So we are starting the process of designing our tasting room and I’d love to get some feedback from you. Below is a word-sketch of what we are considering and I’d love to get input and suggestions of all kinds. Some questions to consider:
What do you like in existing tasting rooms?
What do you hate?
What things do you wish were there but usually aren’t?
Any other ideas that you might have.
If your idea is used we will commemorate it and be sure to give you credit. Perhaps a plaque if appropriate, or maybe we’ll build a shrine to your genius for all to see.
To help get your creative juices flowing, here’s what I’ve come up with:
- A curved half circle bar. - This is generally considered a best practice in the industry simply because it allows one or two servers to pour to more folks than a straight bar does. It also helps to prevent guests from lining up two deep. You never want guests two deep. It diminishes their experience and makes the entire exercise feel a bit out of control. I also like the way a curved bar fills the room. It just seems more inviting to me.
- A water feature that doubles as a flowing spitoon. - How many times have you gone into a tasting room wanting to be responsible, wanting to spit and maintain your palate, and are confronted with a frothing half full spit bucket? Um, yeah. Not very inviting. Backsplash can be a killer. Inspired by sushi bars in LA where the chefs float your sushi to your table via waterways, we’re kicking around having an inlay in the bar that features a 3 or 4 inch wide trough with a shallow stream of running water flowing through it. The bottom of the trough would have rocks imbedded in it as well creating a creek like look (its all about “bringing the outdoors, in” I’m told). The major benefit is that your disgorged, partially digested expectorate will be gracefully wisked away along the babbling brook. If we do implement this idea, I foresee the upstream positions being very popular…
- An information hub. - We’ll have a terminal in the tasting room that will have access to The Map Store’s online winery map site, with easy links to other online map applications with the ability to print out your route to take with you. The ‘puter will be a Mac of course. Since we are located at the gateway to the valley proper, right off River Road, the idea is to help promote the rest of the area wineries and make it easy to plan your tour of the Russian River if you happened to come a bit unprepared. We’ll also be very open with our own favorites of course and will be happy to set up tasting and reservations for both wineries and area restaurants for you.
So how about you? What would you add? What would you suggest we stay far, far away from? Let me know in the comments or via email.
I like your ideas so far. Especially, the Mac since I adore my user friendly Mac!
I have a bit of an offbeat suggestion that I have actually noticed in several Virginia winieries we have visited recently that I really appreciate. Have hooks under the tasting bar where women can hang their bags while tasting. I love this for a few reasons, mainly because when it’s busy, the tasting bar is crowded and placing a purse on it takes up room and risks your purse getting covered in someone’s spilled wine. Also, it relieves me from having to knock people out with it or attempt to tuck it on the floor or uncomfortably under my arm. And it keeps my bag within my immediate area.
Otherwise, I really like tasting rooms that have a generous sized bar where you are less likely to end up elbow to elbow with fellow tasters.
That’s all I’ve got at the moment.
Absolutely fantastic idea Megan!
We shall dub them “Megan hooks” in your honor. Thank you so much for the tip!
Hear, HEAR! LOVE it, Megan!!!!!!
No problem! I will look for them there when I manage to convince the husband we need a repeat of our Russian River honeymoon! (He’s still recovering from August’s sticker shock, though I can’t really blame him, we did buy A LOT of wine in a very short time frame.)
Good ideas so far! Here are a couple others I like to see at a winery’s wine tasting counter:
- Pitchers of water so I can rinse my glass out between samples of wine.
- Cups of water and saltines or some other palate-cleansing combination.
- No obvious limit to the size of the pour, such as a mark on the glass, a tiny plastic cup for each sample, or a device on each bottle that dispenses 1.00 ounces of wine. This sort of stuff makes a winery look industrial and impersonal, even if it is required by law or something of the sort.
- No stools right at the tasting counter. It can be tough to belly up and ask for a taste. It’s a lot tougher when people camp out at the counter as if they are at a bar.
- No cost for anything; keep that for a separate tasting counter, if you want it. Mingling the tasters with the paying customers who want an entire glass of wine, if that’s possible, gets way too crowded.
- Plaques set into the counter calling out the “big spenders,” who could be part of the wine club or some other inner circle. That might encourage other people to ask about the program, etc.
- An LCD monitor and hidden computer, so people can look up extra winery information, maps, order wine, or who knows what else. It might be tucked into a corner, but having a bit of technology could be cool…or incredibly terrible. *)
- Non-aloholic beverages aside from wine, for those people who accompany their husbands and wives and who can’t drink. This is absolutely critical for someone like me since my wife can’t drink too much wine in one day, or even taste too much because all the acidity gets to her rather quickly. If she could just drink a Diet Coke, or a glass of iced tea, I could keep tasting longer and buying more….
