Does the sign ‘By appointment only’ mean bad customer service? It is certainly off putting and a clear indication that the winery or vineyard believes itself to be a cut above the rest. For a few it means that it has only provided limited resources to deal with any customer that turns up on spec to taste its wines. In my experience it tends to be found amongst the more expensive wines of Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy. Does this mean that these producers are not interested in the casual passerby that would like to taste its wines, even if they are prepared to pay to sample its delights?
The Australians think that this is all far too pretentious and that any vineyard with the effrontery to put up such a sign is far too up itself and has delusions of grandeur and deserves to fail. Perhaps this is just a new world attitude to wine, it’s there for the masses to enjoy and taste and any such practices are against the spirit of the instant gratification and the new world style and attitudes to wine drinking. You could certainly never accuse the Australians of snobbery and maybe their modern attitudes to customer service and marketing are exactly what winemakers need to survive a recession. You certainly don’t have to look far beyond the websites of Australia, America and New Zealand to notice what a big difference there is compared to the clumsy and slightly ‘old fashioned’ efforts that have been made by European wine makers to promote themselves and their wines on the net.
Whatever the rights and wrongs, the economic slow down will affect wine sales all over the world irrespective of how good this year or last year’s vintage was. Access to customers and the markets could make all the difference in the next 12-18 months to a lot of producers and I for one have to agree with the Australians, anyone prepared to put up a sign telling its customers to come back later may find itself closed before they bother to return.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
For any winery to close its doors to the casual passerby/holiday maker/wine taster, in my opinion is nuts. i love wine tasting, and make it a part of every holiday if i can do. what is surely most important to the winery, is that although i may buy a bottle or two from the cellar door, i am far more likely to buy that vinyards wines when i am back home, in a restaurant or a shop. a great point in case is that i always have such a fantastic time at kangarilla road and d'arys in maclaren vale when im there that i always favour their wines when i see them. surely this is the goal of any winery... repeat business? anyone who ignores this is truly crazy.
Post a Comment