I’m beginning planning for a brick and mortar tasting room and looking fror suggestions.
To be frank (not MurrayIII), I am not setting it up for geeks, but would like it to be a rabbit hole of flavor and education to allow visitors to go as deep or as shallow as they please.
Obviously the wine has to be good, prices fair and the Wine Club pitch not distracting as four sprays of Axe cologne. But what are the nuts and bolts of a great tasting room stop for you?
You gonna open in Los Olivos?!?!? 
Have the tasting room staff sufficiently knowledgeable to answer basic questions of how was it made, where are the grapes from, stuff like that. And tell them not to make it up (they will get caught).
place to tie up my dog within sight
place for my kid to run around
place to chain up my bike within sight
place to refill my water bottle
picnic tables with a view
snacks
Good signage so I can find it
no gravel roads
Duck hunting for club members
Having a decent array of tastes available. I don’t mind at all if I need to pay for a “reserve tasting,” but I would like to be able to find a new tasting room and be able to get a good feel for their range of wines.
I am happy to discuss the club benefits as part of the tasting room chat, but some places don’t allow tastes of the wines on their club/mailing list and this is certain to put me off joining.
I went to Hawkes Winery once and received a solid hard hard sell for the mailing list, but was not allowed to taste any of the wines that I was supposed to be joining the list to gain access to. Usually, I won’t name names for a bad tasting experience, but this one was mind bending.
Having an unexpected taste to surprise people with. Be it an older bottle, a barrel sample, or what not. Something out of the ordinary that no store could duplicate.
Being treated nicely is a platitude sort of thing to say, but is what drives me to recommend other people go check out the experience. Allow a second visit to a glass.
Tastes should be in proper stemware, and not overly small. Some places pour such small tastes that I don’t think there is enough wine to generate any aroma or make for a taste; especially if we are comparing several wines at the same tasting. I don’t mean that you should over pour, but make the taste an actual taste.
If you are tasting wines, they should be available to purchase (with the exception of the barrel tastes or special bottles, as noted above.)
My favorite tasting experience that a non-mailing list member could go do in 2015 was Lynmar. We paid for a reserve experience, tasted a great array of wines with nice stems, learned about the winery, and then shopped like crazy.
This is just terrific feedback and echoes everything I wanted to say and more. I just got back from Napa and had a few experiences like this one, notably Laurel Glen.
Your first decision has to be whether or not to cater to the limousines and the bachelor/bachelorette parties and the Greyhound busses filled with tourists.
Which means whether you will have a driveway and a parking lot with access for that sort of traffic, and whether you will actively advertise for that business.
I’d read this article and think long and hard about what catering to that crowd would entail:
[u]North Fork Bachelorette Party Ends In Tragedy[/u]
There must be good revenue in that business model - otherwise people wouldn’t do it - but it’s not your father’s Oldsmobile.
Even if things never get as bad as on Long Island, you’re still going to have to deal with obnoxious drunks [who like to pick fights], and that requires a great deal of patience and discipline and an excellent working relationship with the local LEOs.
Great list from Anton. A few scattered other thoughts:
Have employees who are perceptive and who are empowered to do things to appeal to people who show an interest.
I think it makes a lot of sense to have a “fee waived for purchase” program, which encourages people to buy wines, gets them drinking your wine some time after their visit, and increases the chance they’ll become customers. Exactly how many waived for how much purchase is up to you, of course.
To echo Paul Willenberg, accomodating kids is a big plus. Have some place they could hang out, maybe have juice boxes or pretzels or something you could offer them, and generally just act as though they and their parents are welcome. That goes a long way with those many of us who have kids.
I think attractive photos of the different vineyards is a neat selling point. Here’s where the vineyard is on the map, here are a few photos - that gives people a positive connection with what they’re tasting.
