Wine Tourism at the Grenache Symposium

Wine Tourism at the Grenache Symposium – Love that Languedoc

A subject that came up a lot at the Grenache Symposium was oenotourism, or wine tourism. The idea is that tourism creates potential fans and potential ambassadors of your wine. If there’s one thing better than somebody who drinks your wine, it’s somebody who gets all their friends to drink your wine too!

So there are two little clips I want to show.

In one clip, Reva K Singh discusses the possibility of creating a capital for Grenache. By creating a sort of Ground Zero for Grenache, she can motivate her readership in India to travel to that capital with the specific goal of tasting delicious Grenache.

We talked about a lot of different areas that were viable candidates to be the “capital” of Grenache. While I want to say it’s the Roussillon or Catalunya, I understand that we can’t hog all the glory in the Languedoc-Roussillon. It might actually make more sense to favor an idea that the Mediterranean is the “capital” of Grenache. Mediterranean vacations speak to people all over the world as a sort of luxurious vacation spot. That high-profile can benefit the grape more than just saying the name of one city or one specific appellation like Chateauneuf du Pape.

Maybe this is a place for umbrella brands like Sud de France. That name is a lot catchier than Languedoc and it encompasses a lot of the Mediterranean wine producing regions. But then maybe it would alienate our friends in the Priorat and other Grenache producers who don’t consider themselves French.

I wonder if Australians, Americans, South Africa and everybody else producing delicious Grenache far from the Mediterranean would be okay with this idea.

Then Robert Joseph had an interesting bit to say about the lack of well-developed wine tourism in France. And this hits home. We really have a responsibility to set up an infrastructure for tourists who want to come to our country and taste wine. It’s our responsibility! I might translate this into French, because it will do more good in French than in English.

But anyway, Joseph talks about how French wine tourism is lacking and how we can learn a lot by observing Lafitte’s efforts in China. There’s money and power in tourism. It could be a major source of income for winemakers in the near future.

Tags: capital of Grenache, China, France, grenach symosium, grenache, India, Lafite, Lafitte, languedoc, mediterranean, oenotourism, Reva K Singh, robert joseph, roussillon, travel, vacation, wine tour, wine tourism

English | Ryan O'Connell June 17, 2010

26 Comments

By Louise Hurren, June 17, 2010 @ 11:21 pm

I would LOVE to work on a wine tourism project, if there are any Languedoc wineries out there eager to get stuck in. It doesn’t have to mean adding a whole restaurant/banqueting suite/luxury gites either… and conversely, it’s not enough to tack those kind of things onto your wine offer and then sit back. There is HUGE potential for growth in this sector in L-R and the rest of France.
By robert Joseph, June 18, 2010 @ 12:37 am

Thanks Ryan for making and posting this…
By Peter, June 18, 2010 @ 12:38 am

What about South Africa?
By Wink Lorch, June 18, 2010 @ 1:05 am

Thanks, Ryan for posting this really useful summary of the wine tourism discussions a tthe Grenach symposium. Arguably, there is too much discussion (especially in endless committees) about the potential of wine tourism in France, and not enough action.

However badly Robert paints the picture of wine tourism in France, there is at least awareness of the need to change and there are some successful recent projects. However, mainly, these involve huge amounts of money and large structures e.g. in Bordeaux (where else?) that is becoming truly deserving of the term Reva used of ‘great wine capital’. Yet, at the other end of the scale, the little Jura region has won awards for the way it has presented and promoted its wine route, yet this still would be daunting for most foreignors. The Languedoc in particular is more welcoming than even 5 years ago, with increasing numbers of wine estates offering chambres d’hôtes or even tables d’hôtes, but much more needs to be done and soon.

My informal researches indicate that not only is money/investment a barrier, but fear of the many legal and bureaucratic constraints. For example, it seems small family strucutred wineries do not want to charge individual visitors for tasting (which would then help pay for a family member of employee to look after welcoming visitors, plus essential toilets etc!) because if they charge they are then obliged to have a particular sort of licence which involves more form-filling, conditions etc.

To sum up, in my view in order to progress, French wine tourism needs less talk, less bureaucracy, more action and more creativity.
By Ryan O'Connell, June 18, 2010 @ 3:00 am

@Peter Oh dear. See I’ve already managed to offend somebody. Of course South Africa has some note worthy Grenache. And would a plan to create a Mediterranean capital of Grenache alienate these hard working winemakers? Would calling one area the capital of Grenache hurt other areas or help them? GOOD QUESTIONS.