- Partner with local people who make artisan cheese, or crackers, or some sort of foodie thing that they can come in and serve too (and sell).
- Make it clear what you’re pouring that day, what you’re NOT pouring, and what is actually available for sale. Also make it clear which wines are only available in person from the winery as that can really drive some sales, I think.
- If you charge people to taste, refund the fee if they make a purchase. This might be the #1 detractor for me when I visit a winery. If I pay $20 to taste and then have to pay $75/bottle, that’s a joke.
- If you offer a free glass as part of the tasting, make it optional. Say, $10 to taste and keep the glass, or $5 to taste and the winery keeps the glass.
- Let everyone in without a cover charge or requiring payment first. I HATE wineries that make me pay before I even get into the tasting room! That’s really darn frustrating when my wife isn’t up for tasting anymore but she still gets charged $10-$15 just to walk around with me, especially if she isn’t eating the food.
- Relatedbut similar: Make stuff optional. I might not want any food, or wine, so let me decide whether I want to partake rather than charging me immediately.
- Offer lots of parking.
Okay, I think I’m straying away from the point, but you get the idea…*)
Ah, a chance to opine on something I know absolutely nothing about. Love it!
First, I would get a list of what tasting rooms in napa / sonoma have the highest sales-per visitor, and I would do whatever they do.
Second, I would offer plenty of food. I don’t know how Mayo is doing with their tasting room food thing, but anything that both highlights the essential connection between food and wine and also limits the number of drunk people driving around me and my kids is a good thing.
Three, see two. Do whatever you can to slow down the tasting/drinking process, and find ways not to cater to those people who think that winetasting is like a dublin pub crawl, with the drunkest person winning the prize.
Four, I like the spitoon ditch idea in theory but it could get really gross - isn’t that why dentists have given up the spit-sink for the mouth-sucker thing? Yeah, get some of those!
Five, I like places like Duckhorn where you can sit at a comfy table and sombody will come by with the next wine.
Six, sometimes less is more. I remember visiting Foxen years ago, when the tasting bar was just a plank that the owners plopped down on the weekends while they were drinking beer and watching college hoops. Very memorable. Corison is like that - the tasting bar is right in the barrel room.
johng makes some good points…maybe staying off the “wine limo tour” route would be a good idea, although you might sell less wine that way. It’s like watching a drunk Dockers commercial roll into town sometimes…yikes.
Lots of stuff Alex! I’ll go through item by item.
- Pitchers of water so I can rinse my glass out between samples of wine.
Done and done. Gotta have water.
- Cups of water and saltines or some other palate-cleansing combination.
I agree. Munchies of all kinds are a must. No mustard though! Bad, bad baaad.
- No obvious limit to the size of the pour, such as a mark on the glass, a tiny plastic cup for each sample, or a device on each bottle that dispenses 1.00 ounces of wine. This sort of stuff makes a winery look industrial and impersonal, even if it is required by law or something of the sort.
Interesting suggestion. Certainly not required by law, but it does help you to really project your volume of wine poured. That said I think the solution is simply to train your servers to know what a correctly sized pour looks like.
- No stools right at the tasting counter. It can be tough to belly up and ask for a taste. It’s a lot tougher when people camp out at the counter as if they are at a bar.
Pluses and minuses to this. Some people want a relaxed experience some want to get the tasting over with and be on tot he next winery on the itinerary. Since we won;t be able to accommodate both with perfection, and given that our area is no where near as well trafficked as Napa or the town of Sonoma, we can probably get away with offering comfort without annoying other guests.
- No cost for anything; keep that for a separate tasting counter, if you want it. Mingling the tasters with the paying customers who want an entire glass of wine, if that’s possible, gets way too crowded.
We won’t be charging for tastings. And unless something radically changes, we never will.
- Plaques set into the counter calling out the “big spenders,” who could be part of the wine club or some other inner circle. That might encourage other people to ask about the program, etc.
Ahh yes. Now this is a great suggestion. We will certainly do *something* like this. Perhaps we’ll call it the Alex Memorial Plaque and award it to the top 10 customer each year.
- An LCD monitor and hidden computer, so people can look up extra winery information, maps, order wine, or who knows what else. It might be tucked into a corner, but having a bit of technology could be cool…or incredibly terrible. *)
Yup, that’s the plan.
