Are wine routes genuine tourist products?

Wine routes have become one of the main tools for promoting vineyards. They connect estates, make landscapes more legible, and bring tourism coherence to regions whose organization remains largely shaped by production. Their success goes hand in hand with that of wine tourism, whose offerings have never been so rich or so visible, particularly in France. However, this growth masks a persistent confusion between route , destination, and tourism product . A route can exist physically, enjoy high visibility, and bring together numerous partners without allowing visitors to easily plan their stay. A map, signage, and a directory indicate where to go. They don't necessarily tell you what to experience, for how long, at what price, or how to book.

Behind the route, therefore, three essential questions arise: what value does the route actually create, who is responsible for promoting it, and how is the territorial offer transformed into marketable stays?

1. From the route to the destination infrastructure

The first wine routes addressed a specific need: making vineyards accessible. They connected scattered villages, estates, and heritage sites, while offering visitors a shared understanding of the region. At a time when properties were still largely closed to the public and tourist information was difficult to disseminate, the route itself was already the product.

Created in 1937, the Burgundy Grands Crus Wine Route is one of the most accomplished expressions of this first generation. It helped transform this vineyard into a space for discovery and remains, nearly 90 years later, the backbone of tourism and the landscape of the Côte-d'Or wine region. As its anniversary approaches in 2027, the Côte-d'Or Department has been allocated €7.7 million to modernize the road, with plans including nearly 600 harmonized signs, 60 totems, 20 rest areas, a new visual identity, and various landscaping improvements. This investment underscores that a road is not merely a promotional tool. It also serves as infrastructure for welcoming visitors and showcasing the region . The quality of the landscape, the clarity of the route, the rest stops, the consistency of the signage, and the integration of different modes of transport all contribute directly to the overall experience.

But not all wine routes serve the same purpose. Some reinforce a destination already known worldwide. Others are created to bring stakeholders together, foster a distinct identity, or give a relatively unknown wine region a touristic presence. The Forez-Roannais Wine Route in the Volcanic Loire Valley, developed from 2019 onwards with the assistance of CALICE Hospitality and Wines, falls into this second category. Its creation was not simply about marking a route. It was about connecting the vineyards of Roannais and Forez, building a shared identity, uniting professionals, and linking wine to landscapes, gastronomy, heritage, and sustainable transportation. The initial study, consultation, identity definition, and action plan were therefore as important a part of the project as the route itself.

Moldova offers another example, on a national scale. The organization of routes around its four historical wine regions and their integration into ITER VITIS, the European Wine Routes, has connected wineries, small producers, heritage sites, gastronomy, and events under a single national umbrella. The route here becomes a tool for structuring and raising the international profile of an emerging destination.

These examples show that wine routes have not lost their relevance. But they also highlight that a route's value lies solely in relation to the territorial ecosystem it seeks to strengthen . Renovating a historical route, developing a new destination, or building a national image do not serve the same objectives or rely on the same indicators of success. Moreover, the proliferation of routes has trivialized the concept. Having a wine route no longer truly distinguishes a destination. Rather than creating a route, the focus is now more on determining its impact beyond mere visibility: more stops, improved visitor flow, longer stays, or a more balanced distribution of spending across the region.

2. Governance, the true driving force of the road

The main weakness of many wine routes often becomes apparent after their launch. Signage is installed, maps are published, and a dedicated website is launched, but no organization subsequently has the necessary resources to sustainably manage the network . Responsibility is dispersed among several municipalities, tourist offices, wine organizations, and private operators. Each promotes a portion of what's on offer, without any single structure truly responsible for ensuring coherence. Schedules remain inconsistent, data is rarely consolidated, experiences are seldom repeated, and marketing is left to each individual provider. This fragmentation is not merely administrative; it results in significant lost revenue. A wine route relies on independent businesses, all of which benefit from the collective appeal of the region, but none of which can, on its own, finance its promotion, organize transportation, or transform the entire offering into a comprehensive tourism package. The route is a shared asset; therefore, it requires shared, but clearly defined, responsibility.

The Rutas del Vino de España model provides a particularly structured response to this issue. Coordinated by ACEVIN and supported by the The Spanish State Tourism Secretariat (Secretaría de Estado de Turismo) oversees 38 certified routes. Each route must have a management body, generally a public-private partnership, and adhere to a common set of standards covering governance, quality, services, signage, promotion, and marketing. These bodies bring together local authorities, wine organizations, wineries, accommodation providers, restaurants, museums, travel agencies, and activity companies. Their role extends beyond communication. They develop action plans, support professionals, monitor quality, create new experiences, and track the destination's performance. The strength of the Spanish model also lies in its National Tourism Observatory, which has been active since 2008. In 2024, the wineries and museums belonging to the network welcomed 3,036,878 visitors, a 2.22% increase year-on-year, and generated €112.3 million in direct economic benefits. This amount only covers visits, museums, and purchases made at these establishments. It excludes a large portion of expenses for accommodation, food, transportation, and leisure activities. Visitors to Spanish wine routes spend around €160 per day. This figure demonstrates how the value of wine tourism extends far beyond the vineyard gates. But above all, it reveals the usefulness of shared observation , which makes it possible to compare routes, identify target audiences, track seasonality, and measure the impact of investments.

Other regions have developed similar organizations, sometimes going beyond the very concept of a wine route. In South Africa, Stellenbosch Wine Routes became one of the founding members of Visit Stellenbosch in 2019, the official destination management organization. The wine route is thus part of a broader governance structure encompassing the entire local tourism economy. In Australia's Barossa Valley, this collaboration has gone even further. Barossa Australia, created in 2022 through the merger of the regional wine organization and the tourism body, represents more than 550 winegrowers, approximately 170 wineries, and 220 tourism operators. A single structure now encompasses wine, tourism, food, and the regional brand.

These models are not directly applicable to all regions. However, they highlight an often overlooked truth: a wine route cannot be successful without clearly defined governance, dedicated resources, and ongoing support. The route connects the places, but only organization can create lasting connections between stakeholders.

3. From territorial offer to marketable stay

Even when well-managed, a wine route doesn't automatically become a tourist product. It can bring together high-quality partners, possess a strong identity, and offer a wide variety of activities, yet still leave visitors to plan their own trips. In many cases, they find a map, a list of wineries, a few accommodations, and restaurant suggestions. They then have to check opening hours, contact each provider, compare offers, coordinate availability, organize their travel, and piece together a coherent itinerary themselves. The route tells them where to go, but doesn't always tell them what to book. However, it's precisely in this combination that much of the tourist value lies. In France, a visit or tasting cost an average of €18.80 per adult in 2024, with the average spend reaching €74.80, of which €56 was spent on wine. These results confirm the economic benefits of hospitality for wine estates, but they also show that the potential for the region extends far beyond the visit itself: accommodation, restaurants, transportation, heritage sites, events, outdoor activities, and local businesses. A visitor who enjoys a meal and then leaves does not generate the same economic impact as a traveler who spends two nights and spreads their spending across multiple providers.

The performance of a road should therefore not be assessed solely by the number of cellar entrances. It should also be evaluated according to its ability to:

• to transform day-trippers into tourists,

• extend the length of stay,

• increase daily expenditure

• distribute visitors across the entire territory,

• supporting non-wine professionals,

• reduce seasonality,

• to facilitate booking.

To achieve this, it is necessary to transform available resources into offerings tailored to different uses: a day of discovery, a wine and food weekend, a heritage stay, a cycling tour, a family experience, a premium itinerary, or a car-free trip. This requires clearly described and priced services, reliable availability, integration with accommodations and transportation options, and also a genuine marketing structure. This can take various forms: a local destination management company, partnerships with tour operators, a marketplace, packages developed with accommodations, or a shared booking system. The route itself is not necessarily intended to become a travel agency. However, it must ensure that the transition from inspiration to purchase actually occurs. Without this, the destination invests in its visibility but leaves the commercial transformation of demand to others or, more often, allows that demand to be lost in the face of complexity.

AI agents will gradually play a role in this integration. They will be able to combine a site visit, a restaurant, accommodation, and a mobility solution based on the traveler's profile. However, they will only be able to work with structured, geolocated, up-to-date, and bookable offers. Inaccurate information or experiences accessible only by phone are likely to be excluded from their suggestions. In this respect, artificial intelligence will not eliminate the need for territorial coordination. On the contrary, it could widen the gap between offers that are technically integrable and those that remain merely visible in a brochure or on a webpage.

Our conviction: to measure what the road actually produces

Wine routes retain a major territorial, heritage, and tourism function. They can showcase a vineyard, bring its stakeholders together, facilitate travel, and lend coherence to a destination. Their future no longer depends solely on the route itself; it also depends on what lies beyond: governance capable of energizing the region , an offering organized around visitor needs, and marketing channels that transform this offering into stays. This also implies evolving the indicators. The number of kilometers, signs, members, or visitors to wineries is no longer sufficient. It is also necessary to measure the proportion of bookable experiences, the conversion rate, the average length of stay, daily spending, the geographical distribution of visitor flows, and the value distributed among the various stakeholders.

Wine routes still have a bright future, provided they have the necessary human, organizational, digital, and commercial resources to fulfill their purpose. A wine route doesn't become a true tourism product simply by bringing together a range of offerings. It becomes one when it organizes its access to the market and transforms visitor traffic into shared value for the region.

CALICE Hospitality and Wines supports wine destinations in defining their strategy, structuring their governance, creating new wine routes and transforming their resources into marketable experiences and stays.

Contact us on www.calicehospitality.com

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