Appointment-Only Wine Tasting

There are over 400 wineries in Napa and another 400+ in Sonoma County. So when visiting you won't exactly run out of choices. However, many tasting rooms that were once allowing drop-in tasting now require an appointment. Why the change?

Nobody likes this -- visitors or staff

The latest statistics show over 60% of Napa wineries require an appointment. Another 20% will do appointments or drop-ins. Ones that do both may mean some days are appointment-only (probably weekends), other days drop-ins are okay. Or it may mean an appointment is for a more elevated sit-down tasting. In Sonoma County about 30% are appt-only with another 20% doing appointments and drop-ins.

In the last few years along with the good economy and lots of travelers to the area many wineries that once were walk-in tasting rooms have gone to appt-only either all the time or just on weekends. Why? Two reasons:

1. Crowd control. Things just get a little crazy at a small tasting room that might have one of two employees when there are dozens of people there on a Saturday afternoon. Some tasting rooms, roads, and parking lots can't handle the traffic. Local governments may cap the number of visitors many wineries can see because of the neighbors or the narrow country roads.
2. Dollars spent per visitor. There are studies showing you get more money spent on wine for a seated tasting experience vs. a tasting bar where people are lined up two deep. That just makes sense. So winery management will say, "If we can make the same amount of money with less staff and fewer visitors why would we want uncontrolled access?"

Don't worry as there are plenty of wineries, big and small, you can visit without an appointment. You probably want to check winery web pages before visiting to be sure you can just stop by. It's a good idea to check for other reasons too, like hours, pet policy, and bringing in food.

Figure about $25 for a tasting fee in Napa Valley (some will be less, some a lot more). The average in Sonoma County seems to be about $15.

Stats are from Silicon Valley Bank