I think we’ve all seen examples of what happens when a family run winery sells to some corporation. I won’t name examples that come to mind, but I received this latest email from Shafer. Too bad you now have to pay some premium tasting fee to “experience” the wine and the venue.
Explore Hillside Select on an Entirely New Level
[Reserve Your Experience]
Dear Hillside Select Friend,
For years we’ve hoped to provide you with an immersive experience in the rugged beauty of our hillside estate while enjoying the classic Cabernet Sauvignon this incredibly special place produces.
At last, we are pleased to invite you to be among the first to enjoy The Hillside Select Experience, a new level of Napa Valley luxury and wine discovery which launches May 2.
This tasting adventure, priced at $500 per guest, is a new hospitality tier at Shafer that begins with a welcome featuring Billecart Salmon Champagne and Regiis Ova caviar. Guests then embark on an exploration of our hillside estate aboard a Polaris Ranger vehicle, granting access to panoramic vistas and hidden corners of our historic vineyard property.
Upon reaching a private overlook offering unparalleled views of Napa Valley, guests enjoy 2019 Hillside Select, our current vintage, surrounded by the serene splendor of our estate, the site of grape-growing and winemaking since 1880.
Remember when wine tasting was about….tasting wine?
2 Likes
As soon as I see “experience” in association with a winery I run the other way. I don’t want an experience I want to taste wine to see if I like it enough to buy it.
We visited Heitz shortly after the sale. The fee was around $20-$25i I remember correctly. I believe it is now north of $100 reaching to $200 a person.
4 Likes
They couldn’t even be bothered to arrange a helicopter? smh
1 Like
They didn’t even mention the helicopter arrival pad.
didnt see Sam’s comment above before I posted. LOL
In 2018, it was $125 per guest @ Continuum for a nearly identical tasting/tour. $500 per person is laughable. Harlan’s label serves Krug for $300 if IIRC. P(ss off Shafer.
2 Likes
This is nothing more than marget segmentation. It doesn’t appeal to the folks on this board, but it does appeal to some.
There are wine nerds that buy Shafer. They’ll [presumably] be reaching out to a mailing list contact and doing complimentary tastings that are much less “Instagrammable.” But yeah, if i’d been a loyal buyer off the mailing list for a long time (I’m not, but I do buy other Napa wines) and asked to come taste and they pointed me in the direction of a $500 “experience,” it would be my last year on the list and all my HSS would be at auction ASAP.
I’m sure they offer a less expensive experience, no? And isn’t this what a LOT of wineries up there and even in Paso are doing these days? I don’t see a problem with it as long as there is another tier available.
And please note that every major wine survey now says that the ‘experience’ is most consumers are looking for . . .
Cheers
You used to sit around a table, occasionally John would drop in to say hello. Tucker the lab would lick your hand. And if you were on the list, the fee was exactly 0. Those were the days …
1 Like
@Dennis_Borczon my similar experience in the late 90s or early 2000s, except it was Doug that stopped by. And I remember a golden lab, which I guess was Tucker. I was on the HSS mailing list which is why I got the invite to participate in this new experience.
In general, wine tasting has turned into wine tourism.
That’s not a good thing for me, personally.
4 Likes
Would you change your mind if you had the chance to “acquire” it?
When a winery refers to a visit as an experience they usually charge an arm and a leg and/or include a vineyard tour. The last thing I want to do is a vineyard tour. They all have dirt, vines, weather, etc.
Lovely memories of a different time. It was a lot more innocent then I think
Makes me wonder about the surveys if this is what they claim. Perhaps Karen could write on this as a possible reason the industry is in decline. My guess is if said experience is intertwined with wine that there’s no wonder wine sales are declining (if in fact they are). I think when wine is somehow tied in with something more than just simply enjoying a beverage that it’s a real buzzkill.
They have a $125 tasting, yeah pricey, but this thread make it read like it was $500 or nothing.
My thoughts exactly Dennis. Glad I had the opportunity to enjoy before it became an “experience.”
I suppose I’ll have to miss out…will make do with the opportunity to hang with the Alex, Roy, Shea, etc. of the world.
Adam
This is not why wine is declining, these wines are inaccessibly priced for the average wine consumer.
A steep ride. say I.
And steeping involves extracting something, right?
That kind of ties in with the whole “experience” thing. It makes wine seem like something only for special occasions to the average consumer.