I think it’s great when tasting rooms have a sale item or two. Maybe some overrun from a past vintage on a clearance price, maybe some loss-leader deal, maybe free shipping if you want some of it mailed home for you, maybe a half case or case discount. It’s frustrating that the cellar door price can be so high at many tasting rooms, often higher or considerably higher than you can find at retail. I understand not undercutting your distributors, but if people come to your place to taste, it doesn’t make sense to gouge them.
That is huge.
I love that feature when tasting.
Wes – For what it’s worth, an anecdote: My interest in wine was sparked in significant measure by a visit to the Sonoma Vineyards tasting room many years ago, where they offered table service and more than one glass at a time. Tasting their different wines side by side sparked my curiosity in wine and set me on this path.
For the non-geek crowd, perhaps comparative tastes with some structural education. Say, oaked and unoaked chardonnay side by side. Or one wine with higher acid than another, and have them try each with and without a little nibble of some sort.
Spit/dump buckets. It’s sad that I need to state this but nothing turns me off more than a tasting room where there is no bucket in sight. I came to taste, not drink.
Other than that, I am really agnostic. I feel it’s about the wine and I don’t care too much about extras. Tasting room staff should have a reference binder with info about the different wines they sell but I don’t care that they have it memorized. Just know where the book is if it’s needed.
Lastly as others have said, It’s nice when a winery pours across all price points and an extra charge or premium tasting is fine. They don’t have to pour everthing, but it detracts from the visit when all they pour are the lowest prices bottlings.
I think John and Brian hit it. Have a few pours, be able to taste them side by side, and have staff that’s a bit knowledgeable and more than that, passionate or at least enthusiastic.
Things I don’t like:
Kids running around. Wine tasting rooms are boring for kids and bored kids are really irritating to everyone who isn’t one of the proud parents. If I see kids, I leave.
Picnic tables are of little interest unless I’m going to have my tasting at the table.
Dirty bathrooms.
Dirty glasses
No spit buckets.
Other than that, if there’s some wine for sale w/out a hard sell, I’m a lot more likely to buy it. And I realize that there’s a cost involved and don’t mind defraying expenses, but if I spend $40 to taste, I feel I’ve covered whatever I’ve tasted so feel little obligation to buy anything.
Gravel roads are actually quite fine with me, as are pretty basic facilities - even a couple of barrels with a plank thrown across them for a bar. I’m not sure why, I guess they make the place seem less likely to be a bachelorette stop, or a Disneyland family outing destination. False rusticity however, is really a turn-off; would make me feel like the wine is fake too.
Wes,
What the “group” here want to see, may not be what the general public expect, and it is them that you’ll need to support the wine tasting room. I am sure we all agree that a program where you waive the tasting fee for purchases is nice, good stems are important, and knowledgable tasting room staff are important. But, us wine geeks will be a small part of the visitors. I personally go to a tasting room to taste the wines, see what is new, maybe buy a few bottles, and move on. Picnic tables work out well if it is around lunch time, as we can pick up sandwiches, etc. along the way. But, this depends on where you are situated - in a urban location not practical nor needed.
Depending on where you are opening, I assume in Santa Barbara County, you may need to do more than tasting - as an example, in the Funk Zone, they expect wine by the glass sales too, a good vibe, and a place to hang for a while. In Los Olivos it may be more akin to a Napa/Sonoma room where people come, taste, move on.
As for what inspires me to return, good wine, a fair price, and nice people.
Lots of great suggestions and recommendations listed above. One item which has not been covered much yet is employee training. This can be crucial.
Employees should:
Know what every wine tastes like.
Know how to recognize a corked wine.
Know which wines should be tasted in which order.
Know where each vineyard is located and the farming/wine making strategy for that vineyard.
Know when to talk and when to shut up. (Politely ask?)
Focus on the customer/tasters, not on their girlfriend at the end of the bar.
Go get bottles for customers, not tell them " the bottles for sale are over there".
Be polite and engaging (but only when customers want to be engaged).
Selection of and training of employees is what will keep people coming back (with friends).
