By Johan Vartanian · SEO & CRO Specialist at Billetto · Last updated 12 August 2026
Johan helps European event organisers grow their audience through search and conversion optimisation. 5+ years in SEO across marketplaces and content sites.
Quick answer
- Standard tasting: 6 wines, ~25ml pours, 2–3 hours, 20–30 guests.
- Typical cost to run: £800–£1,400. Ticket price range: £55–£95 standard, £75–£150 premium.
- Two licensing routes: use a venue with a Premises Licence, or apply for a Temporary Event Notice (£21, 10 working days ahead).
- Open ticket sales 6–10 weeks before — 60%+ of bookings arrive in the final two weeks.
- Pricing formula: (wine + venue + service cost per head) × 3.
Wine tasting events sit in a sweet spot for organisers: high perceived value per ticket, a clear premium audience, and a format that lends itself naturally to ticketed bookings rather than walk-ins. A well-run tasting for 25 guests can comfortably generate £2,000+ in revenue in a single evening — but only if you've handled licensing, sourcing, and pricing correctly.
The piece most first-time organisers underestimate isn't the wine itself — it's licensing. Serving alcohol to paying guests in the UK requires either a Premises Licence or a Temporary Event Notice, and the difference between the two will shape how you plan everything else. This guide walks you through the full setup.
What is a wine tasting event?
A wine tasting is a structured event — typically two to three hours — where guests pay to taste a curated selection of wines, usually five to seven, with guided commentary from a sommelier or knowledgeable host. The format works commercially because guests are paying for the experience and the expertise, not just the wine; this lets organisers charge £40–£90 per head against wine costs of £8–£15 per head.
Common formats include themed regional tastings (Burgundy, Tuscany, South Africa), blind tastings, food-paired tastings, and sommelier masterclasses. Each format suits a slightly different audience and price point.
How much does it cost to host a wine tasting?
For a standard 25-guest tasting in London, expect total event costs of £800–£1,400. For a broader look at how much it costs to organise an event across formats, see our full cost overview. Here's a typical breakdown:
| Line item | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wine (6 wines, ~25ml per guest) | £180–£300 | £7–£12 per guest at standard tier |
| Venue (3 hours) | £200–£500 | Private room in a restaurant or wine bar |
| Sommelier or expert host | £200–£400 | If not yourself |
| Glassware (if not provided) | £40–£100 | Hire or use venue stock |
| Cheese, charcuterie, palate cleansers | £100–£200 | £4–£8 per guest |
| Temporary Event Notice | £21 | One-off events only |
| Marketing | £50–£150 | Social, partnerships |
| Ticketing fees | ~3% of ticket price | Standard Billetto fee structure |
At a £55 ticket price, 25 guests gross £1,375 against costs of roughly £900 — a margin of around £475 for a single evening. Premium tastings at £85–£120 with 20 guests can clear £1,000+ in profit.
How to plan a wine tasting, step by step
- Choose your theme. A specific theme ("Wines of the Loire" or "Old World vs New World Pinot Noir") sells better than a generic tasting. It also tells guests exactly what they're getting.
- Set capacity. 20–30 guests is the sweet spot. Smaller groups feel intimate but stretch the per-head economics. Larger groups become hard for one host to manage.
- Sort licensing. If you're using a venue that already holds an alcohol licence, you're covered. If not, apply for a Temporary Event Notice from your local authority at least ten working days in advance. More on this in the licensing section below.
- Source your wines. Independent wine merchants and wholesalers like Bibendum, Hallgarten Druitt, or Davy's offer better margins than retail. Order one extra bottle of each wine — palates do shift over the course of the night.
- Book a venue. Restaurants with private rooms, wine bars, or specialist event spaces work best. Confirm they're happy with you bringing your own wine, and check corkage policy.
- Plan the running order. Lightest wine to fullest, dry to sweet. Allow 15–20 minutes per wine.
- Order glassware and palate cleansers. One wine glass per guest minimum (rinsed between pours is acceptable for casual tastings; one glass per wine for premium). Plain crackers and water at every seat.
- Price your tickets. Use the formula in the pricing section.
- Open sales 6–10 weeks before. Wine tasting bookings cluster later than workshops — most buyers book in the final 2 weeks.
- Promote in two waves. Launch wave and a final-week push.
- Send pre-event details 48 hours before. Address, start time, what's included, any food guidance.
- Run the event with a printed tasting sheet. Wine name, region, vintage, producer, brief tasting note for each. Guests love taking these home.
Choosing a venue
The single most important venue decision is whether they already hold a Premises Licence. A licensed venue (a restaurant, wine bar, or hotel) removes the entire TEN process — you simply hire the space and serve under their licence.
Restaurants with private dining rooms are ideal: licensed, atmospheric, often willing to handle food service, and they may waive room hire if you commit to a food spend. Expect £150–£500 for a private room in a mid-tier London restaurant.
Wine bars and independent merchants are even better when they're up for collaboration — they often host tastings as their own venue model. Specialist event spaces work too but tend to be more expensive and require you to bring everything yourself.
Avoid: most coworking spaces (rarely licensed) and your own home if you're charging tickets to the public (raises licensing complications).
