Recently published articles


Tasting Room Expertise: Onsite Polling to Improve Performance

November 8, 2024

If you’re like me, you’re probably numb to polling requests. Every restaurant, phone company, plumbing company, website and health provider (among others) is sending emails requesting your feedback.

Entertaining a Trade Visitor: VIP Treatment Can Lead to Sales

August 30, 2024

The importance of treating trade visitors well cannot be overstated. Trade visits, which welcome players important to your winery’s product promotion and availability, are particularly prevalent with wineries that are larger and have distribution across the country.

Tasting Room Expertise: Improve Your Profits with Tours

June 19, 2024

Budweiser plants offer tours. The Jelly Belly jelly bean plant does tours. Your local electronic factory doesn’t do tours. Why? Because no one wants to watch widgets being made. One of the important things to remember is that wine is a product people are willing to give their precious time to learn about.

Tasting Room Expertise: Tips to Establish Rapport and Increase Sales

May 6, 2024

One of the things I stress with new and veteran tasting room employees is the concept of “helpful sales.” I’ve hired lots of teachers, for example. They make great employees in tasting rooms, as they tend to be responsible, they are good with crowds and they are available on weekends and summer months.