With each passing day I value more and more the care and diligence with which some wineries treat their visitors.

A winery’s business model is changing radically for a number of reasons: because competition is getting fiercer; because it’s becoming ever more important to differentiate (due to the global marketplace); because it’s easier to differentiate via interesting installations than via the technical characteristics of the product, label, bottle, packaging, etc; because having interesting installations provides a talking point; and because it’s not a question any more of just convincing a bunch of experts that your product is up to scratch.

Now there are thousands, or millions, of consumers out there who follow their own criteria, at least in part, and

Many of them seek first-hand information. Some are experienced tasters, but the vast majority need more varied information in order to be able to form an opinion on a given wine.

But even though the installations themselves are important, I think that even more important is the quality of the story and how it’s told.

When we talk about magicians, we usually define them as illusionists. They are illusionists because they know how to put on a show and leave us gob-smacked. The illusionist may not be working in the perfect setting, but if he has a good story to tell and he tells it passionately and in an interesting way, we lap it up. A magician will shine all the more if he does his thing in the right setting. I recommend visitors to Madrid to see “La Cripta Mágica”.

In the world of wine, we don’t usually talk about tricks, but we do talk about dreams, emotions, fantasies and talking up the qualities and small details of a given wine, or of a given winery. A good example of this is the talk given by Charles Metcalfe the European Wine Blogger Conference in Lisbon.

I know it’s not the same thing to have an amazing personality such as Charles giving one talk, and contracting someone to show visitors round a winery umpteen times a week all year! But the idea is to aim for the quality of that kind of talk. Most wineries of a certain size and with good installations and with some idea of marketing do have good guides who are well trained and a good attitude. The wineries know that you have to cater to the human factor.

It’s good to have installations to be proud of, but let’s not forget about training, motivation and attitude. Keep an eye on what the tour guides actually say, because with the increase in winery visits (datum: 19% increase in visits over previous year), this area will have a significant impact on the bottom line.

It’s a question of time before we see the number of visits skyrocketing, and wineries will catch on to the fact that they can increase sales in their tasting rooms; and they will realize how important it is to establish a direct contact with their potential customers (Customer Relationship Management). We will also see better professionals, who will be better paid, better trained and more motivated to do a good job, as a key element in contributing to a wineries bottom line.

All things come in time. Tempus fugit.

This post in Spanish: La importancia de la calidad del discurso en la visita a Bodega.

Photo from: Taringa.net