The wine tasting room can be either the biggest driver or deterrer of sales for wineries. Your wine tasting room should not only reflect the winery itself but should be designed to drive sales through a combination of top-notch customer service, creating a social atmosphere, and display products. This blog post will provide guidance by giving a list of 6 tips for creating the perfect wine displays for your wine tasting room.

 

It’s Not Just About the Wine – Why Your Wine Tasting Room Matters 

You pour your heart into your wine, but don’t stop there. Give the wine tasting room the same attention given to the wines you make and/or sell. If a retail venture is new to you, follow the four “Es” to create an experience and drive sales. The four “Es” that are essential to creating an experience are education, esthetics, escape, and entertainment. Here are six tips that shows how to use them to enhance your wine tasting room and drive sales.

 

1. Interactive Customer Service

Tasting room staff should be making guests feel welcome in addition to being knowledgeable about wine. They can educate and entertain visitors while pouring a glass of wine by talking about the varietal, the soil it’s grown in, and the history of the winery and vineyards. Top-notch customer service can also influence sales of bottles or monthly wine clubs. Make it easy for these conversations to happen organically by utilizing a curved bar. Research has found that people find furniture with curves more relaxing than angular shapes. But what if you have a standard bar? Rely on materials to create a welcome feel. A warm material like natural stone or wood will appear more inviting than stainless steel or marble, which exude coolness.
In addition to your tasting room staff, you can rely on signage (easels, chalkboard signs, sign holders, placed around the room to educate your guests. Or use technology; smartphone users can link to your website via QR codes or a tablet holder can showcase a video playing on a loop.

 

2. Make it Social 

Sure, the bar is a no-brainer for people who are open to discussing the varietals with the staff, but some guests may feel uncomfortable conversing about wine or would rather discuss with the friends they are with (especially if they are not oenophiles). Add additional seating areas and spaces for them to linger and socialize. People visit tasting rooms for different reasons so take that into consideration when arranging your space. Wine enthusiasts may want to discuss their pours or flights in depth with a larger group of friends while a couple of tourists may just be enjoying a break from other sightseeing ventures and are looking to relax with a glass of wine. Mix it up with both small and communal tables.

 

3. Choose a Theme That Reflects Your Winery

A theme helps create a story, or experience, for your guests. But it needs to be cohesive with your brand to feel authentic. To best reflect your brand, choose a style that matches your wine. Traditional, old-world wines call for more traditional décor, such as rustic Tuscan (wood, murals of Tuscan vineyards) or a classic gentleman’s club (leather seating, wood panels). Earthy wines may stand out in a tasting room created with earthy materials of a Mediterranean theme (wood beams, stone walls, arches), and bold wines call for bold design with bright colors and graphic shapes. The goal is to create an escape for your guests.

 

4. Make Sure Your Tasting Room Décor Isn’t From 1999 

Wineries have come a long way since the 90s, and trends continue to keep them evolving. Even if it has been decades since you last updated your tasting room, you shouldn’t need a major renovation to make a major impact. Simply update artwork, replace glassware, create new wine displays, or upgrade technology to give it a refresh. Hang poster frames to hold artwork, use acrylic frames and sign holders to announce upcoming events at the winery, arrange acrylic risers to display awards, or use a 4 tray tilt shelf display with dividers to shelve wine bottles available for purchase. If guests don’t see the wine, they won’t buy any. You can also place bottles for purchase on a tiered display table to create a wine tower; arrange single bottles (empty or full) on tables, at the reservation or welcome stand, or lined up on the bar.

Also, don’t forget to use what already have for your wine displays—corks and empty wine bottles. Place corks in a wall-mounted acrylic shadow box or an acrylic cylinder riser, and why not make use of your empty wine bottles, too? Use them to create a wine bottle wall or screen, place in a custom display case to showcase varietals and show off your labels, or line them up on against a window to filter the natural light.

 

5. Center of Attention – Wine Tasting Table

Every room needs a focal point. Why not make it the reason people are there by creating a stunning wine tasting table. Plus, a table at the center of your tasting room will command attention and invite guests to linger. Work with your décor to match the aesthetics you’re going for. For instance, a long table in a wine cave mimics the shape of the room; a small table nestled into a cozy nook lends an intimate feel; wooden barrels (yours or one from shopPOPdisplays) with custom-sized round acrylic tops fit perfectly in traditional spaces, and simple seating/tables on a deck or patio space allow the vineyards to be part of the experience.

 

6. Complementary Signage and Displays
   

   

You pride yourself on a winery that stands out from competitors, so make your signage unique, too. The experts at shopPOPdisplays can help you create custom signage for your wine tasting room that’s on brand. In addition, we carry in-stock chalkboard signs, easels, countertop sign holders and wall-mounted sign holders to showcase your literature. For example, 1 1/2″ Acrylic Block Sign Holders can label pours that are available or a custom-printed 5×7 top loading acrylic sign holder display drink options if the wine list is more extensive.

A 31.5″w display banner with L frame single sided custom print or a custom-printed flag can direct guests to the tasting room from the parking lot. Consider a simple “Tasting Room” message or a branded sign with logo. A custom printed canvas display banner can announce/promote upcoming wine tastings; provide directions from the parking lot to the tasting room; announce operating hours; and more. They’re easy to assemble and even easier to store since they don’t take up much space.

 

Final Thoughts

We hope this blog post has inspired some new wine display ideas for your tasting room. At shopPOPdisplays we provide a wide range of products to help you create wine displays as unique as your winery. No matter the design you dream up, shopPOPdisplays can provide custom-sized or custom-printed products to make it a reality, so contact us today.