Pinotblogger: the Capozzi Winery blog

I was reading a funny post over at Huevos con Vino about a nightmare winery experience that the author Alex once had, and it got me thinking about a recent scene at a friend’s winery this past Memorial Day weekend.

My friend and my wife and I were sitting inconspicuously in the entry killing time, when in walked a group of five asking for a tour. They said they were down from Washington, and had sought out the winery as a special part of their trip.

The winery in question (which shall remain nameless) is appointment only. They don’t have an allowance for a tasting room on their 02 (winery use permit) and have even gone so far as to place their sign behind an oak tree to discourage stray visitors from dropping by. Couple that with the fact that it was Memorial Day weekend and that all tours were full, and you can perhaps understand why the hospitality dude had to turn the group away.

I could tell the guy leading the group (who had probably led the charge to find the winery) was upset and embarrassed. He mentioned again that they were down from Washington, and could they make an exception? No cheese. They walked out.

Having watched all this unfold I turned to my friend, the CEO, and said, “You know you can be a hero right now. Just walk out there with a bottle and tell them that you normally don’t do this, but please enjoy this on the terrace as a special personal gift from me for coming all the way down here.”

Fifty bucks, I argued, was a small price to pay to create 5 ambassadors for your brand - especially given that he was spending close to 15 grand paving a new patio around the back. My friend looked at me like I was crazy. He said, “Do you know how much we sell in Washington? Like Nothing.”

I tried some more to persuade him (he mumbled something about it being against protocol), but eventually the group got tired of just looking at the grounds and drove off.

They’d just had a completely avoidable Bad Winery Experience. So sad.

I wish there was a happy ending to report, but I think this kind of thing happens too often in wineries in Napa and Sonoma. I’ve shared my thoughts on customer service before on this winery blog, and I’d like to see this change.

If you’d like to help, leave a comment to this post sharing your Bad Winery Experience. I think it will be educational not just for me, but others in the industry to see how we sometimes treat our customers. I know we can do better.