Over the past year, I’ve noticed a growing, disturbing trend at some Virginia wineries. Commercialization. Before I continue, a full disclaimer, I have nothing against weddings, dinners, and special events at wineries. What I have a problem with is the prioritization and attention given to these extra-curricular activities. I visit wineries for one simple reason, the wine. After the wine I rate customer service and atmosphere as other important factors in my decision to visit and purchase. I’m seeing more and more tasting associates who have a difficult time answering simple questions such as “what is your most popular pour” or “are these grapes grown on-site”. Last time I checked, these are fairly straight-forward questions that every associate should know.
It seems like every week there is some kind of special event, dinner, or wedding where the average visitor is either ignored or pushed towards the back. I hear and read many complaints about wineries that turn down large crowds, or limit special events. But last time I checked, isn’t it about the wine? Virginia has everything in its corner, great wine, terroir, local and state support, among many others. Please don’t lose sight of the goal, producing great wine, vintage after vintage.
Quoting Walt Disney, “I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.” Well Virginia, remember it was all started by a grape…
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September 23, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Interesting and timely topic! I’m not convinced “commercialization” is the right term. Perhaps ‘maturation’ or ‘necessity’ is a better way to describe what’s going on at some of our wineries. If “commercialization” is the right term, then I see this “commercialization” more as a natural evolution as our wine industry here in Virginia matures.
More than simply maturing, ‘necessity’ could also be the root cause of this “commercialization” – increased competition (there are now about 150 wineries here in Virginia) coupled with the current economic malaise, has forced many of our State’s best to look for other revenue streams just to survive. And, one of these revenue streams just happens to be events not ‘directly’ related to their wine sales (weddings, parties, festivals, etc.).
There are of course Virginia wineries that have taken this to the extreme by having weddings, horse shoe tournaments, festivals, clam bakes, and all type of other crazy events every weekend in order to generate more winery traffic. At some places, this is certainly getting out of hand and could be considered “commercialization.” I avoid those places.
On the other hand, there are wineries capable of managing this so called ‘commercialization’ quite well. I wrote a post a couple of days ago about my visit to Loudoun County last weekend which included a stop at Breaux Vineyards. As I mentioned in my post, there was a wedding at the winery that day, along with amazing weather which brings out the cave dwelling masses. I can tell you that despite HUGE crowds at the tasting room and the wedding, I was treated VERY well by Jen and the staff at Breaux. I felt I received excellent personalized service, as if I was the only person in the tasting room.
As Virginia wine takes on a more prominent roll in the US wine marketplace (and perhaps global marketplace), and as competition here increases, I feel we’ll see many more of our favorite, small boutique wineries ‘go commercial.’ I’m not convinced that’s such a bad thing (although I much prefer the smaller, boutique wineries here).
Thankfully there are folks like Jim Law at Linden who are resisting much of this commercialization and intentionally keeping Linden ‘intimate.’ Last time I was up at Linden I noticed that all of the Linden road signs had been taken down at their request (interesting, eh) – I was told to reduce the amount of random road traffic at the winery (I didn’t confirm that tho…). I believe the folks at Linden want to do what they can to keep it ‘manageable.’
Just my 2 cents…
All the best!
September 23, 2009 at 10:48 pm
I voted no. While SOME wineries here have gone way too commercial, I think that the majority (remember, we have a boatload of wineries) have not. Yes, there are big spaces like Barrel Oak and Veritas that are probably a lot less enjoyable with big events happening in the background, but for every one of these there are probably 2 or 3 Castle Gruens or Gadino Cellars that just don’t seem to do that kind of thing. Still, you have a great point, and I hope ALL wineries take your words to heart.
September 24, 2009 at 8:41 am
I’ll agree that some have gone too commercial, but their are still many out here that are still all about the wine. We’ve got over 200 wineries in VA and personally I would have to say most are about the wine. The only ones that are too commercialized in my opinion are the ones that are intentionally so as they are the larger (nearly industrial) wineries that are trying too much to be like Napa valley wineries.
September 24, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Frank, Matt, and GrapeEnvyGuy,
As always, thank you for your readership and great comments! I should clarify that my post was purely constructive criticism and certainly doesn’t reflect all Virginia wineries. My primary frustration is focused towards the tasting associates who lack a general knowledge of the industry, and more importantly, the winery whose wines they’re pouring. The movement and/or trend (whether it be commercialization, maturation, or even necessity) is understandable, I just wish there was better planning behind the events to ensure adequate staffing, a knowledgeable staff, etc. Frank, brings up a great example of a winery, Breaux Vineyards, who clearly has the blueprint for great wine, customer service, and event planning. Always knowledgeable, friendly, and organized.
In summary, Virginia has great potential, and I hope they continue to learn from the best (like Breaux and Linden) and continue to strive to produce world class wine and deliver first class customer service.
Cheers!
September 24, 2009 at 8:57 pm
GrapeEnvyGuy,
I just stumbled upon your blog! I can’t believe I somehow missed it. I’m adding to my blogroll right now and to my Google Reader. Cheers!
September 24, 2009 at 10:00 pm
I feel many VA wineries that ‘get it’ are managing their growth in a reasonable manner (Breaux, Pollack, Linden, Catham, et. al.), while still taking care of their wine customers. Great conversation topic. I’ll be back in MCO in a couple of weeks, we’ll plan to catch up then – maybe get Randy over here as well.
@GrapeEnvyGuy – Same here, not sure how I missed this one. I’ve linked you up as well.
Best!
September 25, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Thanks, guys! Brian, I totally agree on the issue of the tasting room folks. For people that care about the wines, they can really make a tasting a great experience. Some of my favorite tastings have been at Old House, Cooper, Castle Gruen, Barren Ridge, First Colony, and Virginia Wineworks, and it’s the same reason for all of these- the people pouring the wines were there to totally get their geek on about wine. Like the kid at First Colony talking about all the pairings and stuff the employees try after closing. That’s someone who really digs wine. It makes it hard to enjoy the meat market wineries after experiences like that.
May 7, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Hello Brian. I wanted to thank you for your article here, I very much enjoyed reading it. My name is Melinda Pursley, I am the event consultant at the above mentioned Barren Ridge Vineyards. I do agree that events are focused on somewhat by many vineyards as this is indeed their main source of income durning this economic downturn. I also believe that it is a necessary part of the wine industry that all tasting room staff have a love of wine, an interest in the process, and full access to general information regarding the winery they are representing. We try to incorporate all of those elements into the tastings we give on a daily basis.
All of this does depend on the staff being able to read our guests and their individual needs and wants regarding their wine tasting experience. We get many who are new to the process, wine experts, and those who are there to enjoy an outing with friends and family. We ask all staff to focus on finding out what the experience means to each of these individuals and to basically have fun while encouraging others to find and cultivate their passion for wine. While we do host weddings and receptions and very much enjoy doing so, customers like you are our reason for being there. To make a great wine for you to enjoy while having a wonderful experience at our facility. I do hope you will consider stopping by to see us if you are in the area, if you have a question we do not know the answer to, we will do all that we can to find out for you.
Cheers!
Melinda Pursley
Barren Ridge Vineyards
Fishersville, Virginia