Guests moved up the list. The prices stayed put.

The average bottle sold in October was $191.58, up 10.5% on last October at the same restaurants and the highest October on record. Yet bottles that were on lists in both years cost guests just 0.2% more. Price rises didn’t do this; guests chose better bottles: about half of all bottles sold now cost $125 or more, up from roughly 44% a year ago.

• Bottles $125+, Oct 2025: ~44%
• Bottles $125+, Oct 2026: 49%

Report card: last month’s call

• Beverage revenue: projected +10.8%, actual +12.4% ✓
• Wine: projected +13.6%, actual +13.3% ✓
• Martini: projected +13.2%, actual +13.2% ✓
• Old Fashioned: projected +15.1%, actual +16.8% ✓
• Bourbon: projected +18.4%, actual +16.8% ✓
• Rosé: projected −29%, actual −10% ✓
• Margarita: projected −3%, actual +2% ✗

Projections include the calendar effect. Ticks mark the right direction. The big categories landed within two points; rosé fell as called, but by a third of the size.

November vs October, typical change beyond the calendar:

• Espresso martini ▲ +12%
• Manhattan ▲ +10%
• Rye ▲ +8%
• Bourbon ▲ +5%
• Rosé ▼ −29%
• Spritz ▼ −14%
• Beer ▼ −11%
• Margarita ▼ −9%

Median of 10 Novembers (2014–2025, excluding 2020–21). Rosé, beer and margaritas fell in all 10; bourbon rose in all 10.

• 4 + 4 Fridays and Saturdays in November (October had 5 + 5)
• −7.6% beverage revenue from the calendar alone
• ~78% Thanksgiving Eve vs a normal Wednesday

Plan ahead: December

December beats October in all 10 years. Sparkling wine climbs about 32% and Champagne 40%; Espresso Martinis (+40%) and bourbon (+36%) lead the bar. New Year’s Eve falls on a Thursday and has run at about 1.5× a normal night. Lock in December’s Champagne allocations this month.

Across the network, every price band above $125 gained share and every band below lost it, compared with the same restaurants a year ago. Every band from $125 up hit its highest October share on record; the two cheapest hit record lows.

Share of bottles sold by price band, change vs Oct 2025:

• Under $60: −1.4 pts
• $60–89: −2.1 pts
• $90–124: −1.4 pts
• $125–174: +1.2 pts
• $175–249: +1.7 pts
• $250–499: +1.1 pts
• $500–999: +0.5 pts
• $1,000+: +0.4 pts

• 18% of glasses sold were $30+, up from 15% (a record)
• 33% of glass revenue now comes from $30+ pours
• −5.9 pts share of bottles 0–3 years from vintage

• Manhattan ▲ +32%
• Scotch ▲ +23%
• Bourbon ▲ +17%
• Old Fashioned ▲ +17%
• California wine ▲ +14%
• Pfalz ▼ −36%
• Nahe ▼ −28%
• Orange wine ▼ −15%
• Rosé ▼ −10%
• Spritz ▼ −5%

October vs September, same restaurants in both months. October had five full weekends, which lifted almost everything.

Year over year: the Spritz (+27%) and the Martini (+26%) are the cocktails of the year. Austrian wine fell 31% and Grüner Veltliner 45%, its lowest October share on record. Japanese whisky is down 16%.

Menu prices for the same glass rose just 1.6% in a year, and not at all since September. The jump in the average glass comes from guests choosing the top of the glass list. Glasses at $30+ are now 18% of pours and 33% of glass revenue.

Average glass price by grape, October:

• Champagne: $37
• Nebbiolo: $29
• Chardonnay: $27
• Sauvignon Blanc: $24
• Pinot Grigio: $16

Typical restaurant’s pour cost, October:

• Wine by the bottle: 29.4%
• Wine by the glass: 21.2%
• Beer: 20.3%
• Cocktails: 13.9%
• Spirits: 12.4%

The trade-up, in dollars:

• Glass $15–17 (21% cost): earns $12.80
• Glass $30+ (23% cost): earns $32.64
• Bottle $60–89 (25% cost): earns $54.95
• Bottle $125–174 (26% cost): earns $107.28
• Bottle under $60 (55% cost): earns $15.06

Gross profit = selling price minus cost of the pour. Restaurants with item costs in BinWise.

Share of named-cocktail revenue:

• Martini: 20%
• Margarita: 15%
• Old Fashioned: 12%
• Espresso martini: 12%
• Spritz: 9%

Spirits mix, share of spirits revenue:

• Vodka: 32%
• Tequila: 23%
• Bourbon: 15%
• Gin: 13%
• Scotch: 5%

• Cocktails’ share of beverage: 10.8%, a record for October
• Average cocktail: $19.21
• Bourbon vs last October: +12%

October, restaurants with a confirmed location:

• Average glass of wine: California $25.17, New York $28.93, rest of US $19.95
• Median bottle: California $128, New York $145, rest of US $102
• Wine share of beverage: California 69%, New York 57%, rest of US 49%
• Spirits share of beverage: California 14%, New York 19%, rest of US 28%

The typical restaurant sold 117 different wines in October.

• Top 20% of wines: 65% of wine revenue
• Wines that sold twice or less: 58% of the list, 23% of revenue

Beverage revenue per day vs the average day, October:

• Monday: 0.63×
• Tuesday: 0.86×
• Wednesday: 1.00×
• Thursday: 1.07×
• Friday: 1.32×
• Saturday: 1.40×
• Sunday: 0.72×

• Bottles are 71% of wine revenue Monday to Thursday, 67% on Friday and Saturday, 63% on Sunday
• November has five Sundays and five Mondays, the two slowest days
• Sunday is glass day