- Non-aloholic beverages aside from wine, for those people who accompany their husbands and wives and who can’t drink. This is absolutely critical for someone like me since my wife can’t drink too much wine in one day, or even taste too much because all the acidity gets to her rather quickly. If she could just drink a Diet Coke, or a glass of iced tea, I could keep tasting longer and buying more….
Great suggestion! Done.
- Partner with local people who make artisan cheese, or crackers, or some sort of foodie thing that they can come in and serve too (and sell).
Absolutely. Even though lots of tasting rooms do this, I think it is a great feature if the tasting room isn’t cluttered up with all manner of other chotchkies. Whoever’s product is there should be highlighted as much as the wine being poured.
- Make it clear what you’re pouring that day, what you’re NOT pouring, and what is actually available for sale. Also make it clear which wines are only available in person from the winery as that can really drive some sales, I think.
We’ll only have a few Pinot designates at first, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
- If you charge people to taste, refund the fee if they make a purchase. This might be the #1 detractor for me when I visit a winery. If I pay $20 to taste and then have to pay $75/bottle, that’s a joke.
No charge!
- If you offer a free glass as part of the tasting, make it optional. Say, $10 to taste and keep the glass, or $5 to taste and the winery keeps the glass.
No free glasses!
- Let everyone in without a cover charge or requiring payment first. I HATE wineries that make me pay before I even get into the tasting room! That’s really darn frustrating when my wife isn’t up for tasting anymore but she still gets charged $10-$15 just to walk around with me, especially if she isn’t eating the food.
No cover charge!
- Relatedbut similar: Make stuff optional. I might not want any food, or wine, so let me decide whether I want to partake rather than charging me immediately.
Food will be free, like the tastings.
- Offer lots of parking.
We’ll do our best! Not too much room to work with unfortunately without tearing up a bunch of vines.
Thanks Alex! Great suggestions!
JohnG,
You have all the expertise you need. You’re a wine consumer. BAM! instant tasting room expert. Item by item, like before.
- First, I would get a list of what tasting rooms in napa / sonoma have the highest sales-per visitor, and I would do whatever they do.
For us this might not be the best way to go. The way the top Napa tasting rooms operate is a little different than ours will. Some of thier tactics will work great, some won’t. That’s why I opened this post up for your feedback. Collectively, you’ve all been to every tasting room on the planet.
We’ll take your suggestions and figure out what works for us.
- Second, I would offer plenty of food. I don’t know how Mayo is doing with their tasting room food thing, but anything that both highlights the essential connection between food and wine and also limits the number of drunk people driving around me and my kids is a good thing.
Done! And free. While we won;t have a kitchen, what we will offer will be tasty. And did I mention it will be free?
- Three, see two. Do whatever you can to slow down the tasting/drinking process, and find ways not to cater to those people who think that winetasting is like a dublin pub crawl, with the drunkest person winning the prize.
Great observation. That’s partly what the water spitoon is all about. When people walk in I want them to recognize that spitting is encouraged, and that even though we don;t take ourselves too seriously, safety and actually being able to visit all the wineries on your itinerary is something that we do take seriously.
- Four, I like the spitoon ditch idea in theory but it could get really gross - isn’t that why dentists have given up the spit-sink for the mouth-sucker thing? Yeah, get some of those!
Brilliant! We’ll call it the “JohnG wine mouth-sucker thing” and will administer it to all our guests!
Five, I like places like Duckhorn where you can sit at a comfy table and sombody will come by with the next wine.
You and Alex should duke this one out! Again, we will probably lean more towards providing comfort, rather than designing for high turnover. Our area’s relative low traffic should allow us to do this successfully.
- Six, sometimes less is more. I remember visiting Foxen years ago, when the tasting bar was just a plank that the owners plopped down on the weekends while they were drinking beer and watching college hoops. Very memorable. Corison is like that - the tasting bar is right in the barrel room.
Agreed. The outside of the one room converted barn made of re-purposed wood will be shabby chic country style. No vaulted ceilings, no gold trimming, and no rhinestones. And if we have too many folks for the main bar, we can always whip out the barell and planks for a smaller overflow bar just like you describe.
Unfortunately, the tasting room will be on the complete other side of the property from the production facility. The main reason is for liability and permits, but it is also for privacy.
Thanks for the input John!
Oh, I’m all for comfort…the Duckhorn idea sounds wonderful if you have the space. I’d much rather sit and taste, as I did at some Eastern Washington wineries (like Kestrel and Alexandria Nicole).
