Wineries don’t need people to just buy their wines – particularly if it’s a one and done experience, straight off the shelf.
Rather, what wineries need is to nurture a community of long-term enthusiasts. They need people to visit their properties, enjoy their experience and form an emotional connection to the product being sold, thereby ensuring ongoing consumption patterns. It’s an old model, as effective in theory as it is broken in practice.
To be clear, global wine tourism is set to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 12.7% through 2035, according to a report from Future Market Insights. However, that growth will be fueled not by tastings, but by experiences around the tastings.
For decades, wine country’s bottom line was consistently fattened on a steady stream of enthusiasts eager to simply taste wine in the vines. But amid an increasing proliferation of wineries and an increasing thirst for novel experiences, estates that don’t deliver more than “just” wine are getting left behind.
Thriving on immersive experiences
Temecula Valley Wine Country, which relies primarily on direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, has become ground zero for experimentation. Wineries deliver an estimated $905 million in spending annually to the region, according to the most recent Economic Impact Report.
“Because of Temecula’s close proximity to about 20 million people in San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, Temecula Valley’s business model has always been heavily direct-to-consumer,” says Devin Parr, brand marketing partner for the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association (TVWA). “This not only fosters stronger customer loyalty, but also ensures that wines are enjoyed close to home, reinforcing a sense of community around the region.”
In Temecula, standard tastings start at $25, with elevated experiences topping out around $150, Parr notes. Unique experiences that often sell-out and inspire new wine club memberships, Parr says, include Doffo Winery’s Cork ‘N Torque Tour and Tasting ($80), Danza del Sol’s Grapes & Gears UTV Vineyard Tour ($90), Wilson Creek’s Regenerative Agriculture Tractor Tour ($50), Bottaia’s Wine Blending Lab ($135), Wine & Wellness classes at Akash ($25 pp), South Coast Winery’s Executive Production Tour ($95 pp), and Baily Winery’s Library Tasting (a vertical of 6 vintages with cheese/charcuterie, $40 pp).
Wineries have also gotten great traction by offering perks to members. Bottaia, for example, has discounted or complimentary entry to its pool, which is set among its estate vineyards (admission starts at $40 for everyone else), and a members-only lounge with prime views of the vineyards.
Without the pressure of the three-tier system, the vintners are more free to experiment with grape varieties and styles, ensuring a steady stream of new releases which, in turn, keeps customers coming back for the latest. So far this year, current wine club members have accounted for 61% of all visitors, according to Temecula Valley’s numbers.
“Our DTC revenue is up 2.4% year-over-year,” says Chaela Ciongoli, director of marketing and PR for TVWA. “We’re outperforming industry averages across the board.”
Serving up iconic celebrations
Other producers find that a bracing cocktail of appealing to loyalists while luring newcomers can deliver outstanding results for the bottom line. How? Building out exceptional, highly specific festivals with mass appeal is one way.
Post-COVID, the team at Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery in New York, which produces around 60,000 cases annually (counting its second line, Salmon Run), notes a “significant shift in guest preferences, with strong demand for experience-driven offerings,” says brand and marketing manager Brandon Thomas. Hospitality manager Holly Fusco says the team began designing unusual one-off and annual events, as well as food-centric seated events that guests can access regularly.
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