Looking for New Places to Sell Your Wines? Consider These Options.

Finding new places to sell your wines can take ingenuity. Here are a few off-the-beaten-path ideas. 

By Melanie Young, CSW

While mainstream restaurant lists and retail shelves remain the top priority for wine brands seeking consumer attention, it may be time to look elsewhere as well. Think about where your customers are and look for a way to meet them there. Here are a few unexpected venues we found.

Check into this hospital

Enjoying a meal with wine in a hospital seems unlikely, but M Brothers at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., earns top reviews on Open Table. Owned by Medure Brothers, it is unique for being a restaurant with a liquor license inside a world-class hospital.

M Brothers’ wine list features 150 selections, several by the glass. The bar lounge next to the dining room provides those visiting loved ones at Mayo Hospital with a place to relax over a drink. Dwayne Bundi, who tends to the bar and manages the wine list, says, “Seventy percent of our lunch customers are hospital visitors. At dinner, 80% of customers are local. Our monthly Culinary Passport Dinners with themes such as Japan, Peru and Turkey are doing very well locally.”

Raise a glass to retirement 

The Hacienda at the Canyon (Watermark Communities) near Tucson, Ariz., is a luxury independent living residence. Its members, aged 65 and older, socialize over wine at five onsite restaurants. “Our members have enjoyed wines most of their adult years. Most are retired and ready to live it up. If you walk into one of our restaurants at 11 a.m. there will be people at the bar. We offer them a restaurant-quality wine list,” says Executive Director Hilary E. Lace. 

Food and Beverage Director Mike Lopez says, “Wine sales are 15 to 25% over food costs. We have doubled the wine program in the last year. Big sellers are bold reds and house whites and reds. We also partner with local distributors to create monthly themed wine dinners.” 

Stop and smell the roses…and the wines

Destination restaurants in museums and arts centers attract discerning customers. Managed by Restaurant Associates, 1906 Restaurant at Longwood Gardens is inside a world-renowned public botanical garden located in Kennett Square outside Philadelphia. Chef George Murkowicz sources ingredients from the onsite garden, which grows more than 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs and also features the region’s bounty of mushrooms. The website features a five-course “flora, fungi and fauna culinary journey” for $90. 

The wine program also blooms with variety that complements the seasonality of the menu. “Our wine list addresses the diverse interests of our customers and supports the local community,” says Gareth Tootell, regional director of operations for Restaurant Associates. A seasonal by-the-glass program drives sales volume and reflects the global-meets-local approach. Examples include Skouras Moschofilero (Greece), Chateau Giscours (Bordeaux), Lopez De Heredia (Spain), Graillot Syrocco (Morocco) and Wayvine Cabernet Franc (Pennsylvania).

Celebrating life in a funeral home

For the ultimate last call, some funeral homes serve alcohol (if allowed by law and approved by the deceased’s family). Two examples are Hodges Funeral Home in Naples, Fla., whose wine room provides families a gathering place for a celebration of life. Evergreen Funeral Service in Columbus, Ohio, is the first in that state to apply for a liquor license. Owner Hunter Triplett says, “Many people want to hold a champagne toast or create a signature cocktail to honor the deceased. That’s putting some “fun” in funerals.

Wine can provide a strong social and emotional connection for people in many settings and occasions. These unique venues underscore that selling wine is about thinking out of the box and not only off the shelves.

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Melanie Young

Melanie Young is a certified specialist of wine and co-host/writer for The Connected Table LIVE, a global podcast featuring conversations with thought leaders in wine, food, spirits & hospitality. Her articles have appeared in Wine Industry News, Wine Enthusiast and Seven Fifty Daily. She travels frequently to report on wine regions, people and events. IG@theconnectedtable