Kestrel actually did a good job of this: The tasting bar out front has many wines, and the private rooms (which cost $5/person, refundable upon purchase) are where you go for library wines and specific food pairings, larger groups, etc. It was a great experience for us all….
The “Alex Memorial Plaque,” eh? Very catchy. *)
What you like in existing tasting rooms?
Friendly and personable tasting room staff who ask the right questions to gauge the taster. One of my best experiences was at a small winery in Napa Valley where the staff asked the right questions and the next thing I knew the winemaker was pouring verticals for me.
Good quality stemware; Riedel, please (ask the guys at Unti about Matt Kramer).
Fresh bottles, please. If you must serve a bottle opened the day before, use nitrogen to preserve them. I’ve been to several wineries when they opened their tasting room and tasted badly oxidized wines; not good.
Plenty of spittoons (stainless is my favorite). The sushi river thing sounds cool but in practice would be less than successful unless everyone tasting is a master of wine or sommelier.
Tasting something special I can’t find online or in stores (barrel samples, reserve bottlings, etc.).
The owner pouring. I still remember Mike Grgich pouring his wines for me when I was tasting at his winery in the 1980’s; more recently, I had a great time with the owner of Moshin Vineyards.
Picnic tables out front.
A deli and bakery so I can buy lunch and a bottle to enjoy on the picnic tables.
Free shipping on case purchases.
Free tasting and discounts if I join your wine club.
What do you hate?
Indifferent attitude from tasting room staff; arrogance is worse but more entertaining as I usually shame them with my quick wit
The $50 reserve tasting in a special room; rip off, particularly when you are expected to buy a case of their $60 wines after the tasting. It reminds me of worst practices in car sales but they do serve the wines in good stems.
Paying for tasting when you buy wines. I think you SHOULD have a tasting fee, Josh, as free will bring in a lot of folks you don’t want in your tasting room. Make the price $10 and refund the fee if the customer buys some wine (or give them $10 credit on their purchase). Give your hospitality staff the latitude to waive tasting fees at their discretion; they will make the right choices.
Pressure to buy something; I might just leave and buy the wine later at a retailer, restaurant or your online store. I’m happy to pay the tasting fee.
What things do you wish were there but usually aren’t?
Matched hors d’ overs with each wine; what J does in their room is awesome, for example.
Any other ideas that you might have.
Free wifi; I’m serious, it would be a great service, consistent with your brand and a great PR piece.
Tim,
Free wifi - genius! Done and done. What a great suggestion. Item by item for the rest.
- What you like in existing tasting rooms?
- Friendly and personable tasting room staff who ask the right questions to gauge the taster. One of my best experiences was at a small winery in Napa Valley where the staff asked the right questions and the next thing I knew the winemaker was pouring verticals for me.
Totally agree. My secret weapon for staff training will be tasting room consultant and educator Craig Root. The guy is amazing, and he knows tasting rooms. He also writes a column for Practical Vineyard and Winery.
- Good quality stemware; Riedel, please (ask the guys at Unti about Matt Kramer).
Pricey. I’m still undecided on this one, but your input is definitely appreciated.
- Fresh bottles, please. If you must serve a bottle opened the day before, use nitrogen to preserve them. I’ve been to several wineries when they opened their tasting room and tasted badly oxidized wines; not good.
Will do. Very true, and even more important with pinot IMO. Even blanketing with Argon (the official noble gas of Capozzi) isn’t really going to help things much with a bottle that’s been open all day.
- Plenty of spittoons (stainless is my favorite). The sushi river thing sounds cool but in practice would be less than successful unless everyone tasting is a master of wine or sommelier.
Explain this a bit more. Why would it be less than successful? If you mean that normal folks won’t recognize that the inset is for spitting, I would hope that putting it right in the bar would pique folks curiosity and they would be more apt to ask. Then we could tell them and show them how much fun spitting can be!
- Tasting something special I can’t find online or in stores (barrel samples, reserve bottlings, etc.).
Yeah, me too. Nothing more disappointing than going in to a tasting room and only being able to sample the same wines you could have picked up down at BevMo.
- The owner pouring. I still remember Mike Grgich pouring his wines for me when I was tasting at his winery in the 1980’s; more recently, I had a great time with the owner of Moshin Vineyards.
Another favorite of mine as well. Nothing more fun than geeking out with the owner.
- Picnic tables out front.
Great idea!
- A deli and bakery so I can buy lunch and a bottle to enjoy on the picnic tables.
Expensive! But yeah, very nice.