@Wink Thanks for Reading! Naturally, you’ve got a good grasp of what’s going on in wine travel. There is a lot of hope and potential. And I think Robert Joseph has admitted to that. But it’s like you said, there’s a lot of work to do. Not just talk. And as you point out, there are a lot of legal questions in France. Did you know that a small family winery isn’t allowed to make more than a certain percentage of their profit from their tourism revenue? The mairie and DDE won’t permit your project if it’s too big compared to your winery. And the zoning won’t allow you to declare tourism as your main source of income. It’s a nightmare.

@Robert Thanks for saying stuff that’s interesting enough to talk about on the web! Every panel needs a guy to ruffle the host country’s feathers and get people motivated.
By Ryan O'Connell, June 18, 2010 @ 3:02 am

@Louise I like your call to action! Let’s do something!

I also enjoy that this comment section is like a who’s who on French wine tourism. Thank you all for reading and commenting. It looks like this subject deserves a little more space in my blog.
By Emma Kershaw, June 18, 2010 @ 3:04 am

At Vinecole we try to do just that, show visitors and locals, the wines of the region.
This is a fabulous place to be, exciting, dynamic and changing rapidly. However it is also a region that the majority of wine drinkers are unfamiliar with.
There is a lot of work to be done, and sadly small wineries do not have the resources to employ staff to host tastings and offer visits to tourists.
We need to work together more and I for one would be delighted to be involved in a Languedoc-Roussillon wine tourism campaign!
By Ryan O'Connell, June 18, 2010 @ 3:17 am

@Emma let’s start by doing an episode with Matthew Stubbs! The last time I called the number on Gayda’s website, I just got confused restaurant staff. I fail at using the phone. But you guys are set up do something mighty interesting!
By robert Joseph, June 18, 2010 @ 3:53 am

I’m glad to have helped to have kicked off this discussion. But could I make a more basic point. Wine tourism is simply an extension of communication with the consumer – along with newsletters, websites, social media etc. The French are generally bad at all of these. They don’t even like offering back labels on bottles. Until they learn that wine drinkers are people to talk to directly rather than via journalists, local promotional bodies and retailers, I really have no hope for them. As for the question of rules. These, like the restrictions on the use of grape varietal names on labels, are largely self-imposed. If they really wanted to, they could get round petty restrictions using the kind of ingenuity the way they bring to tax issues (by dividing estates and brands among family members, for example). My love of France is hopefully apparent in the books I’ve written, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling exasperated. The French don’t even need to look at the New World for role models of wine tourism. They could simply cross the border to Spain and Italy.
By Per-BKWine, June 18, 2010 @ 4:06 am

Apart from the general French bashing (there are other who aren’t good either), a different point might be worth bringing up:

If you look at some of the excellent things that have been done it is sometimes in a very different context. Take South Africa as an example (the only New World example that I know reasonably well): They do some very good wine tourism things there, almost every winery has a restaurant, other facilities, fun things etc etc.

It is much easier to do such things

a) when you have a business of sufficient size. SA has some 500 wineries on a surface area that is similar to Bordeaux with 10,000 wineries. This is again, a difficulty with the fragmented French wine industry (just like promoting their wines abroad). But that is also one of the reason why French wine is so fun. Imagine having only 500 Bordeaux wines to choose from. (Well, reading some of the press, that seems to be exactly the case…. “Write about 1GCC primeurs, but don’t mention affordable wines”…)

b) Geography might also have to do with it – much of SA winelands are close to Cape Town bringing many weekenders to the wineries. Same thing with the wine regions around San Francisco.

(But neither of this contradicts that much of French “oenotourism” initiatives are a bit lame.)
By Ed Ward, June 18, 2010 @ 4:16 am

For some unknown reason, neither of those videos load for me. But I, too, have some ideas about oeno- and gastro-tourism around here based on some research I did several years ago in Germany that I’d like to share with interested people, although they’re specifically aimed at marketing this area, its food, and its wine to Americans. Louise and I are already in touch about getting together and talking about this, and I’d happily set up a meeting with others if any ideas begin to coalesce.
By Per-BKWine, June 18, 2010 @ 4:32 am

Ed, I’m interested to know more about that work.
By Emma Kershaw, June 18, 2010 @ 4:54 am