How to price your wine tasting tickets
The reliable pricing formula for wine tastings:
Ticket price = (wine cost per head + venue cost per head + service cost per head) × 3
Wine tastings carry higher margins than most event types because guests are paying largely for the experience. A 3x markup on cost is industry standard and rarely meets resistance.
Worked example: wine cost £10 per head, venue £15 per head (£375 room hire ÷ 25 guests), service and incidentals £6 per head. Total cost per head: £31. Ticket price = £31 × 3 = £93, which you'd round to £95.
For a more accessible tier, drop wine cost to £7 per head and venue to £8 per head, giving a £63 ticket price (round to £60). For premium tastings with rare or aged wines, the multiplier can stretch to 4x or higher.
Setting up ticket sales for your wine tasting
Wine tastings have two ticketing requirements most event types don't: strict guest list management (because your licence, whether TEN or Premises, limits attendance) and a clear refund policy (£75+ tickets attract more cancellation requests than £30 events). Whatever platform you choose should handle both without workarounds.
A working guest list means you can export a clean attendee list on the morning of the event — names, emails, ticket tier, dietary notes — for licensing compliance and for pre-event communication. Billetto's attendee export is a one-click download and includes any custom fields you added at checkout (e.g. "Any wine preferences we should know?").
Refunds are the other quiet friction point. A "refund up to 14 days before" policy is standard for premium tastings, and you want it enforced automatically — not fielded by email at 11pm the night before. Billetto lets you set the refund window per event, and refunds process to the original payment method within 5–10 working days.
Payment methods for UK wine tasting bookings run overwhelmingly on Mastercard and Visa; Billetto accepts both by default with no configuration. Three smaller Billetto details worth flagging: no listing fees (some platforms charge £10–£50 to publish), full attendee data ownership (you can email past guests about your next tasting), and mobile QR check-in so guests don't need to print anything.
Promoting your wine tasting
Wine tasting audiences cluster in three predictable places, and our 12-week event marketing timeline tells you exactly when to lean on each:
Instagram, specifically food and wine accounts. Tag the wines, the producer, and any wine bloggers in your city. Reels of the wines being poured perform especially well. A single piece of content shared by a regional food blogger can fill half your seats.
Local food and lifestyle newsletters are a high-leverage channel that organisers often overlook. Newsletters like Time Out's London edition, Foodism, and local Substack-based dining newsletters reach exactly the audience you want.
Partnerships with wine merchants and food businesses. If you're serving wines from a particular merchant, ask them to promote the tasting to their customer list. Cheese shops, charcuterie suppliers, and restaurants often have warm audiences for tastings.
Licensing for wine tastings in the UK
Serving alcohol at a paid wine tasting in the UK requires either a venue with a Premises Licence or your own Temporary Event Notice (£21, filed at least 10 working days in advance). This is the section most first-time organisers skip and later regret. Serving alcohol to paying guests in the UK is regulated under the Licensing Act 2003, and there are two main routes:
1. Use a venue with a Premises Licence. The easiest option by far. Restaurants, hotels, wine bars, and many event venues already hold one. You hire the space and serve under their licence. No paperwork on your end.
2. Apply for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). For one-off events in unlicensed venues:
- Cost: £21 per notice.
- Submitted to your local authority (council) at least 10 working days before the event.
- Maximum 499 attendees.
- Valid up to 168 hours (7 days).
- Each individual can apply for a maximum of 5 TENs per year (50 if you hold a personal licence).
- You must display a copy of the notice at the event.
If you're running tastings regularly in your own space, you'll eventually need to apply for a Premises Licence — a longer and more expensive process (typically £100–£1,905 depending on rateable value) but a one-time cost.
You'll also want public liability insurance — most event organisers carry £2–£5 million cover, available from PolicyBee or Hiscox from around £30 for a single event.
Frequently asked questions
How many wines should I include in a tasting?
Six wines is the standard for a two-hour tasting. Five works for a shorter format; seven only works if guests are sitting throughout and you keep pours small (~25ml).
Do I need to be a sommelier to host?
No, but you do need to know the wines you're serving well enough to talk through them confidently. If you're not comfortable hosting, hire a freelance sommelier — they typically charge £200–£400 for the evening and dramatically lift the experience.
Can I host a tasting in my home if I'm charging tickets?
Technically yes with a Temporary Event Notice, but most local authorities will treat this carefully and neighbours can object. Most organisers running paid tastings use a licensed venue from the start.
How early should I open ticket sales?
6–10 weeks before the event. Wine tasting bookings cluster later than other event types — expect 60%+ of bookings in the final two weeks.
What's a typical no-show rate?
Wine tastings have low no-show rates — typically 3–7%. The higher ticket price and the premium positioning self-select for committed attendees.
Related guides
- How much does it cost to organise an event in 2026? — broader cost benchmarks across event types.
- Event marketing timeline: what to do 12 weeks before your event — the promotion schedule referenced above, in full.
- The complete guide on how to sell tickets for events — end-to-end ticket sales playbook.
- Which ticketing platform should you choose? — how Billetto compares and what to look for.
Start selling tickets to your wine tasting
Billetto makes it simple to set up and sell tickets for a wine tasting event. Create your event in minutes, set capacity, choose your ticket tiers, and start accepting bookings. Create event on Billetto and have ticket sales live the same day.