I’m more in line with John. I’m generally not a fan of tasting rooms or visiting wineries for tastings. I find it exceedingly difficult to get a sense of the wine from small tastes in poor glasses with improper serving temperatures. Plus you have the bustle of the crowd, the noise, etc., all impacting my already limited sensory perceptions.
If I visit, I do what I did at my last visit at Copain. I scheduled a private tasting and was hosted by one person that graciously poured the entire range of wines for me at a table setting, with nice glasses and correct temperature. Plus, these were mostly newly-opened bottles. We talked quite a lot about many things, including wines, which eventually rolled into him popping some more mature SVDs. An amazing time, and I understand that wineries cannot do this for everyone. It turned me into a major buyer for quite a few years.
For me the experience (I.e., nice, engaged staff) is more important than the wine. I want staff that are outgoing and genuinely happy to answer questions. I don’t care if they aren’t sure of technical details (though they shouldn’t make them up) if they are enthusiastic about the wine. Any idiot can pour from a bottle of wine; make me happy to be in your tasting room. Along these lines, make the room comfortable (it need not be a palace, I’ll just think your wines are overpriced) and have enough staff,
The truth is that there’s a lot of good wine available. I want to spend money at places where I feel like I’m treated well. I joined a wine club at a board favorite winery and visited shortly thereafter. The host seemed to lose interest after he learned he couldn’t make a sale and charged us for the tasting (not a big deal, but supposed to be waived). As soon as I returned to Chicago I cancelled my membership.
Funny I was typing on my phone when Robert posted. Copain was where I had my negative experience. Gorgeous tasting room though.
Option for a Reserve/Private Tasting is a plus!
I don’t know what wine you are making or selling but if it isn’t good and isn’t a good value then I won’t be buying it or returning (subjective, yes I know). Everything else is just a frill for me. I have been to a lot of wineries that have expensive elaborate buildings and those are usually the ones that I don’t like the wine and its overpriced. Went to a place in Paso and the tasting room was in the guys garage, but when we got there he came out and said he was leaving on vacation and we couldn’t taste any wine. Came back the next year and tasted the wine, it was good and we bought some. Its nice if the pourer can tell me some interesting things about the wine but it doesn’t have much affect on if I am going to buy it. As others have said, waiving the tasting fee if some number of bottles (I prefer one!) are purchased is a good incentive, it almost guarantees a sale.
The above and beyond would be barrel tasting, free or low cost snacks to accompany the tasting (bread, crackers, cheese, olives, etc). Bruce already said what I am thinking:
Depending on where you are opening, I assume in Santa Barbara County, you may need to do more than tasting - as an example, in the Funk Zone, they expect wine by the glass sales too, a good vibe, and a place to hang for a while.
This describes perfectly Carr Winery and why my wife and I spend a lot of time there when we visit Santa Barbara. I would rather go there and drink a glass of their outstanding wines before or after dinner rather than ordering a overpriced wine at a restaurant that isn’t even from the area.
Great advice throughout. I like the thinking about dogs, bicycles and kids. This is also worth extending to what might pacify and placate a partner who is less interested in the wine and who arrives already a bit fed up.
Thoughts include
IRO pay for tasting premium wines, I’m all for that and waiving it if you buy a bottle is a good way to go. IRO older wine, as long as it is representative of where one of the wines in tasting may end up, I think it’s a great idea, even if you have no museum stock to sell. It’s an insight into the current wine and how it might age and hence useful.
Finally - wine bores. That probably includes a good few of us. It is a genuine skill for staff to show polite interest, yet ensure the other customers aren’t left with an empty glass and waiting for yet more (as far as they’re concerned) inane wine snob pontification / poncified questions to finish before their next glass arrives. If possible place the wine bore at one end of the serving counter, where they can be chatted with without intimidating others.
regards
Ian
Make your guests feel special.
Have the owner and winemaker make appearances.
My favorite tastings have been small wineries talking to the passionate creators.