{"id":46101,"date":"2026-09-18T14:14:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T12:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vinexposium.com\/industry\/sonal-holland-mws-full-circle-moment-2\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T16:51:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T14:51:43","slug":"offering-experience-the-new-economics-of-wine-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vinexposium.com\/en\/actus\/art-de-vivre\/offering-experience-the-new-economics-of-wine-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"Offering experience: The new economics of wine tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Auteure : <\/strong>Nimmi Malhotra<\/p>\n

Today’s wine travellers seek immersion, authenticity and participation. The Great Wine Capitals Network examines how experiential tourism is reshaping winery visits, visitor spending and destination competitiveness.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For much of the 20th century, travel itself was an attraction. Tourism remained exclusive, and visitors were primarily concerned with one question: \u201cWhere can I go?\u201d But as travel became more accessible, destinations could no longer compete on access alone, and service emerged as a key differentiator: leading hotels, restaurants and wineries began investing in hospitality and visitor facilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cexperience economy\u201d has transformed consumer expectations, and for wine tourism, this means moving beyond traditional tastings towards experiences that can create emotional connections and lasting memories. Today, the key question is: \u201cWhat will I remember?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Changing visitor profiles are having a significant impact on the evolution of wine tourism offerings. While traditional tastings and cellar tours remain valuable for first-time wine tourists seeking to understand wine and the production process, more experienced travellers increasingly look for authentic, immersive and memorable experiences that go beyond the winery visit itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vue Monteleone \u00a9 Masi Agricola<\/p>\n

As a result, wineries no longer benchmark themselves solely against neighbouring estates or other wine regions. Visitors compare experiences across all types of travel. Someone who has enjoyed a truffle-hunting excursion around Bordeaux, a cooking class in Mendoza, or a wellness retreat in Hawke\u2019s Bay brings those expectations to their next wine tourism experience. A cellar tour in South Australia is therefore measured against the best tourism experiences that visitors have encountered anywhere in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

While wine remains the foundation of most visits, it increasingly serves as a gateway to broader narratives involving a wine region\u2019s landscape, gastronomy and culture. For example, visitors can immerse themselves in the installation L’Anima dell’Amarone (“The Soul of Amarone”) at Monteleone21, Masi’s new experiential hub in Valpolicella, Italy \u2014 and Best Of Wine Tourism Awards Winner for Verona in 2025. The work by internationally renowned video artist Fabrizio Plessi transforms the monumental grape-drying hall into what he describes as a “Cathedral of Amarone,” a space where wine, contemporary art, sound and technology converge. Visitors are invited to embark on a symbolic journey through monumental projections, flowing cascades of wine generated through artificial intelligence, evocative soundscapes and visual references to the traditions of Amarone production. Rather than simply learning about winemaking, guests are immersed in an emotional visual interpretation of the wine itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding the \u201cexperience economy\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The idea of the \u201cexperience economy\u201d came from American academics Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, who in 1998 argued that businesses increasingly create value not through products or services alone but through outstanding experiences that linger with customers long after purchase. These experiences can be positioned along two axes \u2014 based on their active or passive participation and their absorption or immersion in the experience \u2014 and into four realms:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Entertainment: <\/b>Visitors passively engage and absorb the experience, which is centred on enjoyment. Examples include concerts in vineyards, storytelling evenings or guided experiences enriched by humour and engaging narratives.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Educational: <\/b>Visitors actively engage in and learn from (absorb) the experience. Tastings and cellar visits typically fall within this category, while blending workshops and viticulture masterclasses deepen the educational dimension.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Aesthetic: <\/b>These experiences immerse visitors in an environment without requiring active participation. Vineyard landscapes, winery architecture, art installations and scenic viewpoints all contribute to this dimension, which is naturally present in many wine regions.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Escapist<\/b>: These experiences combine immersion with active participation, making visitors a part of the experience rather than merely observers. Examples can include grape harvesting or horse riding through vineyards.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The most successful wine tourism products combine all four realms or dimensions. Immersive experiences play a pivotal role, transforming visitors from observers into participants. In Spain\u2019s Bilbao-Rioja region, for example, Bodegas Valdelana\u2019s Wine Pairing Under the Stars pairs wine tasting with astronomical observation, inviting visitors to discover the night sky as they sample local wines. Rather than focusing exclusively on wine, Bodegas Valdelana (a Best Of Wine Tourism Awards Winner) engages several experiential realms simultaneously, combining educational, aesthetic, entertainment and escapist dimensions through astronomy, wine and the shared atmosphere of discovery. Visitors do not simply taste wine; they help to create a moment that they are likely to remember long after the last glass has been emptied.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Femme Swing on the Valdelana lookout point \u00a9 Bodegas Valdelana<\/p>\n

