Wine tourism is the lifeblood of many wineries. This presentation which I gave to the Magnum Club, touches on the global trends, and defines some best practices?
14. Photo of the pyramids with a cross on the corner
15. Pic of the kreef braai on the West coast from the Braai Book with a tick in the corner
16. Then
• Planned cultural experiences
• Checking sights off a list
• Visit museums and
monuments
• Typical tourist fare
• Going by guidebooks
• 80% of travellers cited culture
as top motivator in 2009
• Dropped to 69% in 2013
Now
• Local immersion
• Finding new sites off the beaten
path
• Visit local artists and artisans
• Resident’s favourite hidden gems
• Listening to friends and fellow
travellers
• 85% are driven by the need to
know and explore and
experiment
• (Conde Nast Reader survey 2013, Savour Australia 2013 )
17.
18. • “Once upon a time, food was about where
you came from. Now, for many of us, it is
about where we want to go—about who we
want to be, how we choose to live. “
• John Lanchester, New Yorker October 2014
49. “We try and centre a large portion of the guests experience around all that is
specifically South African. Art, food, Cape Town and especially wines.”
FNB Manager, Ellerman House
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57. I am part of a team launching www.tastetrip.co.za
An easily searchable, very visual, very now wine tourism website
We’ve visited heaps of wineries in the past year
58.
59.
60. So what do we think are are best wine tourism practices?
All 52 states in America offer some form of wine tourism , even Arkansas
and Michigan. Today there 277 wine trails in the US, and counting….
Look at what’s happening in Ningxia China.
A French-style project called Changyu-Moser XV: Changyu is a top-three producer in China while Moser is named for Lenz Moser of the Austrian wine-making family -- the XV refers to the number of generations the Moser family has been involved in wine. This "chateau" includes a museum, lots of interactive exhibits (a giant tongue you can touch to see bitter, sour, etc areas, a smelling test, and so on), a tasting room, a major retail area, and so on. (Info thanks to Jim Boyce)
The main hall in the Yuanshi winery can hold a sit-down dinner for hundreds of people. A hotel and restaurants catering for wine tours are under construction.
In Nashik in India
Sula winery has blazed the way for wine tourism
With exciting events like the SulaFest, a hugely popular music festival
In South Africa even new regions like Plettenberg Bay, which didn’t have vineyards until a few years ago, are promoting wine tourism events in addition to their beautiful beaches
What’s driving this worldwide growth?
While young people may still want to find the trendiest place for wild parties, older tourists have changed
People are less interested in seeing “the sights”
And more interested in real food and wine experiences
This slide was presented at Savour Australia 2013 and highlights some major changes in motivation and behaviour amongst Conde Nast readers
Source: Conde Nast research
Quote form John Lanchester writing in The New Yorker
Napa sparkling wine estate Domaine Chandon has closed its once Michelin-starred restaurant Étoile due to a dwindling demand for fine dining at the winery. In contrast, business is booming at the estate’s more casual Tasting Lounge, which specialises in oysters, charcuterie and cheese paired with flights of Domain Chandon.
Due to its popularity, the estate plans to move the Tasting Lounge to the space previously occupied by Étoile.
Domaine Chandon was founded in 1973 by Champagne house Moët & Chandon.
Source: Drinks Business
Authentic experiences…the key words for wine tourism
An economic impact study conducted by Stonebridge for Napa Valley Vintners in 2012 estimated that wine tourism accounted for more than 8000 jobs in 2011
Source: Collingwood economic impact study for sawis.co.za
Winery owners, especially those who would prefer not to be in the entertainment business, ask whether tourism can build brand loyalty
The answer is “yes” (Reference; The Role of Tourism Experiences in Attaching Consumers to Regional Brands, Ulrich R. Orch, Christian-Albrechts-Universitat Kiel, Germany )
Robertson Wine Valley is a wine region about one and a half hour’s drive out of Cape Town. Through tourism events they have put the region and its wineries on the map for a broad audience.
Winter traditionally sees a significant drop in visitor volumes
And so Robertson introduced the Wacky Wine Weekend: This is Robertson Valley’s biggest event which takes place the first full weekend in June to attract people to the Valley during the traditionally quiet winter months. It takes place across 50 different venues with each of the wineries hosting their own range of events and attractions. Attendance is anywhere between 16 000 and 18 000 for the weekend (based on passport sales only).
The whacky concept bring visitors out in droves, all keen to join in the fun, and stock up on wine.
This is an outdoor wine festival hosted in marquees on the banks of the Breede River in October which is late spring.. Around 35 wineries host it with more than 250 wines on offer. About 5 500 people enjoy the food, live music, kids activities and tutored tastings
Visitors of all ages enjoy the wine and sunshine
And sailing slowly up the Breede River
Hands-on Harvest: this event is stretched over several weeks in order to give wineries the opportunity to focus on the variety they want as well as give visitors to the Valley (during the busy tourism season) the chance to experience harvest. This takes place during February and March, for 2015. Visitors book with wineries directly and between 500 and 700 people attend.
