I Didn’t Want to Sell It. Then It Sold Itself.
There’s a wine on my menu I can’t stand.
It tastes like someone turned grape jelly into perfume and then fermented it with disappointment.
I hate it. My staff makes fun of it.
We joke about it constantly.
But the customers? They can’t get enough.
And that’s the only thing that matters.
Ego Doesn’t Pay the Rent
When I took over the wine bar, it had all the wrong vibes. It was dim, dusty, overpriced grocery-store wines, and a vibe that felt more funeral than fun.
So I gave it a full makeover.
Brighter lighting. Cleaner layout. A friendlier feel.
But the real shift came when I ditched my ego and stopped curating wine for me.
That’s when I stocked the wine I hated.
It was super-sweet, syrupy, and very obnoxious.
But I kept hearing people ask for something like it.
I finally caved and put it on the menu.
It outsold everything.
We let customers sample it. Some laughed. Some winced.
But plenty smiled, nodded, and ordered a second glass before they finished the first.
I still make fun of it. But I keep it stocked.
Because it sells.
The Notebook Trick That Still Works
I used a super-simple system I stole from my convenience store days.
Any time someone came in and asked, “Do you have ___?” and we didn’t, I wrote it down in a notebook.
Every week, I reviewed the list. If enough people asked for something, I brought it in.
It wasn’t fancy. It was effective. That notebook made me money.
And it still does.
It’s Not About You
You’re not stocking your business for yourself.
You’re stocking it for the people who pay you.
It’s not your job to decide what customers should like.
It’s your job to figure out what they already want and make damn sure they can find it in your shop.
In this case, that ridiculous wine solved a problem for customers who weren’t sophisticated wine drinkers.
People who normally wouldn’t feel comfortable ordering wine found something they liked—and they came back for it.
That’s what we’re in business for: solving real problems with real products.
If your inventory is just a vanity project, you’re not running a business. You’re running a museum.
Real Talk
Running a business isn’t about impressing yourself. It’s about solving problems, making sales, and listening to what your customers actually want.
Even if what they want tastes like sugary regret in a wine glass.
Leave your ego at the door.
Write it down.
Track what sells.
And never forget that your opinion doesn’t pay the bills.
The Action List (For You, The Owner)
- Start a notebook. Track what customers are asking for.
- Let people sample. A sip leads to a sale.
- Stock what sells, not what impresses you.
- Solve a problem for your customer, not yourself.
- Accept that your taste doesn’t always pay the bills.
TL;DR
- I stocked a wine I hated. It became my best-seller.
- A notebook of customer requests guided the menu.
- The wine solved a real customer problem.
- Ego is expensive. Serve what sells.