Wine Road event recap
Winter WINEland
Martin Luther King Jr. birthday weekend (2 or 3 weekend in January)
11:00-4:00
2016 will be the 24th Annual
6000 tickets
$45 weekend, $30 Sunday, $10 Designated Driver ($60, $40, $20 at the door)
Winery Participation:
2015 – 137
2014 – 139
2013 – 136
2 paid security to stroll Healdsburg Plaza both days (Titan Security) 1:00-6:00pm
2 highway patrol to cruise the valleys both days, from noon-5:00pm
Security and CHP expense is typically $3500
Barrel Tasting (annual event)
1st two weekends in March (Fri, Sat, Sun – each weekend)
11:00-4:00
2016 will be the 38th Annual
7500 per weekend
$40 per wknd, $5 for D. Drivers ($60 weekend, $40 Sunday, $10 Driver at the door
Winery Participation:
2015 – 131
2014 – 129
2013 – 123
2 paid security to stroll Healdsburg Plaza both days (Titan Security)
2 highway patrol to cruise the valleys Sat & Sun, both weekends from noon-5:00pm
Security and CHP expense is typically $7000
Explore Along the Wine Road (Wine Tourism Day – annual event)
2nd Saturday in May – normal winery hours (vary by winery)
2016 will be our 3rd Annual
$30 for the day – we sold 150 tickets – goal of selling 500
60 wineries participated in both 2014 & 2015
Wine & Food Affair (annual event)
1st full weekend in November
11:00-4:00 both days
2015 will be the 17th Annual
5500 tickets
$75 weekend, $50 Sunday Only $35 D. Driver
Winery Participation:
2014 – 112
2013 – 103
2012 – 101
2 paid security to stroll Healdsburg Plaza both days (Titan Security) 1:00-6:00pm
2 highway patrol to cruise the valleys both days, from noon-5:00pm
Security and CHP expense is typically $3500
Wine Road has provided Responsible Hospitality Training at no charge to our members for 14 years. We coordinate the training twice a year, we typically have 90-110 attendees at EVERY training. To date we have provided training to 2200 +/- winery owners and their staff. For new winery members it is a requirement they attend the training prior to participating in any Wine Road sponsored event.
Cost $30,000+ over the past 14 years for this training
Wine Road created an “Event Planning Tips” video, which we shared at our Pre-Event Meeting for Barrel Tasting. It was then shared with all of our members via our member email list.
Cost $3000, John Beck was the videographer
Wine Road has created two different “Tasting Tips” videos for consumers, both are shared via our website, YouTube and other social media sites. This video was customized, copied and distributed to various local transportation companies who wanted to share it with their guests prior to driving them on a tour.
Cost $3000 each, John Beck was the videographer
Cost to duplicate and distribute to Pure Luxury, CA Wine Tours, Beau Limousine $800
Wine Road has designed and distributed multiple large signs for use during events – see attached: No Beer, Tasting Ends at Discretion of Management, No One Under the Age of 21, No Wine Past This Point
Cost to print and design, over the past 5 years: $6000
We have made a conscious effort to BAN full-size buses at Barrel Tasting.
When ordering tickets a guest is REQUIRED to sign a waiver stating they understand full-size (24 passenger or larger) buses are NOT allowed.
This is printed on their ticket once they complete their purchase. We send email reminders prior to each event reminding them, no buses, intoxicated tasters will not be served, bring your current photo ID etc.
Our ticketing page is set to limit the number of tickets purchased to 7 per order, thus reminding customers; many wineries BAN groups of 8 or more.
We have produced multiple blog posts covering the topic of responsible tasting, and correct event behavior along with a never-ending series of tips on our various social media platforms.
At the high point of Barrel Tasting, we sold 30,000 tickets over two weekends in 2007.
We have continued to raise the price, limit buses, hire security, train staff and educate attendees – thus dropping ticket sales to approx. 15,000 for the two weekends. A very manageable number overall considering the geographical area we are covering, this is not one valley, but a 30 mile radius; Alexander, Dry Creek, Russian River valleys, the towns of Santa Rosa, Windsor, Geyserville and Healdsburg.