How Restaurants Manipulate You to Order Wine

Rory Sutherland tells why restaurants want you to order wine more than any other drink.

Rory Sutherland’s fascinating study dives into the subtle psychology behind why restaurants push us to order wine more than any other drink. His insights reveal how establishments carefully manipulate the dining experience to guide us toward that glass of vino.

It’s not just about taste—there’s a calculated strategy at play. Restaurants often have a separate wine menu, physically different from the regular drinks list, making wine feel like a more premium, “special” choice. By having its own menu, wine becomes an event, something that stands out on its own. It’s less about just getting a drink and more about choosing a refined experience.

And here’s the kicker: notice how, when you sit down, the wine glasses are already placed on the table? That’s no accident. It’s a psychological nudge, subtly suggesting that wine is the expected drink for the evening. It plants the idea in your mind before you even think about ordering, creating a sense of social or dining expectation. The sight of those empty wine glasses signals that wine is the natural choice to complete the dining experience.

All these small tactics add up to make you feel like wine is not just an option but the best option, or even the only option for a meal with sophistication. Restaurants do this because wine is often one of the highest-margin items, meaning it brings in more profit than other drinks. So the next time you’re handed a wine menu and see those glasses gleaming in front of you, know that it’s all part of a clever strategy to enhance your dining experience while driving up the restaurant’s profit!

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