- Free shipping on case purchases.
Great suggestion. Definitely something I’ll take a look at.
- Free tasting and discounts if I join your wine club.
Free tasting for everyone! Discounts, perhaps. I’d rather do a Pinot Points program, but we shall see.
- What do you hate?
- Indifferent attitude from tasting room staff; arrogance is worse but more entertaining as I usually shame them with my quick wit
Completely agree, and I actually feel quite the same way about the rude ones. I see them as a challenge. Still, not in our tasting room. Approachable and friendly, absolutely.
- The $50 reserve tasting in a special room; rip off, particularly when you are expected to buy a case of their $60 wines after the tasting. It reminds me of worst practices in car sales but they do serve the wines in good stems.
Ouch. Never done this so I don’t have a frame of reference.
- Paying for tasting when you buy wines. I think you SHOULD have a tasting fee, Josh, as free will bring in a lot of folks you don’t want in your tasting room. Make the price $10 and refund the fee if the customer buys some wine (or give them $10 credit on their purchase). Give your hospitality staff the latitude to waive tasting fees at their discretion; they will make the right choices.
We are so far off the beaten path that I think folks should be rewarded just for making it out to us. People that make it to the Russian River kind of self select themselves as good customers given the effort they took to actually find you. I’d like to reward that.
- Pressure to buy something; I might just leave and buy the wine later at a retailer, restaurant or your online store. I’m happy to pay the tasting fee.
Push salespeople suck, to be sure. But is all selling off limits? For instance, do you have a problem with a server asking you if you would like to buy a bottle of what you’ve tasted?
- What things do you wish were there but usually aren’t?
- Matched hors d’ overs with each wine; what J does in their room is awesome, for example.
J rocks. No way to top Judy at her own game. She practically invented the genre.
Thanks for the great feedback Tim!
OK, further clarification in-line:
>Plenty of spittoons (stainless is my favorite). The sushi river thing sounds cool but
>in practice would be less than successful unless everyone tasting is a master of
>wine or sommelier.
>
>Explain this a bit more. Why would it be less than successful? If you mean that
>normal folks won’t recognize that the inset is for spitting, I would hope that putting
>it right in the bar would pique folks curiosity and they would be more apt to ask.
>Then we could tell them and show them how much fun spitting can be!
Spitting is part of the tasting experience for a lot of us wine geek types, but not all of us are comfortable spitting without a receptacle fairly close to our mouths. If you are Jancis Robinson or Robert Parker, your spit is a graceful arc of crimson extending from your lips, perfect (and impressive, I’d imagine) for your planned water feature. Many of us (and I do count myself in this bunch) spit more like a fire-hose; not attractive and sometimes, given the distance, inaccurate. More stainless spittoons (actually I think they are food service sauce bowls) would be preferred in my book.
>Push salespeople suck, to be sure. But is all selling off limits? For instance, do
>you have a problem with a server asking you if you would like to buy a bottle of
>what you’ve tasted?
No, selling is not off-limits; pushy selling is what I was talking about. I fully expect the server to ask if I would like to buy wines I liked and pitch me on the wine club. It’s when they don’t take “no” for an answer that I get a bit annoyed. I usually buy at least one bottle unless all the wines really sucked (rare, but it does happen).
Great Idea to open source your winery, Josh. You are a true trailblazer.
Very old farmhouse was not set up originally as a tasting room to begin with — loved it, but I am it is not the classic way to sell wine.
Tasting room staff told me exactly where the vineyard for a particular wine was located and suggested I walk to it and check it out, which I did.
One other fantastic winery (appointment only) overlooked the Napa Valley. We sat down on an outdoor patio and tasted along with the marketing executive. Nice
A friend who is very knowledgeable about wine went with me to a small winery. We sampled everything they had AND then, because we were very nice and very interested and very knowledgeable, the tasting room staff pulled out one library Cabernet. I do not like young cabs, but this was to die for. I bought the bottle right away
I recently attended a marketing seminar at UC Davis for small wineries and I have to say that your blog is an excellent way to engage your audience. I have enjoyed reading. Thanks for doing this! Cato
I just realized that some of my comments got cut off (the problem with spell checking everything in word). Two more comments: I take notes when I taste and the best tasting room personnel know when to leave the bottle and walk away:)
I came across a winery this weekend with a fireplace (it’s cold in the North Bay right now). It was a very nice touch.
Cato
Josh,
Glad to hear you’re not using Napa as a blueprint. How people are treated at some wineries there is exactly why I’m working in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Sometimes it’s quality over quantity. And you can always take the stools away on the weekends, as we do, when it gets much busier.
