Tasting fees and the youth market

Many wineries in Australia and New Zealand are seeking strategies to continue to develop in a highly competitive marketplace. One such strategy is via the development of wine tourism. Although there is a significant amount of literature of the relative advantages and disadvantages of wine tourism for small wineries, particularly with respect to its educational and market development function, there is very little research available on how wine tourism is perceived by the next generation of wine drinkers – the youth market. The purpose of this study is therefore to gain a better understanding of how the youth market perceives tasting fees at wineries and influences on purchasing and other wine behaviours. In late 2003, 599 surveys were distributed to ten universities throughout Australia and New Zealand, of which 448 were returned, representing a valid response rate of 74.8 percent. The results of the survey indicated that the majority of respondents who thought of wine tourism as an appealing activity, who had visited wineries previously, who normally consumed and purchased wine and who had some knowledge of wine all thought that a fee at the cellar door would impact on their decision to visit. Wineries need to maximise the return on their wine, however there also needs to be recognition of the potential trade-off between immediate returns from charging for tastings and cellar-door sales versus longer-term returns from direct and indirect sales. In some markets, and particularly the ‘Generation Y’ market, seeking short-term returns through charging may affect longer-term custom and loyalty. However, regardless of the strategy, it is important that it is effectively communicated to the market, particularly if individual wineries are interested in growing the market for the future