Tips for Visiting a Winery
Want to be a pro at visiting a winery?
Here are some of my tips:
Check social media or the website of the winery before you travel to it
Social media accounts and websites for wineries and vineyards are usually kept fairly up-to-date so checking ahead for their hours, wines and protocols is a good idea. Many wineries are open year round but not every day and there are a few that close during the winter. You don’t want to make the trip and find out, when you arrive, that they are not open.
Do your research
Check to see what wines are offered (some people are more prone to white over red and vice versa so see what the selections are ahead of time) has seating for your party (if you are coming with a large group), what their tastings, tours and other facets of their winery are before heading out. I learned at one winery, you had to reserve a table and that you couldn’t walk around the winery with a glass of wine. This helped me plan better for my time at this winery.
Have a designated driver or plan to visit only one winery
Safety is of great importance when alcohol is involved. Whether you designate someone to be the driver, or you hire someone (Uber, Lyft, Rideshare service) to drive you, be sure to have a plan. I’ve been told that if you have a group of friends who enjoy going to wineries, do a “rotation” system where one person is the designated driver and the other friends have to chip in and buy a bottle of wine from the winery they all visited for that friend to have later at home. And then rotate a different person be the designated driver on the next winery trip.
Dress appropriately
My key tip here is… dress comfortably. Not only are you perhaps standing at a tasting bar, or walking around inside a winery venue, but you may be visiting at a time when the weather is nice out and you are taking a tour or just strolling around the grounds. Vineyards and wineries are also farms and this means you want to have shoes that can handle various types of surfaces. I wrote an entire blog post on “What to Wear to a Winery” so be sure to check it out.
Be nice to winery staff
In my opinion, this is actually the most valuable tip. While you are visiting a winery, enjoying wine, the beautiful scenery and maybe having some snacks or food from a food truck onsite, you are going to be interacting with the hardworking staff at a winery. And these people have trained on the establishment you are visiting, they have lots of knowledge and they are happy you are spending time there and drinking the wine. But, you must remember, they are WORKING. So, if things are a little busy, or perhaps a line is long, don’t run over and complain to a staff member or state loudly some remark about how slow things are at that moment. Instead, try to chat up people in line and help make the time go by. Talk about your favorite things at that winery and especially your favorite wine or wines. Make an effort to thank the staff members you interact with and smile. They want you to have a good time and tell others about your awesome experience so you’ll get other people interested and want to visit as well. And you never know what new friends you might make. I sure have been lucky in meeting some amazing people who I am now proud to call my friends.
Take pictures and share with others
If you don’t share a picture on social media… did it really happen? Wink, wink. Seriously though, be sure to take pictures and selfies and post them on your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Tik Tok accounts. The more nice things you can share about your visits to Connecticut’s wineries and vineyards, the more you support these wonderful local and small businesses and keep people coming back year after year.
And a final, important tip – Have fun!
If you have any other tips or suggestions to share, please leave them in the comments below. It will be helpful for others when they plan their visits.