Here’s my suggestion: discounts for people working in other wineries and in the hotel/restuarant business. Let them know when you’re open–phone call, letter, whatever… It’s a great way to build business.
About this spit river for which everyone has different views, could you get someone to draw up a plan or a picture of something similar? I would worry about the aim, too, depending on the distance. Although, I’m leaning towards being in favor of it Myself, I usually just spit in the sink while working, and the experience is rather freeing.
You’ve received so much feedback I almost don’t want to chime in. All excellent suggestions. Here are a few more:
On buckets: Once you sit a tall bucket on a tall bar it is impossible to actually spit into it unless you are 6′2″. There must be a solution to this problem, like insetting the spit buckets into the counter with lift out handles or something.
On purses: I agree with the hooks comment.
On glasses: thank you from the bottom of my cabinets for not foisting a free glass on your customers, then charging them for it.
On costs: my favorite tasting rooms charge $5-$10 for the tasting, then refund all or half if you buy something. When I find this out, I am so overjoyed I typically buy another bottle of wine to celebrate!
On throngs at the bar: that’s a tough one. I agree that muscling your way through can be intimidating, but if you want folks to linger stools are necessary. Maybe you need a bar that’s shaped like an “S” to provide lots of seating space?
Creatures,
More great suggestions. Thank you!
Your experiences are illuminating. Thank you for sharing them. On to your suggestions.
- I just realized that some of my comments got cut off (the problem with spell checking everything in word). Two more comments: I take notes when I taste and the best tasting room personnel know when to leave the bottle and walk away:)
Duly noted. Anyone displaying that kind of commitment will definitely get special treatment.
- I came across a winery this weekend with a fireplace (it’s cold in the North Bay right now). It was a very nice touch.
I would love this. If we can fit it into the budget, I’m all for it. The Cato fireplace… Thanks!
Farley,
Thanks for the input, especially since you live it. Great blog as well BTW.
- Here’s my suggestion: discounts for people working in other wineries and in the hotel/restuarant business. Let them know when you’re open–phone call, letter, whatever… It’s a great way to build business.
Absolutely. Great suggestion, especially for a new winery. I’ve also heard that send cookies and other munchies to other tasting rooms goes a long way. You can never get enough free food!
- About this spit river for which everyone has different views, could you get someone to draw up a plan or a picture of something similar? I would worry about the aim, too, depending on the distance. Although, I’m leaning towards being in favor of it Myself, I usually just spit in the sink while working, and the experience is rather freeing.
I’ll get on this and do a separate post on it. Would love your feedback.
Thanks!
Dr. Debs,
I can never get enough feedback. Keep it coming!
-You’ve received so much feedback I almost don’t want to chime in. All excellent -suggestions. Here are a few more:
-On buckets: Once you sit a tall bucket on a tall bar it is impossible to actually spit into it -unless you are 6′2″. There must be a solution to this problem, like insetting the spit -buckets into the counter with lift out handles or something.
Thats one of the issues we’re trying to address with the stream inlay. Basically the water would be flowing right past you at the height of the bar. If you can spit into a sink, you should be able to spit into the trough. But I agree, we should have spitoons as well.
-On purses: I agree with the hooks comment.
Great idea isn’t it? Megan is a super genius!
-On glasses: thank you from the bottom of my cabinets for not foisting a free glass on your -customers, then charging them for it.
Nothing more annoying than carrying around a branded winery glass for the rest of the day
-On costs: my favorite tasting rooms charge $5-$10 for the tasting, then refund all or half if -you buy something. When I find this out, I am so overjoyed I typically buy another bottle of -wine to celebrate!
How many bottles would you buy if you found out tastings were free??!
-On throngs at the bar: that’s a tough one. I agree that muscling your way through can be -intimidating, but if you want folks to linger stools are necessary. Maybe you need a bar that’s -shaped like an “S” to provide lots of seating space?
Interesting idea, though it would be hard to design a bar that allowed servers access with an S shape. I think it would require two serving stations. Maybe a full circle would be a better option if we think we’ll be lucky enough to have heavy traffic?
Thanks Doc!
Less is More
[...] Anyway, the Seattle Times article discusses wine substitute pairings with food, which is a cool idea. In fact, I just posted a comment yesterday at Pinotblogger about Dry Soda, suggesting it as a good non-alcoholic alternative for some winery visitors who can’t drink wine. So if Josh ends up serving Dry Soda at his winery, the good folks at Dry Soda will have me to thank. Ha! [...]
