Statewide research conducted in 2018 by the University of Oregon and Destination Analysts aimed to answer these questions: Who is Oregon’s wine tourist? What do they want from their time in our wine regions? How can wineries best suit their needs? This session shares findings from that research to prompt a spirited discussion about strategies for attracting quality visitation to your tasting room, from promoting your business to maximizing the potential of partnerships with like-minded organizations and ultimately closing the sale.
2. Find and Attract Quality Wine Tourists
Objective: Turning Research Into Action
• Who is Oregon’s wine tourist?
• What do they want from their time in our wine region?
• How can wineries, business, attractions, regions best meet their needs?
14. Willamette Valley Survey
3 components:
in-person - 303
online - 7,781
extended 1-on-1s in progress
Visited within last 12 months
Oregon residents and OOS
15. Survey Participants
A Blooming Hill Vineyard
A to Z Wineworks
A' Tuscan Estate Bed & Breakfast
Adelsheim Vineyard
Alexana Winery
Anam Cara Cellars
Apolloni Vineyards
Argyle Tasting House
Bethel Heights Vineyard
Bjornson Vineyard
Iris Vineyards
Le Puy A Wine Valley Inn
Left Coast Estate
Plum Hill Vineyards
Remy Wines
Rex Hill
Ruddick/Wood
Silvan Ridge Winery
Sokol Blosser Winery
Sweet Cheeks Winery & Vineyard
Torii Mor Winery
Utopia Vineyards
Van Duzer
VIDON Vineyard
White Rose Estate
Willamette Valley Vineyards
Willamette Valley Wineries Association
Winderlea Vineyard & Winery
Winter’s Hills Estate
Yamhill Valley Vineyards
Youngberg Hill
Carlton Winemakers Studio
Coeur de Terre Vineyard
Cristom Vineyards
Dion Vineyard
Domaine Divio
Elizabeth Chambers Cellar
Fairsing Vineyard
Firesteed
Furioso Vineyards
Hyland Estates
17. Focus Topics
1. Getting more bodies into your tasting room
2. Increasing Club membership
3. Customer data collection
4. Regional tourism integration
5. Intersection of auxiliary activities
18. 1. Getting More Bodies into TR - R/U/G
Attracted by:
• Natural Beauty (#1)
• Tasting Room Ambiance (#2)
Enjoyed the experience:
• People like friendly
Appreciated ease of travel
Wine Quality
19. 1. Getting More Bodies into TR - WV
Attracted by:
• Wine Quality/Variety (#1)
• Scenic Beauty (#2)
• Wine tasting (#3)
Half were repeat visitors
• People like friendly
Appreciated ease of travel
Wine Quality
20. 1. Getting More Bodies into your TR
● Understand why they’re visiting
○ Local vs. out-of-area guests
○ Maximizing on Oregon’s biggest draws
● Why should they visit you?
○ Playing to your strengths
○ Every day as an event
● Making sure everyone feels welcome
○ Incentivizing feedback
○ Representation matters!
● Don’t over-elevate
21. 2. Club Memberships: Why didn’t they
buy?
Already part of a wine club - 73%
Wine was too $$$ - 18%
There to taste, not to buy
22% joined a wine club
23. 2. Increasing Club Membership
● Know your demographics: who are your
current members?
● Research your aspirational members: who
are you trying to attract?
● Membership Differentiation by Location
● Considering the low-cost club
24. 3. Collecting Valuable Customer Data
• Standardize the essentials
• Incentivize your TR staff
• Add nfo on the guest/tasting experience
• Incentivize subscribers
• “Thank you” page
26. Engage, Engage, Engage...
• Tourism partners want to help
• The tourism industry
considers the wine industry a tourism
product
• Please reach out to your local DMO,
volunteer to be on a marketing
committee or introduce yourself
27. 5. Auxiliary Activities
In the eyes of DMOs we are always hoping to
extend the stay and increase overnights in the
region
28. 5. Where Else Do They Go?
• They visit other regions of Oregon:
• Oregon Coast - 40%
• Willamette Valley - 39%
• Portland - 32%
• Umpqua Valley - 25%
• Visitor itineraries tend to be fluid
31. • Tell your unique story...uniquely
• Define and Target
• Think outside the wine glass
• Provide value to all club members
• Make it easy for them to give data
• Engage with your DMO/RDMOs
Concluding Thoughts