Q&A: Wine & Food Questions
Wine Tasting Fees
More and more wineries are charging a tasting fee and it is understandable. I like their wine, I always buy at least one bottle unless the tasting fees are not applied towards the purchase. Why is it that some wineries allow the fee to apply towards a purchase while others do not?
Answer From Expert Roger C. Bohmrich, MW
I would say that there are two general reasons that wineries charge a tasting fee: first, to offset the cost of the wine served and the overall tasting room expenses; second, to discourage those who go from winery to winery to drink as much wine as possible. I would think that a winery which does not permit the fee to be applied toward a purchase falls into the cost-saving category.
About The Expert
Roger has enjoyed a lengthy career in the wine trade as an importer and retailer, and at present he is an educator, speaker and consultant. He set up and managed Millesima USA, a New York merchant affiliated with Europe's leader in direct sales of fine wines to consumers. Previously, he served as senior executive of Frederick Wildman & Sons, traveling regularly around the world to visit wineries and taste the new vintage from barrel. Roger became one of America's first Masters of Wine in 1993.
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