Josh, once you’re open, I believe you could invite all of your fellow wine bloggers up for a visit so that they can help you evangelize your new tasting room - at least beyond what your T-shirts already do.
Great suggestions thus far.
To touch briefly on the sushi spit river — great idea — but you need a backsplash (stainless?) for people to feel comfortable. It need not be a significant structure - just enough to encourage the action (and maybe a faux ASL illustration of what you are looking for:: 1. Sip, 2. Enjoy/Swirl, 3. Consider the wine in your mouth, 4. Spit into the flowing stream in front of you, 5. ask questions or try the next wine…
In lieu of out of context local artwork/photography, offer framed educational pieces on the various Pinot clones and their respective merits, flavor profiles, climate significance. The clone is often misunderstood…
In addition to the above, offer other maps and regional (Burgundy/Dijon? longitude/latitude similarities) information and descriptions to help tie in the connection to the geographies of the other great pinot regions of the world.
Golf pencils with the Capozzi or Pinotblogger (or both) names on them with small/simple/elegant ’scorecards’ that can be dual purpose used as keepsakes or checklists for bottles that a customer would like to purchase.
Let people walk away from the tasting area with a a larger sized pour to chat. They are there for a number of reasons (social, buying wine, vacation/honeymoon, business, etc. - and a larger pour and some time to chat allows for greater enjoyment of the wine and, I would think, increased bottle sales.
Don’t ‘push’ a wine club - let them ask.
Barrel tasting area - when in season - have a barrel or more in an area where a wine thief can be used to illustrate single lot merits and/or blending techniques to further involve the customer in the process.
Napa chateau & “showroom” vs. Sonoma agrarian/product focus — if photographs are used as decoration, again make it more educational with a month by month, season by season illustration of what goes in to producing what is now in their glass for a better appreciation of the work/lifestyle/process.
No bus tours! argh.
Good luck!
[...] Proprietor Josh Hermsmeyer has open sourced nearly everything since he started Pinotblogger in late 2005. Along the way he’s involved the community in naming the winery, label design and, most recently, his tasting room. I think this is the future of wine marketing and look forward to visiting the winery sometime next year after it is built. [...]
Winehiker,
*Great* idea. I wonder how many could actually make it?
TJ,
Good stuff all around. I especially like your ideas about using photos for more than decoration. I’ll go item by item.
- To touch briefly on the sushi spit river — great idea — but you need a backsplash (stainless?) for people to feel comfortable. It need not be a significant structure - just enough to encourage the action (and maybe a faux ASL illustration of what you are looking for:: 1. Sip, 2. Enjoy/Swirl, 3. Consider the wine in your mouth, 4. Spit into the flowing stream in front of you, 5. ask questions or try the next wine…
I’ll be posting a rendering of what I have in mind soon. I’d love your feedback once we get it up. My concern is that a backsplash rising up higher than the plane of the bar would hinder the movement of wine glasses, but it would also prevent people from dumping our crystal into the drink! I’ve made a note and will do a couple different designs.
- In lieu of out of context local artwork/photography, offer framed educational pieces on the various Pinot clones and their respective merits, flavor profiles, climate significance. The clone is often misunderstood…
Very true and a great way to introduce info that people can take home with them without having to ask (I know I sometimes don’t want to let on that I don’t know *everything* there is to know about everything. Having informational displays is a cool way for me to keep up my facade of omniscience :P) I think what we are also going to do is purposefully make a less than perfect wine so that folks can taste the difference. For instance, I want to make a pinot made from vines that have been overcropped (4 to 5 tons per acre) so that tasters can see the difference in intensity between it and vines with more limited yield (2 tons per acre).
- In addition to the above, offer other maps and regional (Burgundy/Dijon? longitude/latitude similarities) information and descriptions to help tie in the connection to the geographies of the other great pinot regions of the world.
The computer terminal should give you access to all the maps you could ever want. We will also have some great Map Store prints of the Russian River Valley. They are fantastic and show each vineyard in the valley. I have one hanging at work and home. They are phenomenal.
- Golf pencils with the Capozzi or Pinotblogger (or both) names on them with small/simple/elegant ’scorecards’ that can be dual purpose used as keepsakes or checklists for bottles that a customer would like to purchase.
Very cool idea! I think I would give them away rather than sell them (maybe as a seasonal promotion), but this is a very cool way to give folks a token to take with them that they might actually like/use.
