How Do You Decide When to Cut a Wine From Inventory?

A wine becomes a candidate for removal when poor sales, excess quantity, weak strategic value, and tied-up capital begin to outweigh the reasons for keeping it.

Start with diagnosis.

A wine may be slow because of poor list placement, pricing, limited staff familiarity, or temporary demand.

Those problems can sometimes be fixed.

A stronger cut candidate combines several warning signs:

• little recent sales activity

• excessive stock

• no intentional aging purpose

• weak guest demand

• redundant price or category position

• meaningful capital tied up in the bottle

Removing a wine shouldn’t be a reaction to one bad month.

It should follow a clear conclusion that the position no longer deserves the space, attention, and capital it consumes.

A cut is a portfolio decision.

Not a punishment for a bottle that sold slowly.