Season 2, Episode 2: Are Tasting Room Rules Killing the Vibe?

Release Date: November 14, 2025

In an age in which the tasting room is getting called “dead in the water,” Denise and Virginia explore the history behind the winery tasting room, how it has evolved over time, and one big barrier to entry for potential wine consumers. This episode truly highlights one of the big expectations that is put on consumers in terms of understanding and engaging with wine. Thus, if you are a winery that has experienced drops in tasting room sales, this episode may highlight one thing – the rules around wine tasting room engagement pushed by the rhetoric of the American wine industry.  

Links for things mentioned in this episode:

• Tasting Room History
  • Historically, wine is a social gathering beverage. Wine tends to bring people together over celebrations, food, or social events. In some ways, wine could be used to document time and enhance a given experience.
  • Wine has been used in religious ceremonies, in association with royalty, and as a status symbol amongst the wealthy or elite.
    • In the Gilded Era, wines were a status symbol.
  • Champagne eventually came onto the scene as the designated beverage to ring in the New Year.
  • Prohibition, though it was a time without legal consumption, really highlights how social wine is as a beverage.
  • Post-Prohibition and Post-WWII, the U.S. shifts with how we engage with wine. This is when production changes were made that altered wine styles changed closer to what we know today. This is also when branding became of great interest, especially to the elite.
  • Robert Mondavi gets credited for creating a tasting experience in Napa Valley, California in the 1960s. Up until this point, American wines were not popular amongst American wine consumers.
    • After this, many states and regions start to emerge in their Post-Prohibition stages of producing wine again.
    • Wine writers come into the stage in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Over time, this has evolved into wine bloggers, wine bloggers, and influencers on social media. 
    • Additionally, New World wine regions really bring agritourism to the forefront, inviting consumers to come to their front door. This was a big shift in how consumers gained access to wine.
      • In the U.S., these changes were attributed to some cultural influences:
        • The Judgement of Paris which is highlighted in the book, “The Judgement of Paris,” and the movie, “Bottle Shock.” Bottle Shock visualizes the transition of the wine industry primarily associated with agriculture into a destination-tourism industry.
        • The popularity of the movie “Sideways” influenced consumers’ minds on embracing certain wine grape varieties. These shifts in variety popularity were modeled and used for marketing wines up through about 2020.
• Rules going to a tasting room
  • When an individual searches for what to expect to go to a tasting room, the number one type of content that appears on Google are rules for going to a tasting room. Many of the articles contained at least 10 rules.
    • The fact that it is commonplace to impose rules on tasting room or winery guests is not an inviting way to communicate you want people to visit your tasting room. Unfortunately, this is the national industry’s communication. As a business, you need to figure out a way to confront this.
    • Imposing so many rules on consumers/visitors is not inclusive. Period. Some of these rules were very off-putting. 
    • These published rules are the barriers to entry for potential wine consumers. As an industry, when we talk about inclusiveness, this would be a very good place to start making changes because the rules make it feel like you have to be a certain type of person to enter a tasting room.
  • Some of the rules we found on the internet:
    • Shoe selection
    • Fragrance Free: It can be off-putting to declare that people visiting your winery or wine bar are not allowed to wear fragrances. Think about how this may impact customers wanting to visit your facility.
      • This rule is probably worth enforcing for staff to enhance the overall experience.
    • How Much to Drink
    • Expectorating (Spitting)
    • What to Talk About (as a Consumer)
    • Tipping: This is a newer rule that is becoming commonplace within the industry. And this is one of those things that is probably good to know prior to visiting a tasting room/winery.
      • Is this a new expectation in the American wine industry?
      • May be necessary when there is service.
      • If food is involved in your experience, it is possible tipping may be expected.
      • Otherwise, neither Virginia or Denise experienced tipping as an expectation.
    • Tasting Room Costs (Entry Fees)
    • Reservations
  • Hospitality 101: Over 2025, there has been a fair amount of discussion regarding a drop in good hospitality service within the wine industry. Here are a few things we noted are of the utmost importance:
    • Acknowledge people when they walk in the door and immediately take care of their needs.
    • For new wine drinkers (i.e., recently-turned-21-year-olds) visiting a tasting room for the first time, think about how nerve wracking of an experience a tasting room could be. Consider group invitations or events that are welcoming to these younger consumers and encourage exploration that suits their comfort levels. Tasting rooms and wineries are not bars or brew pubs, so there is a learning curve specific to engaging with wine. Because the industry has so many barrier to entries (i.e., rules, specific tasting locations, expected knowledge, cult brands, etc.), finding ways to engage comfortably with these new wine drinkers could influence their perspective on wine.
• What are expectations for going to a tasting room?
  • Immersive Experiences:
    • Robert Mondavi Winery (CA)
    • Francis Ford Coppola Winery (CA)
    • Ponzi Vineyards (OR)
  • Double check whether a winery allows visits with children.
  • Expect tastes of wine (1 – 1.5 oz. of wine per taste). Many wineries also have cut-offs for consumption allowance due to regulations around wineries.
    • You will typically find a pour-bucket and/or spittoons for wines you do not want to finish or would prefer to expectorate.
    • You are never expected to consume all of the wines.
  • Tasting rooms really are set up to be experiential and a part of the agritourism industry. They are not bars and are typically not restaurants (although restaurant or food allowances are currently changing for various wineries across the country). Visiting wineries is supposed to be enjoyable. Focus on how the experience makes you feel.
  • It will never hurt to check the winery’s website before visiting. Because there currently is so much variation in winery tasting rooms and what they offer, the website should give the consumer good information on what to expect when visiting.
  • If you are visiting a new wine region, check out the state or local tourism websites. They often have really good tips for visiting local wineries in the area.

Thank you for listening to another delicious episode of Voices of the Vine. You can find show notes for our episodes by subscribing to the DGW Podcast, or by visiting the Podcast archive, both available at www.dgwinemaking.com.

We love to talk about tasting wine on this podcast. Please remember that our podcast is about wine appreciation and education, but that we both support and encourage responsible alcohol consumption. Additionally, both of us are winemaking professionals, so we do not get paid for tasting wine. All opinions expressed here on our podcast are those of ours alone.

Today’s episode is produced, researched, and hosted by both Denise Gardner and myself, Virginia Mitchell. If you enjoyed today’s episode, we’d love for you to subscribe to Voices of the Vine on your favorite podcast platform. Plus, listener reviews go a long way for podcasters. If you could leave us a review on your platform of choice, we’d truly appreciate it.

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The views and opinions expressed through dgwinemaking.com are intended for general informational purposes only. Denise Gardner Winemaking does not assume any responsibility or liability for those winery, cidery, or alcohol-producing operations that choose to use any of the information seen here or within dgwinemaking.com.