What is your overall view on how important wines by-the-glass sales are now to your business compared to five years ago?
By-the-glass occasions and sales are now the key driver of growth for us. Year-on-year, growth is over-indexing total wine sales, reinforcing the importance of this selection.
In the past 12 months, we’ve done a lot of work on our menu look and feel, to make it super easy to navigate our wine selection and to entice guests to trade up and try something new – it’s definitely not about challenging guests or telling people what to drink, its more about helping them to broaden their horizons and celebrate the wonderful world of wine and all her styles.
In our food-led pubs, we now offer 20–25 wines by the glass (including sparkling, sweet and no-alcoholic), with a handful of cellar selections available through Coravin. All wines by the glass are now available in a carafe serve too, at an incentivised price point, which has encouraged guests to explore more unusual or premium wines they might not otherwise tried.
Lisa Mcbain says Fuller's has been able to expand and be far braver with its by-the-glass offer thanks to Coravin and other wine preservation systems
Coravin is now in 45 of our venues, helping us keep wines fresh for longer and giving our teams the confidence to sell fine wines by the glass. We’re also finding that carafes work brilliantly for low-tempo occasions in our destination pubs, enhancing sociability and the sense of sharing.
Coravin plays into our guests who are excited by new-ness and like to be adventurous. We now have regulars who ask what’s on the Coravin board this week and so it’s a really fun time to be sourcing wine!
How are you developing your wines by-the-glass range?
We want to be known for offering great wines at fair prices — our house wines must always over-deliver. But equally, having accessible quality upgrade options is essential as this is where our teams can really engage with guests, introduce food pairings, and bring some fun to the conversation.
The opportunity lies in leading guests from the familiar into something new that they like and want to tell their friends about: for example, were launching a delicious Pinot Bianco that’s vibrant, lively, and great mid point between a lean Chablis and a high-quality Pinot Grigio, with a whisper of Chenin freshness. It also happens to be organic and biodynamic.
We’re also launching a crisp Assyrtiklo from Lebanon that’s a refreshing alternative to Sauvignon Blanc but with more complexity and story (heritage, altitude, terroir).We’re seeing strong performance in the £35–£45 range, where wines punch above their weight, express a real sense of place, and reward curiosity.
Where are you seeing most demand in terms of price point for wines by-the- glass and how has that shifted?
Wines by-the-glass at The Vintry pubs
We’ve seen a clear shift from entry-level (£32 and under) into the mid-range (£35–£45), where upselling opportunities are strongest. Guests increasingly want quality upgrades, and this is where wines can truly stand out.
We first noticed it with the “Provence rosé effect” and Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, both of which pushed premiumisation into the mainstream.
This summer we ran a campaign with a partner offering Provence rosé for Pinot Grigio prices. We saw sales up 300% during the campaign — and crucially, demand stayed high afterwards, showing customers are motivated less by discounting and more by taste and discovery. We are running a similar Malbec campaign this autumn.
Elsewhere, we’ve swapped DOCG Prosecco for English sparkling in parts of the estate. It’s a few pounds pricier, but organic, local, and lower in residual sugar — perfectly aligned with our guests’ “healthy-ish” preferences.
Which countries and regions are performing best by-the-glass?
Exploration is thriving. Guests are leaning into wines with freshness, flavour and a sense of “new-ness” from regions that over-deliver and feel like tomorrow’s classics.
Lisa Mcbain says Fuller's is now able to be far more adventurous with its by-the-glass offer
Stand-outs for us include:
- Portugal (Malvasia, Alicante Bouschet, characterful blends).
- Lebanon (unoaked reds, deeper-hued rosés, Assyrtiko).
- Maconnais, Burgundy (exciting whites, especially from Solutré).
- England (Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir that are now genuinely competitive).
What more can suppliers do to support your by-the-glass sales?
Staff engagement is critical. We have 187 managed pubs, 5,000 team members aged 18–82, representing over 60 nationalities. Training has to be smart, inclusive, and engaging. I work with our in-house trainer on a ‘Train-the-Trainer’ programme, but the best results come from suppliers who invest in staff training, immersive winery visits, and seasonal food pairing support.
I still draft in mystery shoppers among friends and family, and it’s clear there’s more to do to build team confidence around new wines.
Trips to regions like the Douro, or similar, are unforgettable — they create long-lasting memories that translate into authentic storytelling at the table. Suppliers who invest here are showing they care about long-term growth, not just short-term volume.
How important has Coravin been to by-the-glass sales?
Game-changing. Coravin gives our staff confidence to sell better wine, more often and it gives them a talking point/reason to engage with our guests.
It helps us to offering more premium wines - like Meursault, Rosso di Montalcino, Passito - wines that otherwise would be risky to open. It allows us to offer guests affordable access to wines they’d rarely get the chance to try.
It’s also been invaluable for seasonal transitions: if we delist a wine but have stock left, the team can put it on the blackboard by the glass or carafe, and it sells quickly. Coravin has boosted English sparkling sales too: staff are happy to open a bottle on a quiet Monday lunch, knowing it will still be pristine on Thursday for the after-work rush.
What more would you like to see from Coravin and other preservation companies?
Anne Roque from Coravin has been fantastic - from training sessions to co-creating engaging content. What would take it to the next level is collaborative guest-facing activations: wine dinners that showcase Coravin and our expanding premium by the glass range. Partnering with producers alongside Coravin for such events would be a brilliant way to tell the story and elevate guest engagement.
Ultimately, I want guests to feel that we take wine seriously yet in a fun way and whilst they know they can enjoy a perfectly chilled glass of Marlborough Sauvignon, there is also the option to try something new and exciting.
* You can find out more about Fuller's and its wine range here.