Ryan anytime you want to speak to either Matt or I we would be delighted! The office number is 04 68 31 64 14 or contact either of us on info@vinecole.com

We both work hard at promoting the wines of this region and try to reach out to all levels of knowledge.
By Emma Kershaw, June 18, 2010 @ 5:38 am

Ed I too would be interested in knowing what you are doing
By Ed Ward, June 18, 2010 @ 6:32 am

I’m a bit hobbled, transportation-wise. I know where Ryan is, but where are Per and Emma located? I’m not doing anything at the moment; I’m a freelance journalist who hasn’t been in the area long (18 months), but one thing I’m interested in doing is some articles for American outlets, and I really need to educate myself, as well as spread some of the experience I’ve had around.

Anyway: ed@wardinfrance.com. Let’s talk.
By Ed Ward, June 18, 2010 @ 6:33 am

Oh, and I re-started my computer and the videos magically appeared. Dang fussy machines!
By hamish wakes-miller, June 19, 2010 @ 5:39 am

Hi Ryan
Interesting topic. I live in the Minervois and have worked in the UK and French wine trade for over 20 years. One of my current key objectives is to develop wine tourism in Bordeaux as well as the sun kissed mediterranean vineyards. There is certainly a massive opportunity to educate and entertain and give people confidence, faith, loyalty and trust in the wines and the people behind the wines.
I have also worked with wineries in Australia and South Africa and the comparison is interesting. The artisan French producers have an enormous charm. But there is a certain resistance to welcoming people and giving people a memorable experience. I think the opportunity is enormous and intend to do something!
By Wink Lorch, June 19, 2010 @ 10:23 am

Have just read/watched this interview (in French) with François Parent from Burgundy … not really surprising, hardly dynamic or encouraging, simply cautiously enthusiastic about the idea of wine tourism … a rather typical attitude I’d say from vignerons avertis (switched on growers) … http://www.bourgogne-live.com/2010/06/oenotourisme-favoriser-le-contact-pour-fideliser-interview-video-de-francois-parent-a-pommard/
By Ryan O'Connell, June 19, 2010 @ 11:27 am

@wink ya I just tweeted that. The first video is just depressing, but the second one shows that cautious optimism you were talking about. That’s better than flat out rejection. But I think that the idea that winemakers just don’t have time to receive guests is sort of untrue. We can make a little time to receive people. During the summer, I get a couple groups per week and really enjoy taking an afternoon off to see them.
By Lar Veale, June 19, 2010 @ 4:43 pm

Perhaps wine or oenotourism is just too myopic, shouldn’t it be just plain old tourism?

I’ll illustrate this with an anecdote. Years before I was into wine, I found myself backpacking around Australia. I found myself in a rural oasis called Margaret River, good for surfing and wine, apparently. There seemed to be a bit of buzz about the place, jazz, BBQ on the lawns of a different venue every day, which just so happened to be a vineyard.

How often do you read that a property is 50 hectares, 20 of which are planted, the rest garrigue?

What the hell are you doing with the other 30? Sure, they could be gites, but they could also be a concert venue, a campsite or anything else which could etch the name of your wine or your region onto the memories of visitors.

Gastronomy, heck even astronomy, whatever brings tourists to your area, it’s then when you can cross-sell your wines.

All those years ago, the jazz I was listening to was on the lawns of Leeuwin Estate, a name etched in memory because of the overall experience.
By Ryan O'Connell, June 20, 2010 @ 3:22 am

@Lar, interesting point! Tourism is tourism. It’s all about entertaining folks … and fun … and drinking.
By Ed Ward, June 20, 2010 @ 5:51 am

There are a lot of ways to deal with this so that growers can get on with what they do best. Certainly 99% of the wineries I visited in California didn’t have growers or vineyard workers there in the tasting rooms.
By Louise Hurren, June 24, 2010 @ 2:41 am

Picking up on Lar’s point, yes, tourism involving wineries can be so many different things. Winemakers need to get over the idea that wine tourism is just about tasting rooms, shops and tours round the vineyard (snore). My favourite example of a Languedoc winery doing cool stuff right now is Mas Morties: their Cinevin nights (July 2 and 3 this year) are fun, funky events that draw folk from Montpellier and around to watch films (this year it’s the Coen brothers – The Big Lebowski rocks). I’ll be there, lounging on the grass on a dark summer’s evening, with a bottle, blanket and picnic basket by my side. heh heh.