Is Wine Tourism a Profitable Business?

©Calice Hospitality and Wines

Twenty years ago, wine tasting at a winery was still often free and without reservation , a gesture of hospitality intended to stimulate bottle sales. Today, wine tourism has changed scale: it is based on scripted experiences , reception areas designed for the public with professional teams . It is no longer a simple communication tool but a real economic activity , which must cover its costs and generate profitability.

From the welcoming gesture to the high-end experience

Today, visitors are no longer just looking for wines; they are buying a complete experience . This could be a seated tasting with food and wine pairings, an immersion in historic cellars, a tour with elaborate scenography, or even an exclusive dinner among the vines. This move upmarket is reflected in a continuous increase in prices. In the United States, a tasting cost less than $10 on average in the early 2010s; today, it costs around $40, and in Napa Valley, you have to pay around $75 for a standard package and more than $130 for a prestige experience, or even much more. In Champagne, some family estates still offer tours for 10 or 15 euros, while the big houses have prices close to 80 euros, with prestige packages sometimes exceeding 400 euros. In Rioja, the offerings most often range from 18 to 75 euros, in Tuscany they are around 60 euros, and in South Africa or New Zealand, tastings range from 20 to 30 euros for a simple formula to almost 90 euros for high-end experiences.

Quality as a driver of investment

These differences reflect the breadth of the range of experiences on offer. Investing in remarkable architecture , immersive scenography , or sophisticated tasting spaces can attract more visitors and justify high prices. But it also involves higher fixed costs : salaries of qualified staff, infrastructure maintenance, longer animation times, technological equipment. In other words, the higher the quality, the higher the break-even point .

A very contrasting fiscal and social framework depending on the country

Profitability also depends on the context in which the activity is carried out. VAT , for example, affects the public price paid by the visitor, and therefore the competitiveness between destinations. In France, it is set at 20%, in Spain wine tourism services are generally subject to the 21% rate, in South Africa it is 15%. In California, tastings are subject to local sales tax, which is around 8.75% in Napa and can reach 10.25% in Sonoma.

Added to this tax burden is the burden of social security contributions . In France, they represent around 45% of gross salary, making the country one of the most expensive in Europe for employing reception staff. In Spain, the rate is close to 30%, in Italy around 30% as well, and in Portugal around 24%. In the United States and South Africa, social security contributions are significantly lower. This means that the same visit billed at 50 euros including tax does not bring the same net return depending on the country , because the tax-free base and labor costs vary greatly.

Price as the keystone of the economic model

Price remains the cornerstone of the profitability of wine tourism. It must cover fixed costs , allow investments to be amortised , absorb commissions from distribution platforms , often ranging from 10% on specialist platforms to 20–25% on large international platforms, while remaining acceptable to customers. Too low, it jeopardises the economic balance; too high, it slows down attendance and can tarnish the image of the estate. The solution is to build a readable price list : an accessible entry level, a signature offer that embodies the identity of the estate and a prestige experience whose high price is fully justified by its content.

Towards more refined pricing and additional revenue

The future of wine tourism lies not in continually rising prices, but in more subtle management. Wineries would do well to draw inspiration from approaches similar to yield management : adjusting prices according to the season, day of the week, or time of day, differentiating the price of slots based on demand, and offering more accessible formats in the low season. These practices, if clear and transparent, would help smooth out visitor numbers and better optimize the economic equation, without degrading the visitor experience.

But profitability isn't just about price. It also involves creating additional revenue , which allows you to generate income with limited costs. These include additional on-site sales (box sets, limited editions, derivative products), setting up clubs or subscriptions , privatizing spaces for events , seasonal workshops such as tourist harvests, or even developing digital formats (online tastings, exclusive content). These are all levers that extend the experience and strengthen customer relations beyond the visit alone.

From showcase to profitable business

Wine tourism is no longer just an image tool: it must become an autonomous and sustainable economic activity . To achieve this, four levers must be combined: the quality of the experience , control of fixed costs , adaptation to the fiscal and social context , and intelligent pricing enriched with additional revenue . Price is not just a display: it is the keystone of the economic model , and it is on it that the capacity of wine tourism to establish itself as a truly profitable activity depends.

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𝘊𝘈𝘓𝘐𝘊𝘌 𝘏𝘖𝘚𝘗𝘐𝘛𝘈𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘠 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵: 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴.