As you might have noticed there is a picture of a winery tasting room on our cover this month.

One of the most important, if not the most important profit centers in most wineries is the tasting room. A well-managed tasting room can make a huge difference to the bottom line.

This issue includes the 2008 Wine Business Monthly Tasting Room Survey Report. It shows that wineries are charging higher tasting fees, more are setting up wine clubs, and that many are offering greater cash incentives for employees who enroll new wine club members. Tasting rooms continue to evolve in their use of direct marketing techniques too.

I was a bit surprised at how few of the wineries said they apply tasting fees toward purchases. I've also long thought that tasting room employees were underpaid so it was encouraging to learn compensation levels are increasing, for wine club signups at least.

Savvy wineries work to develop new ways to maximize every opportunity to attract and hold onto customers, customers who will hopefully turn into loyal patrons for years to come.

Tasting rooms are the face of the brand and consumers have long memories. They remember the good-and the not-so-good. That's more true than ever these days, not just because of issues with distribution or because new markets have opened to direct shipping, but because the landscape is changing so rapidly because of the internet.

It's not just that consumers sometimes buy wine via the internet, it's that they can get so much information about a winery, or any business, online. How a customer is treated in the tasting room always leaves a lasting impression. Now consumers are writing about such experiences and are posting their notes online for posterity. Consumers, particularly the younger ones that will buy more and more wine in the future, are sharing their experiences via the internet.

Many wineries greet younger customers with open arms and create positive brand experiences, while others don't.

I was reminded of this again during a seminar held this April and organized by the grower association in Napa, where wine retailer/internet phenomenon Gary Vaynerchuk of New Jersey's Wine Library spoke and encouraged growers and vintners to "embrace their personal equity."

"Open your minds to the 25-year olds," Vaynerchuk advised. "Nothing is hidden in this world anymore. Good guys finish first because live streaming to the internet will be the norm in five years."

He reminded wineries not to be too snooty, saying, "Talk to the consumer instead of down to the consumer."

"If not, you will read about the day that Johnny John-John came to the winery and you were the biggest *!#$@ on earth," he said. "If Sally in your tasting room is the biggest $!*#? on earth, you're dead."

At any rate, wineries are taking their tasting rooms very seriously these days with good reason and, as the survey report shows, they are getting more sophisticated in their approach. Here's to giving customers memorable and enjoyable experiences in the tasting room.

--Cyril Penn, Editor