Wonders of Wine and Food

 

Can a winery succeed with ONLY a tasting room?

Since the beginning, wineries have opened and closed, or been swallowed up by bigger companies. It takes a great deal of money to start a winery  . It also takes a great deal of money to keep a winery going.

Take a look at a small winery offering you a place to taste their wines. Only a short time ago, a winery offered you a free tasting. Based on the hope that you would like their wine and purchase enough wine from them to keep the doors open.

Today, the expenses are so high that a winery must charge you for tastings. Fees have gone from $5 to $15. The question for the consumer is, do we get VALUE  for our Money? In many cases, I would say NO! But what is the small upstart winery going to do?

Now, how many wineries are out there, far too many. How many wineries can one visit in a wine region, and how often can they put out the tasting fees? If a couple visits a winery, it costs $30.00. Visit two wineries for $60. Three wineries that's $90, Buy some wine, say a bottle at each winery, averaging $25.00 a bottle. That's another seventy-five dollars.

Many wineries have gone to a sit down wine tasting. Sit-downs are more enjoyable and offer a little bigger bang for your buck. The lates trend is to add events or food service to bring you in. Perhaps the best way today to enjoy a winery is to relax, have a glass of wine, and order something to eat.

However, this is where more  MONEY comes in. There is a huge cost factor in establishing these facilities. In Ontario, there are more wineries that have extended hours featuring events, food service and entertainment. It seems to be working. In some cases, wineries were already financially stretched due to ambitious development projects or high land costs, and the crop failures pushed them over the edge.

Despite the fact that winery owners make good neighbours and are willing to help each other, they are still in deep competition with each other. For example, visit a grocery store that sells  wine. Take a look at any food product; the store may carry two or three brands of that product. Visit the wine section, and there are 100s of wineries on the shelf.

Wineries must earn money through multiple revenue streams beyond selling bottles of wine, and the most successful operations deliberately diversify to stabilize cash flow and boost margins. The broader economics of wineries show that profitability depends on combining production with hospitality, experiences, and brand extensions.

Wine clubs, gift shops. weddings, restaurants and accommodations are means of adding income to wine sales. A fruit winery can sell additional products like Jams or their fruits.

If you small and can not afford to start additional facilities you better have amazing wines and top notch staff proving unbelievable hospitality.

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