Robertson Slow: Taking place the weekend closest to 9 August (Women’s Day) to try and have a long weekend, Robertson slows things down for this event. It also takes place on the various farms and they are allowed to host anything with the theme of ‘slow’, whether that is home cooked meals enjoyed around the table with the winemaking families, trips into the veld, horse riding, specialised tastings and/or pairings. One of the highlights of the weekend is the Sunday Regional Food Market hosted just outside of town.
Reference:”Brand Experience: What is It?” J.Josko, Bernd Schmitt, Lia Zarantonello
Mass appeal is personified in the offering at Spice Route in South Africa. It is like a Craft Disneyworld, with craft beer, handmade chocolates, charcuterie, pizzeria, glass making , and of course, wine tasting and restaurant.
While Delaire Graff is very much the premium market with an ultra exclusive boutique hotel, diamond shop, and two fine restaurants
Such as on Sea Dream Wine voyages. Imagine cruising in the Med visiting exclusive wineries…..
Targeting the premium international wine market, Ellerman House in South Africa stands as an iconic showcase of South Africa’s finest lodging,
cuisine, wine, and leisure
In 2013 Ellerman House introduced their Wine Gallery
The focal point of the wine gallery is an enormous three-dimensional wine rack holding 1500 bottles and bearing over two tons of weight, inspired by a humble corkscrew. The 3.2m high, 6m long structure is a literal translation of a corkscrew or helix shape. The creator, Steinhobel, chose to mould the wine rack out of carbon fibre for its connection to the earth.
To counter balance Steinhobel’s ultra-sleek wine rack, old, time-honoured forms of craft and natural materials, are intrinsic to the overall concept of the wine gallery. While South African wine is modern and embraces cutting-edge thinking and technology, the industry has a rich heritage that dates back 350 years. Successfully incorporating the history and pedigree of Cape wine into a contemporary space was key. The terroir wall is made from rammed earth samples from the top wineries of the Cape.
The completed work presents soil samples from 100 wine farms, each rammed earth creation contained in a copper frame engraved with the farm name and GPS co-ordinates of the soil sample hole. As the wall was assembled, it was like a giant, living puzzle that took on the shape of the winelands. ‘I do not know of any other ‘map’ that is actually made from the soil that it represents. Nowhere else can one see, touch and smell the foundation of the wine, the terroir,’
A special feature of the wine gallery is a Champagne cellar, stocked exclusively with rare and special vintages of Dom Perignon. Attention to detail in this subterranean space extends to the huge piece of chalk, weighing two tons from the Champagne region in France.( In terms of terroir, chalk is known as the ‘mother material’ of this celebrated region where the great champagnes of the world are produced.)
Tourists all use online extensively…whether it is computer, laptop or mobile device
It is all about the internet and social media. Nearly 75% of UK travellers will thoroughly research online the locations they are going to, and how to get there, before committing to goingSource: Future Foundation presentation at Wine Vision 2014 as reported on wwww.Harpers.co.uk 18 November 2014
Tastetrip is part directory, part visual essay, part blog
It will help local and international tourists select the wineries they want to visit…through searching variables such as child friendly, fine dining, picnics, varieties of wine and much more.
We’ve visited close on a hundred wineries this year for our new website. These are what we have found to be best practices.
These are absolutely essential. And so many wineries fail at the first one…a decent , up to date website that runs on all platforms, especially mobile
Visitors can only taste so much wine…they are looking for a real engaging experience
Design matters to today’s consumer
It can be the dramatic Frank Gehry architecture at Marquis de Riscal
Or a dramatic glass box at Waterkloof in Stellenbosch
Or an old cottage full of charm like Chamonix in Franschhoek
If your architecture can’t be different, the experience can be.
Villiera offers game drives and the opportunity to learn more about their whole eco-friendly sustainable approach to viticulture
Warwick offers luxury picnics served in your own private picnic pod. They are currently building a wooden deck on their dam that will have a bar, and massages on tap
Another way to create a distinctive personality is through events, but these should relate to the image your winery is trying to promote
Sophisticated jazz seems perfect for Bordeaux
Amphitheatre concerts in the forest on the Cluver estate in Elgin raise funds for the Hope Foundation, building on the image of integrity and authenticity of this family farm
Two thirds (66%) of consumers around the world say they prefer to buy products and services from companies that have implemented programs to give back to society.
46% are willing to pay extra for products and services from socially responsible companies, and a majority (51%) of those under 40 are willing to do so, according to a 2012
Nielsen Wire survey. In South Africa, restaurants supporting Streetsmart add R5 to every table’s total bill, that’s less than 50p or roughly 50 US cents.