Tasting Room Survey Report for 2006

[Gifted Gourmet]

from Winebusiness

This year's survey revealed that roughly half of respondents now charge for tasting, with average fees falling between $3-6. While it is generally expected that wineries should charge more for reserve tastings or when serving food, West Coast wineries top the chart with many charging $10 for a "bare bones" tasting. This year's survey also looks at tasting room employment patterns. As far as training goes, it is no surprise that job shadowing ranked highest as a training method and formal sales training ranked lowest. The lack of formal training at many wineries may point to reasons why tasting rooms are not bigger profit centers.

This is an excellent article which examines, in great depth, how tasting rooms work and how they affect their wineries' profits, or lack thereof ...

Are you a fan of the tasting room concept?

Would you pay a fee or do you believe that the winery should offer this service free of charge and simply use it as "advertising"?

[Robin Meredith]

As a former winery owner this topic is near and dear to my heart.

We charged a tasting fee. We kept it reasonable ($3 for 6 to 7 wines), and made it refundable with a $50 purchase. Given the fact that it was refundable with purchase, we actually preferred NOT to collect tasting fees - in fact, one of the statistics we used to measure at the end of the month was the ratio of tasting fees to total revenue - if that number started to increase we would look at making some changes to improve our sales conversion rate. As has been mentioned elsewhere, tasting fees also perform a valuable filtering function (screening out the "cocktail hour" crowd). Need evidence? Just tally up the number of people who call ahead asking if you charge for tastings.

We also went to great lengths to present visitors with a quality experience - well-trained staff paid above the market average, good glassware, reasonable pours (none of that 5/8 oz. nonsense), and a tasting lineup featuring our better wines. I can count the number of complaints we received about our tasting fee on one hand.

On the other hand, as a consumer I do tend to experience a bit of sticker shock when I visit wine regions with more aggressive tasting fees - on my last swing through Napa/Sonoma I estimated an average tasting fee of $2.00 - $2.50 PER WINE sampled (not per winery visit). This can easily add up to over $100 in a day, which does seem a bit excessive. On the other hand, I can't complain about the quality of the glassware or the generosity of the pours in any of the places I visited.

No one wants to pay for microscopic pours in plastic cups presented by disinterested staff, but a modest tasting fee is reasonable compensation for a winery that makes an effort to do things right.

[mike volker]

In the days before tasting fees I would purcase a bottle or two or more from the wineries we visited. I no longer feel compelled to do so.

Best,

Mike

[jelainemiller]

I really don't mind paying a tasting fee IF it will be refunded upon purchase. The tasting fee does seem to weed out those just going 'winery-hopping' for a buzz. And refunding the fee upon purchase makes me as a consumer feel as if my purchase is somehow appreciated or rewarded, however small that reward may be. Now when the fee gets up to $8-10 *per pour* for non-reserve wines (Napa winery to remain nameless) I'd say 'no thank you' even if the fee were refunded.

[Kikyo]

As a consumer of wine, I have no problem paying a tasting fee, especially if the service is friendly and educational, the pours are generous and the fee is not too high.

I regularly go to a tasting at a wine shop where you pay $12 for three pours (the pours are generous--pretty much full glasses of wine) and assorted artisan cheeses, crackers, bread and salami, all you can eat. The service is always friendly and they always tell you just enough about the wine to educate you, but not too much so as to be condescending.

My husband and I always come away with about six bottles of wine, and always one or two are ones that we tasted, and we generally go with another couple who usually purchases the same amount. The store is always packed and they definitely do a tidy business. I've never minded the $12 tasting fee, although in a winery as opposed to a wine shop, I would expect to pay something less, only because they are trying to sell only a particular type of wine to me, whereas in a wine shop I have many choices and the wine shop is giving me an opportunity I usually don't get, which is to try some of their wares before i purchase them. At a winery I think it's pretty much expected that you should be able to taste some before purchasing.

[SLOLindsay]

In the central coast of California, it's normal to pay $5 or so for tastings. What surprised me was the $10 per MINIMAL tasting when we went to Santa Ynez. Perhaps it's the "Sideways" effect (many of the wineries had movie stills on their walls). In any case, it meant that we really couldn't afford to buy many bottles and were forced to split more tastings that we might have liked.

I suppose my husband and I are in the minority -- young, limited-income wine lovers who want to taste and purchase good wine, but who will be severely limited if everyone charges $10-12 for a few splashes.

My request is that if a winery charges for tasting, it should deduct the charge with the purchase of a bottle. And don't include the glass! That's a cheap ploy and we never want them.