225 Winery Visits

Social Capital is Everything

In 2020, I wrote a piece about what I learned visiting 100 wineries across the world. Since that time, the bucket list pursuit has now reached 225 wineries visited (yes, I am a wine nerd and I do keep track on a spreadsheet).? Essentially, more data points in my quest to better understand human connection.?

The biggest change on this portion of the journey is that I now pour wine on the weekends at Silver Trident Winery in Yountville, California.? I have been part of the team now for over three years, coming aboard just as COVID was starting to dissipate and the glimmer of returning to some sense of normality was coming into view.?

Upon reflection, the wine world was on fire during COVID.? Wineries had to learn to become digital overnight.? Sales for Direct to Consumer (DTC) were growing at a phenomenal rate, because getting to the store or the restaurant was non-existent for a solid 24 months, if not 36.??

In post-COVID, the dynamics of the business are changing.? The ability to serve food and maintain a sense of sterile environments made for a challenging time and one that I hope we will not see again in our lifetime.? The supply chain, tariffs and intrastate trade battles continue to negatively impact the flow of wine to its desired destination to this day.

The generational consumption shifts are becoming more pronounced and the quiet migration away from imbibing to living a more healthy lifestyle plays out in the form of active social gatherings. The cultural zeitgeist is changing.?

CONTINUED LEARNING

My love for wine and the romance of the experience continues to fuel my interest to stay involved in the industry.? I view wine as “culture in a bottle” and it gives me great pleasure to find out about the customers I engage with on a weekly basis.??

The tasting room experiences at a winery are filled with human connection. You really get to know people you are pouring wine for in the hour or 90 minutes you spend with them. The thing that continues to hit home with me is that you rarely if ever ask someone “what they do”.? That just doesn’t matter in a tasting experience.?

It is about the moment.? It is about the smell, the swirl, the taste, the association of tasting a wine with your friends and or loved ones.? It is about making an indelible memory and leaving with a smile.? It is about sharing tales and finding out why people are at your winery.? What is their occasion?? Who are they with and what is their story?

JUXTAPOSITION

As an “industry person”, I now have a keener sensitivity to how I am treated at other wineries.? I am conscious of how I am greeted and how the wine ambassador or host reads the room (or not).? I continue to be amazed at the “robotic” approach to pouring wine without asking questions about my acumen or history with wine.? This is a missed opportunity to really understand your audience and to tailor your knowledge to fit the person or people in front of you.??

Being in a hurry to turn the table or get through the pour is not a good experience. Especially after you have paid a fee for the tasting.? In many respects, the wine tasting is very similar to a dining experience.? Lousy service can ruin a meal.??

SENSORY

My wife and I have had the good fortune to continue visiting wineries in the US and around the world.? Since that 2020 article, we have expanded our experiences into Portugal Douro Valley,? Carmel Valley, CA, a second stint through Right Bank Bordeaux , Arnold, California, San Luis Obsipo, a return visit to Willamette Valley, Oregon, a winery in Maine,? Lake Garda, Italy, the Bolgheri region in Italy, Walla Walla, Washington, Placer County, California and most recently the Sparking Wine regions of England.?

These experiences are all multi-sensory.? When you think about any of your favorite experiences in travel or food and wine circles, it comes with a multitude of touch points.? How you feel.? How you see.? How you taste.? How you smell.? How you hear. ?

On a deeper level it comes down to how you are seen.? How you are treated.? How your curiosity is peaked or rejected in the tonality of the conversation.? This to me, is a tell tale sign of what makes for a memorable experience or a put off experience.?

Even as an industry person, the response is mixed. The pretension of wine has permeated the industry lay person.? It comes with an attitude and aire that can be condescending and dismissive.? I really have an allergic reaction to this type of engagement.?

The industry as a whole needs to wake up and realize we are dealing with the Attention Economy and how we deliver on our experience will either earn you more attention or not.??

TRANSFERABLE

The biggest thing that I get to see in hosting people is that human connection is a difference maker.? Attempting to bridge social capital with complete strangers and build social capital with returning members or guests is the essential ingredient to achieving a happy outcome.??

This applies to all walks of life.? If we take the time to ask the question.? Listen to the response.? And, find a sense of common ground, social capital can be exchanged in a productive manner.?

I believe this currency of human connection is a universal truth.? When we make time for it, it flourishes.? When we don’t, we may not get a second chance, for attention is fleeting.? And memories are lasting.

NOW (How you are realizing this today)

1. What actions have you done today to improve a human connection??
2. Did you take an extra step to help someone today???
3. Can you identify 5 people to build social capital with by the end of the week????

NEW (How you will realize this tomorrow)

1. What steps will you take in your interactions going forward to build social capital?
2. Have you completed a User Guide for how you operate?? If not, do it by the end of August.?
3. Can you identify opportunities to build or bridge social capital by the end of the year?

NEXT (I see a world in which)?

I see a world in which building and or bridging social capital will become ever more important as we seek to find our place in a post COVID world.??

THE PAYOFF

"The fundamental law of human beings is interdependence. A person is a person through other persons." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu

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