    Putting a price on experience<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

    Pine and Gilmore illustrate the evolution of economic value through a cup of coffee: the beans are sold as a commodity for a few cents, and a prepared cup of coffee is sold as a service for a few euros. Yet consumers are willingly pay significantly more for the experience of enjoying that coffee in a distinctive setting. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Traditionally, wineries have captured value primarily through the bottle. Visitors pay for a tangible product whose quality and price can be compared with competing wines. Experiential tourism turns wine into one element of a broader offering.<\/p>\n

    As experiences become more distinctive and difficult to compare, price comparisons become less straightforward, while the memories they create continue to generate value long after the visit. Guests are no longer evaluating the cost of a tasting or a bottle, but rather the overall value of the experience.<\/p>\n

    This enables businesses to command premium prices within their market segment while also encouraging longer stays, repeat visitation and higher wine sales. Research across tourism and hospitality consistently shows that travellers are willing to pay premium prices for distinctive experiences. Furthermore, the highest-spending visitor is often not the most knowledgeable wine consumer, but the one who forms the strongest emotional connection to the place, the people and the story behind the wine.<\/p>\n

    Experiences for wineries of all sizes<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

    A common misconception is that only large wineries can create compelling experiences because they have luxury accommodations, iconic architecture or substantial event budgets. In fact, many smaller wineries have distinctive assets that larger businesses often struggle to replicate, including direct access to owners, family heritage, authenticity, flexibility and exclusive behind-the-scenes access.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The challenge is not to create experiences from scratch, but to recognise the experiential value of what already exists and to move from showcasing wine production to involving guests in co-creating their visit. Some of the most memorable experiences emerge from simple shifts in perspective. Showing a vineyard, for example, becomes walking through it with visitors and involving them in seasonal activities. Explaining blending becomes allowing visitors to create their own blend. A family story becomes an opportunity to introduce visitors to the people behind it. And encountering vineyard animals becomes a simple joy of connecting with nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Experiential tourism also offers a way to reduce seasonality. Every stage of the winegrowing cycle can become an experience: pruning workshops in winter, biodiversity walks in spring, harvest in late summer and blending workshops after harvest. Rather than concentrating activity during peak season, wineries can create reasons to visit year-round.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Partnerships provide another powerful way to expand experiences without having to develop every component in-house. By collaborating with local chefs, artisans, artists, musicians, guides or wellness practitioners, wineries can enrich their offer without major investment while strengthening connections with the local community and reinforcing the destination’s unique identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

    For example, Weingut Domhof, a family-owned winery in Rheinhessen, Germany, has successfully developed a range of immersive visitor experiences with minimal financial investment. Rather than relying on new infrastructure, the winery transformed existing spaces, tools and everyday operations into experiential products centred on storytelling and active engagement. Its most successful initiative is an escape room located in the wine cellar, where guests solve puzzles inspired by the winery and its history. The same principle underpins other offerings, including geocaching trails, murder mystery dinners and wine quiz evenings. Weingut Domhof says the key investment was not financial but creative: developing stories, scenarios and activities that encourage visitors to engage actively with the place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The experience economy rewards wineries that create the strongest emotional connection rather than those with the largest budgets. In an era when visitors increasingly seek trustworthiness and meaning, smaller wineries may have a competitive advantage because they can offer intimacy, access and genuine human relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The next step in the evolution for wineries operating within the experience economy is to intentionally design experiences that create lasting personal value and contribute to visitors’ sense of learning, well-being or self-discovery. This \u201ctransformation economy\u201d is not a replacement for the experience economy but its natural evolution. <\/span><\/p>\n

    About Great Wine Capitals :
    \n<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

    \"Logo<\/p>\n

    The Great Wine Capitals Global Network<\/strong> is an international alliance of renowned wine regions and their cities, founded in Bordeaux in 1999. It brings together leading destinations where wine and wine tourism shape culture, economy, and community life, offering a unique platform for cooperation, innovation, and global promotion. Through joint projects and shared values, the Network showcases the excellence of its members and strengthens the visibility and competitiveness of great wine regions worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Auteure : Nimmi Malhotra Today’s wine travellers seek immersion, authenticity and participation. The Great Wine Capitals Network examines how experiential tourism is reshaping winery visits, visitor spending and destination competitiveness. For much of the 20th century, travel (\u2026)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":46107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[343],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-de-vivre","format-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOffering experience: The new economics of wine tourism – Vinexposium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vinexposium.com\/en\/actus\/art-de-vivre\/offering-experience-the-new-economics-of-wine-tourism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Offering experience: The new economics of wine tourism – Vinexposium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Auteure : Nimmi Malhotra Today’s wine travellers seek immersion, authenticity and participation. 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