ml is divided into a set number of servings, commonly five to six pours of roughly 125–150 ml each, and priced per glass. BTG lets guests explore wines they might not commit to by the bottle and lets venues offer premium selections accessibly.
The economics hinge on pour size. The number of glasses a bottle yields, multiplied by the glass price, determines the revenue per bottle, while the bottle cost determines the margin. Small inconsistencies in pour volume compound quickly across a busy service.
Why it matters
BTG programs are notorious for quietly leaking margin. Over-pours, inconsistent measures, comps, and untracked spillage all erode the economics, and because each pour is small, the loss is easy to ignore until variance shows up in the numbers. Tracking pours at the millilitre level and tying glass pricing to real bottle cost is what keeps a BTG program honest.
In a wine program, precise glass-volume configuration plus movement tracking turns BTG from guesswork into measurable margin. Vinius connects configured glass volumes to bottle economics through its pricing engine and records pours as inventory movements, so a glass program stops leaking margin through guesswork.
Run your wine program with precision, not guesswork
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