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With Dry January now behind us and the year settling into more of a rhythm, February becomes a month shaped more by regular, repeat occasions than by big one-off celebrations. For pubs, bars, and restaurants, that brings a focus on experiences that encourage guests to return and stay a little longer. This is where the Winter Olympics come into their own.

From 6 February, running daily across two weeks, the Games create a routine; a natural rhythm of familiar faces and repeat visits. And when behaviour becomes habitual, consistency stops being a nice-to-have and becomes commercially critical – particularly when it comes to your drinks service.

 

When Familiarity Builds Confidence in the Glass

Sport played out over multiple days alters consumer behaviour in subtle but significant ways. Visitors are more likely to linger, order in rounds rather than singles, and return to what they know and enjoyed on previous visits.

Research indicates that those who are regular live sport fans spend an average of 36% more per month on eating and drinking out than those who do not, with nearly nine in ten staying out later than usual and a similar proportion more likely to return to venues that show major sporting events. These events also see more groups of people, and this is the perfect storm for wine by the glass.

Longer and more relaxed dining experiences naturally lend themselves to a second or third glass, but only when confidence is high, on both sides of the table. The first glass of wine can be ordered out of curiosity. The second glass is ordered out of trust. And trust is established quickly, but lost just as quickly if it isn’t delivered.

 

The Realities of Serving Wine Over a Two-Week Event

Wine is uniquely vulnerable in repeat service scenarios because it begins to evolve the moment a bottle is opened. During a two-week sporting event, the same wines may be opened, closed, and revisited across:

• Peak match nights and less busy mid-week nights
• Different shifts with different levels of experience
• Peak demand periods followed by extended periods of inactivity

This is where quality can become a variable, rather than a constant. Yet the Olympic timeline offers a powerful way to think about consistency: a bottle opened during the Opening Ceremony can still be served with full flavour, freshness, and integrity by the time the Closing Ceremony arrives.

Wine preservation has changed what’s possible. With professional wine preservation systems like Bermar in place, operators can preserve open bottles of still and sparkling wines for up to three weeks, reducing waste and giving teams the confidence to serve by the glass without hesitation. This means a glass poured on day 21 can be just as fresh and full of flavor as one poured on day one; not stretched, not compromised, just consistent.

 

Why Consistency Is the New Luxury

Consistency is no longer just a hallmark of quality; it is a marker of trust. UK consumers already demonstrate that they will return to venues that deliver dependable experiences, with almost 90% saying they are more likely to revisit a pub that shows live sport. That same psychology applies to the glass.

Returning guests are not seeking novelty for its own sake; they are expecting a familiar experience that delivers. This is where wine by the glass can build momentum or quietly loses it.

Consistency creates:

• Confidence to trade up
• Willingness to order a second glass
• Openness to staff recommendations
• A sense of value that goes beyond price

Inconsistency, by comparison, introduces hesitation. And hesitation disrupts both experience and revenue. 

 

Designing a Range That Performs Under Pressure

The Olympics place a[n invisible] level of scrutiny on your by the glass offer that normal trading periods rarely do. The same wines are revisited, often by the same people, over an extended period. This makes range selection and balance more important than novelty. Before the Games begin, operators should be considering:

• Are the wines approachable enough for casual drinkers, yet interesting enough to reward repeat orders?
• Is there a clear progression from an easy first glass to something more premium?
• Can every wine on the list be confidently recommended on day ten, not just on day one?
• Is your wine by the glass programme supported by preservation that protects quality well beyond the first service?

The aim is not a list that looks impressive on paper, but one that performs reliably under repeat pressure.

 

Staff Confidence Is Part of the System

During busy sporting periods, service teams carry the atmosphere as much as the screens do. When staff trust the quality in the glass, recommendations are natural and assured:

“This has been pouring beautifully all week.” [or] “If you enjoyed that earlier in the week, you’ll love it again tonight.” When that trust is missing, language changes. Suggestions soften. Caution creeps in. Guests sense it immediately.

When staff know that an open bottle will still be showing at its best days, even weeks, after first being poured, recommendation becomes instinctive rather than hesitant. The conversation shifts from managing risk to building experience.

 

From Event to Routine

The real opportunity of the Winter Olympics is not just the individual nights, but what they build over time. Two weeks of repeat visits can turn occasional customers into regulars, and a wine ordered once into a familiar, trusted choice. That only happens when every glass delivers the same reassurance.

Before the first medal is won, the foundations need to be in place: a by the glass menu designed for repeat enjoyment, professional preservation to protect freshness through fluctuating trade, teams who can recommend with confidence, and an experience that is as dependable on a quiet Tuesday as it is on a packed Saturday.

This is not about making bottles last longer for the sake of it. It is about protecting trust across time, so that a two-week sporting event feels like one continuous, reliable experience, from the Opening Ceremony through to the final medal.

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