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Summer sport is nearly here, and for pubs, bars and hospitality venues showing live sport, it can bring a strong run of high-energy trading opportunities! From the FA Cup Final and the Championship play-off final, to the UEFA Champions League Final and the World Cup later in the summer, Wimbledon, Royal Ascot, England cricket, the British Grand Prix and The Open, the season brings longer stays, group bookings, and more occasion-led spending.
For operators, this creates a valuable window to build on what they already do well with simple wine by the glass ideas that fit naturally into the existing offer, without needing to rethink the entire drinks strategy, and still deliver real commercial value.
Longer stays, bigger opportunity
What makes this even more commercially interesting is that guest behaviour supports it! Access Hospitality found that bookings around sporting events averaged 180 minutes, with 31% of guests staying for three hours and beyond. The same research found that almost half of consumers say atmosphere is their top priority when deciding where to watch.
For venues, that creates a clear opening: when guests are spending longer on site and placing real value on the wider experience, a more thoughtful drinks offer can play a bigger role in driving spend and helping the occasion feel more distinctive.
Why wine by the glass has a role to play
The key here is that summer sport rarely brings in just one type of guest. A football final, a Grand Prix weekend, a day of Wimbledon or a summer cricket fixture can all attract different audiences. Group bookings tend to mean mixed tastes, which creates a strong case for a broader drinks offer. Wine by the glass gives venues a way to cater to guests who want something lighter, more premium, or simply not the standard matchday option.
It can also lift the experience as a whole. This does not have to mean overcomplicating the offer, but giving guests something beyond the obvious can make the venue feel more considered and more versatile for the occasion.
Simple ways to weave wine into summer sport
A pairing alongside a popular dish, a themed wine flight for a key fixture, a sparkling arrival serve for race day or Wimbledon-inspired wine cocktail can all help a venue make more of the occasion without adding unnecessary complexity behind the bar. Let’s dive into these a little bit more.
- Food and wine pairings
A suggested glass served alongside sharing dishes, small plates, or a matchday special can help increase spend while keeping the choice easy for guests. It is a simple way to make the offer feel more joined up and encourage trade up through subtle recommendation rather than hard sell. - Themed wine flights
A limited wine flight can give a fixture its own sense of identity and create a stronger talking point on the menu. Whether inspired by the teams involved, the countries competing, a race weekend, a tennis tournament or a wider summer theme, it gives guests another reason to engage with the drinks offer in a way that feels timely and relevant. - Wine-based cocktails
Wine-based cocktails can bring a more refreshing and sociable feel to the menu during the summer season. They offer variety, work well for longer stays, and help create a drinks offer that feels better suited to warm weather occasions and mixed group tastes. - Arrival drinks and table upgrades
For advance bookings and larger groups, where possible, a simple drinks upgrade can help turn a busy fixture into more of an occasion. A more premium welcome drink or a pre-selected add on can all help increase value while making the experience feel more polished. Introducing guests to wine in such a way opens doors to easy upselling and discovery otherwise not available.
Think about the full guest journey
Sport-led trading works best when venues think beyond a single ordering moment. Longer stays create more room to build spend naturally across the visit and pre-booking can help make this even more effective.
Recent studies found that 51% of customers will pre-order if there is a special deal on, which makes a strong case for including wine within matchday packages and add-ons rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Why confidence behind the bar matters
The challenge is rarely a lack of ideas. More often, it is the hesitation that comes with opening additional bottles during a busy service and wondering whether they will justify their place on the bar. For venues looking to make more of summer sport, that matters. If the drinks offer is going to feel broader, more relevant and more occasion-led, the team needs to be able to serve it quickly, consistently, and without adding unnecessary waste.
That is exactly where Bermar comes in. Our professional wine and Champagne preservation systems are designed to help venues serve both still and sparkling wines by the glass with speed and confidence. Using dual preservation technology, opened bottles can stay fresh for up to 21 days, making it easier to broaden the range, introduce more premium options, and keep quality high throughout longer trading periods.
For busy venues, that means less hesitation, less waste and far more freedom to build a wine offer that works commercially as well as operationally.
A smart way to make more of summer sport
Summer sport can give venues a steady flow of opportunities to drive footfall, dwell time, and spend, with some sources pointing to footfall growth of up to +40% on key fixture dates! For the right venue, audience and occasion, the strongest operators will not necessarily be the ones that change everything, but the ones that make the right additions at the right moments. Wine by the glass offers one way to do exactly that.
Through simple, well-timed ideas, venues can create a drinks offer that feels relevant to the occasion, more appealing & premium to a wider range of guests, and better suited to the longer stays that live sport often brings. It is not about replacing the core sporting serve, but complementing it with options that help the venue appeal to more guests and make more of the trading opportunity.
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