My wine journey begins with a little history about myself. I love wine. Not all wine, just 251 of the 259 popular, but not all, varietals of wine grapes grown in the world. Like many, I began as a sweet wine drinker, gradually moved into white wine and finally embraced all things RED! In no way do I consider myself an expert on wine. However, with more that five years of experience behind the tasting bar, I do consider myself to be quite good at treating people well. This blog is a compilation of stories that were gathered while visiting more than 135 wineries in 2011, and another 50...so far, in 2012. My traveling buddy Denise Gage aka "Road Dawg," travelled with me 80% of the time as we performed educational research (that's how we justified the write off on our tax returns and explained to her husband why we were sometimes late returning) throughout California's vast wine regions. As noted above in the title, there were several wineries that we re-visited (further research needed), and several that we would never return to.
Why would we not return?
Service. There is nothing more annoying than being dismissed or ignored while wine tasting. Yes, I have been ignored upon entering a tasting room. I have a little mental survey that I use called the" ten second acknowledgement." Unless a tasting room is preoccupied with an event or there is a huge number of people tasting, I make firm eye contact first with whomever is working the room. If I am not acknowledged...a nod, a smile, a middle finger (Just kidding) or anything that says, "I see you," I note the offenders name and bring it to the attention of the management. (I especially love when this person is the manager...shame on you!) . Secondly, I allow 30 seconds more of this bad behavior and begin take mental notes of what is going on around me. Understanding that there are several factors involved here, understaffing, untrained staff, staff having a bad day, manager is an idiot, assumptions about me, are just a few of the observations that were noted, regardless of whatever is going on, every customer is the most important person in the world lest they write a blog and crucify the winery!
Ok, that was a bit harsh. But seriously, when one is treated well, one will return. The wine does not even have to be that great. If I am acknowledged, respected and accommodated, I will buy a bottle of wine. If the winery exceeds these basic expectations, I will return with many friends and brag vigorously about the winery. One last point, if the winery speaks against another winery, I will visit the other winery, confirm what was said, and form my own opinions. (This is a big no-no in the industry, but does happen. Shame on you!)
To the best of my ability, I will try to write objectively and responsibly about the wineries we visited. Please enjoy the journey, and leave some feedback.
A votre sante!
Karen
Hey Y'all, I'm minoring in journalism. Please post your comments. They will be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThank you!