- Let people walk away from the tasting area with a a larger sized pour to chat. They are there for a number of reasons (social, buying wine, vacation/honeymoon, business, etc. - and a larger pour and some time to chat allows for greater enjoyment of the wine and, I would think, increased bottle sales.
I think it was Tim that mentioned the Picnic bench, and this dovetails nicely with that. Perhaps for larger pours we could charge - but I’d need to check regulations. I’m a big fan of large pours as well though
- Don’t ‘push’ a wine club - let them ask.
Great feedback.
- Barrel tasting area - when in season - have a barrel or more in an area where a wine thief can be used to illustrate single lot merits and/or blending techniques to further involve the customer in the process.
You are right on with this one. In fact the Russian River Valley Winegrowers has a barrel tasting weekend where participating wineries haul out their best barrels for tasting. It is always a huge draw and is the highlight of the tasting year for me. We will definitely do this.
- Napa chateau & “showroom” vs. Sonoma agrarian/product focus — if photographs are used as decoration, again make it more educational with a month by month, season by season illustration of what goes in to producing what is now in their glass for a better appreciation of the work/lifestyle/process.
Right on! Great suggestion and right in tune with what we are trying to do.
No bus tours! argh.
No bus tours! No limos!
Thanks TJ!
Mostly everything covered and pretty well too much to review.
TASTING FEES - one way or the other, the customer pays. Either they pay per person walking in the door or it’s built into the price of every bottle. If you just want to thin out the triflers in the tasting room then charge per person as they come in. If you want to be everybody’s favourite Uncle Josh then bury it in the retail cost and put up a big sign that says, ‘NO TASTING FEES’. Or maybe there’s a compromise.
CRAP FOR SALE! GET YOUR REDHOT CRAP! - I hate all the knick knacks and unrelated gadgetry. Looks like a corner store. If you must sell stuff besides your wine, make sure it’s classy and branded.
The everflowing spit river: I like it. Just watch the pH or things could get scenic really fast.
Perhaps you could find some rare aquatic plants or creatures that crave human loogies? That would be educational. I don’t want to be # 19 though when 20 people are at the wine bar and Nebraska Ned clears a sinus upstream at position 3.
There’s a bar in Cle Elum, WA (the Brick Tavern)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roslyn,_Washington
that was in the old Northern Exposure show that has a flowing trough at foot level. Miners used to urinate in it. Wouldn’t have to give up your perch at the bar.
Now there’s an idea.
I like a tasting room with a footrail. I like free tastings, of course, but if you must charge, a well posted sign noting the cost cetainly seems appropriate, especially if one is bring out-of-town guests. Tasting fee refunded upon purchase also is a great touch. I personally kind of like getting a souvenier tasting glass. Small crackers or bread pieces help with the tasting. Most important, FRIENDLY host/hostesses. Nothing worse than a wine snob pouring for you, especially if you aren’t totally knowledgeable, just enjoy good wine.
I’m late to this party but—I like tasting rooms with bars broken into two or three separate clusters, perhaps left and right or left, center and right. Smaller bars allow strangers to mingle more closely and create friendly conversations over the wines, with one person handling the pours at each station. Second, picnic tables outside to allow for immediate gratification. Third, sell wine stuff like corkscrews and closures with your name and, well hats and T-shrits too.
Best of luck, Barrld
[...] mentions in a very informative blog post (and subsequent comment thread) an idea he had for the RL tasting room - a water feature [...]
I thought I’d metion that the Sonoma Wine maps at http://www.themapstore.com/store/products.asp?cat=150 refered to above are being updated again this spring and will be out at the begining of summer. The Wine Map available on a computer would be a great addition to a tasting room.
Also, my two cents, post any fees for tastings somewhere so that first time guest know what they are getting into.
[...] del vino americana. Perchè? Basta dare un occhiata a un post pubblicato sul blog intitolato Help us Design our Tasting Room. In sostanza PinotBlogger ha chiesto ad amici, clienti, sostenitori e fan di aiutare [...]
[...] a great winery, but the mental work, as well. His blog, PinotBlogger, has posted on everything from designing their tasting room to the most lucid discussion of Pinot Noir clones I’ve ever read to how they came up with the [...]
[...] argue that this isn’t the case. But I offer evidence to the contrary. In a January post, titled Help us Design our Tasting Room, the PinotBlogger asked for help from his friends, followers and fans to design the Capozzi Winery [...]
looking for some great ideas for our new but intimate champagne tasting room.
I found some good ones here.
Anyone with some ideas for intimate/champagne only tasting room please offer your thoughts.
Much appreciated