Charging for wine is one way to block out the 'partiers' and focus quality attention on customers who want to learn about the wine. This past summer, I visited Wolffer Estates, among other Long Island wineries, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the tasting experience. The servers were well versed in all wines and actually made an effort to speak intelligently about them as they dutifully trudged from the tasting room to the sunny patio every five minutes to give a taste of a new wine.
The Wolffer Estates tasting experience was more similar to a restaurant than anything else, with the tasting menu beginning at about $10 and going upward from there, depending on how many library wines a patron wanted to try. Food (a cheese plate) is also for sale (no outside food allowed). At the end of the tasting, servers bring the check in a restaurant style folder with a clearly marked line for gratuity (which they very much deserve, considering they managed to sound enthusiastic even though they must have given the same talk five hundred times that day).
Wineries are competing against an increasing number of free tasting events at wine stores where merchants pop corks in the "free sample" tradition of Mrs. Fields cookies, hoping to get customers to try and buy an unfamiliar wine. To add value, some wineries give free tours and others refund the price of the tasting if a customer buys wine.
Where do you stand?
Article comments
1 - Joe Becerra
The best tasting room policy is when the fee can be applied to the purchase of wine. This is a "Win-Win" situation for both the winery and the visitor to the tasting room. I am surprised at how few wineries have adopted this type of tasting fee.
2 - marisa d'vari
You are so right! Recently, I was at a unique wine shop that "rewarded" shoppers in two ways: 1) when they bought more than 12 bottles, they got a HUGE discount on every bottle and they didn't all have to be the same wine. 2) they received "points" they could use for tastings. Sweet!
3 - Phillip Winn
World Market was recently offering a big discount for purchases of four or more bottles (matching or not). I should have jumped on it!
I think the problem is that vintners are not economists, and some are lying. Yes, it's a good idea to charge *something*, to screen out the freeloaders and so on. But some of them are using that excuse but then charging enough to more than cover their costs. They've turned a marketing expense into a profit center, and aren't being up-front about it.
To achieve the benefits they're claiming, they wouldn't have to charge much at all. Freeloaders tend to be freeloaders, not cheaploaders, so charging even very little would accomplish the same thing. Applying the cost of the tasting as a credit toward purchases that same day is another brilliant move that more wineries ought to try.
Great article, thanks!
4 - marisa d'vari
Thanks Phillip, appreciate your wise comment!
5 - Sarah
I've been wine tasting for the past 20+ years, ever since my parents introduced me to wine when I came of age. I can understand when a fee is charged for tasting at a festival, where there may be a large crowd, and the winery has little control over how much people drink. But quite frankly, I think the practice of charging at the winery is just plain greed, and is an insult to the customer. The winery should take care to make sure that the staff offering the tasting is well versed, well paid, and well capable of distiguishing between a sober customer and an intoxicated one. If they can't do that, they don't have any business offering wine to taste - paid or not.
6 - marisa d'vari
Thanks Sarah, good point! In today's NYT there is an article about this ... I referenced it at my blog here
7 - John A
I live near a college town and have noticed the one winery that does charge 5 bucks doesnt have as many freeloaders. Talking to the staff, they claim its not because they can't tell if someone is drunk,.. It's just cheaper for teh student to walk down the street and buy a 6 pack than to pay 5$ and get 5 ounces of wine. The winery does discount that 5$ off of your purchase of a bottle though.