Going on a winery tour doesn’t mean you have to know a lot about wines. In fact, you’ll find that the most charming people on the planet are the wine makers as they patiently explain the process of winemaking and are even generous in the samples that they let you taste. Local guides will even give you helpful tips, suggestions, and advice on how to store and serve the wine, as well as explain to you the symmetry between wine and food, which is always useful when you attend that next formal dinner party.
So if you were to go on a winery tour, you can expect nothing but enjoying yourself, enjoying the scenic views, and of course, the free lunch and drinks.
But who are the types of people you can expect to meet and mingle with at winery tours? A lot of us seem to think that the people who frequent these tours are wine connoisseurs, accomplished chefs, and rich people with discriminating tastes. Upon closer inspection, you will see that the people who go to winery tours are, in fact, wine connoisseurs, accomplished chefs, and rich people with discriminating tastes. But the thing is, just like yourself, they are here to learn and educate themselves, because quite frankly, wines are such a broad subject. You can never learn enough about them. These people can be classified into three types: wine experts, wine makers and wine tasters.
Wine connoisseurs or experts come on these tours to update themselves on any new varietal that they can buy for the next dinner party they’re planning. That accomplished chef standing next to you is opening up a new restaurant and may want to see what he can add to his wine lists or what may go well with that new recipe he’s concocting. That gentleman across the room may simply be bored from visiting gift shops and want to try something new to occupy his time. You may even encounter a couple who have never drunk wine more than 2-4 times a month, have never read or bought any wine magazines, but they are there because they think wine is interesting. Wine bloggers may also be joining these tours to take a sip of old and latest wines, so they can write about it and make reviews for their followers and readers worldwide.
Wine makers, on the other hand, are those who don’t actually own vineyards but simply love the art of making wine, whether they do it by fermentation or using wine kits. They go on these tours to hone their skills and possibly be able to get ideas about producing bolder and edgier wines. And then, of course, there are wine tasters who are a combination of all three types. However, they mostly go on these tours simply for the love of wine and its taste. They are also the type to host their own wine-tasting parties, and these days, there are even those who are paid highly just to go to these winery tours.
The point of going to a winery tour is education. Yes, people who go there know a thing or two about wine but not everything about it. In fact, ask any wine maker, and they’ll tell you that they have the most fun doing winery tours for people who’ve never visited a winery before, because you can be sure these people will hang on to their every word and ask all the good questions. Besides, even though wines can be an intimidating subject, it is something that always comes up during conversations every time, so you’ll want to be able to hold your own, right?
It is also quite easy to book a winery tour, whether you’re going alone or with a group of friends and family. Even some wineries open their doors to tourists who need accommodations. You don’t need to book a hotel and winery tour separately if a nice winery estate is set up with rooms and amenities you can enjoy while on a holiday.
These tours are meant to be a fun learning experience that is open to all. It is also a venue to meet other wine lovers like you, so you can extend your network and learn more about wine from other people as well. You don’t have to be an expert to be eligible to join. You just need to be enthusiastic about your trip, and everything about it will be enjoyable and fun.