Wine tourism is an under-radar motivation to travel. Wine Tourism, as it is called, is a touristic experience, motivated by Wine. Either the tourist wishes to taste, learn, or just be in contact with one of the four realms of a Wine Tourism Experience. Wine Tourism exists since 2000, and, although wine tourism is a niche market sector, it has still grown a lot in the last few years.
But what is actually wine tourism?
Wine tourism is a tourist experience that is motivated by wine, in which tourists decide on a specific tourism destination for its wine-associated attributes: vineyards hiking, wine tastings, gastronomy, and much more.
Long story short, wine becomes the main motivation for someone to travel.
For a long time, we have been seeing people traveling and making wine tastings, meeting the most notable regional cellars, and so on. But is that really a valuable wine tourism experience? Let’s find out the four realms of a Wine Tourism Experience that truly define Enotourism, according to one of my favorite authors, Quadri and Fiore (2014).
Entertainment
Entertainment experiences. What else can everyone wish for? According to most researches, this is the main and most important realm of all. After all, when we engage in an experience, what do we want more than to be entertained?
Most people consider that entertainment in wine tourism experiences is all about museums, or wine and regional food demonstrations. But what about all activities that can be enjoyed while in a wine tourism experience? Visits to wineries, museums, visits to art places surrounded by vineyards. All of this is possible in different cellars around the world.
Actually, when we speak about entertainment in wine tourism experiences, we most times refer to
- Visits to wine museums and heritage site
- Service and product prices
- Wine shops
- Wine blending demonstrations
- Farm and food demonstrations
- Wine festivals and galleries
- Cellar concerts, and music in the vineyards.
A few countries are betting on entertainment wine tourism experiences. The highlight for South Africa, Argentina, France Italy, and of course, Portugal.
But is entertainment all it matters when we are facing a wine tourism experience? Of course, you are all thinking that there are more realms that matter. Who does not like to learn something more about the passion of all of us wine tourists?
Educational
According to wine tourists’ profiles, most wine tourists search for experiences that allow them to have fun and grow from that experience. Wine tourists are often looking for enriching experiences that allow them to grow from there and become better and more knowledgeable in their hobbies. This is a reality for experienced and inexperienced wine tourists. Most experienced tourists search for details about specific winemakers, whereas, recent wine tourists are happy with a simple explanation of how a serious wine tasting should be done.
The educational realm’s most known activities include:
- Guide and front office role
- Wine tastings and seminars
- Home winemaking seminars
- Culinary wine-pairing events
- Cooking and craft-making classes
However, is that all? Wine tourists often value knowledge and learning acquisition about the wine region, how to taste wine, a gastronomy that combines with wine, history of winemaking. All these topics are highly valuable when it comes to a complete wine tourism experience.
Esthetic
Esthetic, lovely, gorgeous, amazing. Who does not want to feel that “Wow” factor when engaging in a wine tourism experience? That feeling that you have traveled far away for a purpose. That “Let me immediately take out my camera to record this and show my children, or, grand-children when we go back?”
Wine tourism and the amazing vineyards that make this type of tourism so special will, for sure, make you feel this way. In fact, for a complete wine tourism experience, that “Wow” factor becomes one of the unmissable rules.
This is the fourth realm of a complete wine tourism experience. It includes as main examples:
- Consuming” the winescape
- Architecture related to the wineries
- Typical bars, restaurants, cafes
- Signage and information about wine attractions,
- Enjoy unique lodging (B2B) and wines, driving rural roads lined with, Vineyards, art and craft fairs at wineries.
A wine tourism experience must, not only, provide its tourists with amazing views, landscapes, winery architectures, but it must also ensure other core esthetic patterns like having accurate signage of where and how to enjoy a specific experience, or even, having a complete ecosystem that includes restaurants, bars, or cafes that are equally incredible to look at.
Escapist
Wine tourism experiences are often mistaken with just a wine tasting or just a winery visit. However, wine tourism is much more than that. This realm proves that a wine tourism experience must make people feel immersed in another dimension. This is what makes a truly enriching and repeatable experience. However, it is still the less developed realm of the model.
The escapist realm is simple: Make tourists forget about work, their household, or day-to-day responsibilities. Once you manage to do that, it is a win-win situation for both winemakers and visitors. But how can wineries manage to achieve this level of wine tourism experiences?
The escapist wine tourism realm includes, most frequently:
- Vineyard tour by horse and carriage
- vineyard hiking or cycling tours
- Cruises in a river surrounded by vineyards
- Hot air ballooning over the vineyards
- Harvesting grapes and riding a grape picker
The Sweet Spot
of the 4 realms of Wine Tourism
The Sweet Spot of a wine tourism experience. You must be wondering what is it about? Well, the sweet spot is the “I want it all” type of experience. The sweet spot is nothing more, nothing less, than a wine tourism experience that includes a bit of the four realms, as well as the majority of the wine tourism attributes a tourist can ask for. An experience that includes a bit of entertainment, educational, esthetic, and escapist feeling.
Fortunately, most experiences are going towards this sweet spot, which makes it irresistible to choose an amazing wine region visit for our next holidays: Douro Valley, Santorini, Tuscany, Mendoza, or even Yarra Valley and much more, must be certain, your next getaway first choice.
