According to veteran tasting room consultant Craig Root, there are four essential product categories that perform best in tasting rooms:

• Wine accessories are an obvious winner.

• Logo apparel is a no-brainer, plus they billboard your brand.

• Food and wine books will always move—especially when they are matched to the wines served in the tasting room.

• Food items sell particularly well, since visitors have come to the winery specifically to taste. “Wineries can achieve 50% more profit if they have samples,” according to Root, “but they should make sure the samples are compatible with the wines available for tasting.”
Source: Wine Business Monthly

WISE Bites
Think you know when a customer is ready to buy?
We’ve conducted hundreds of tasting room mystery shops and found that clear cues often go completely unnoticed. Verbal cues include asking for more information about a wine or wine club, questions about discounts and food pairings. But a whopping 70% of buying signals are non-verbal! Watch for customers lingering over a favorite wine, revisiting tasting notes or club information or touching their wallets. Chin stroking and transitions in posture are also good clues. How much revenue was lost in your tasting room this week due to missed buying signals?
Source: WISE Academy, wineindustrysaleseducation.com