Barrel Tasting’s a wild success

Unless you were visiting out-of-town relatives last weekend, you
don’t need to be told that 12,000 people filled local backroads and
winery tasting rooms for the 32nd annual Barrel Tasting
weekend.
Caravans of cars, stretch limos, tour buses and occasional
bicyclists sipped, traipsed and partied from winery to winery all
along the Russian River Wine Road. A crowd of 12,000 visitors,
nearly half from out-of-state, crowded into the 130 participating
wineries.
And, the same crowds, traffic and fun seeking will be repeated
this weekend (March 12-14) for the finale of the mid-winter event,
first held in 1978 with just 18 participating wineries.
“We sold 18,500 advance tickets and only 9,000 of those were
inside of California,” reported Beth Costa, executive director of
the Wine Road. The wildly popular success of the event is not
without its critics. “We hear about the younger people having too
much fun, but it’s really a small number and honestly there’s just
as many 40-year-olds that drink too much as the younger ones.”
Participating wineries are not among the critics, with several
wineries reporting sales over $20,000 for the weekend. Some of the
smaller wineries do as much as half their annual sales over the two
Barrel Tasting weekends.
The event features winemakers and winery owners offering barrel
samples of future wines from their cellars, along with mid-winter
special discounts on cases and recent vintages. Visitors meet,
converse and get educated about winemaking, consuming and
sharing.
“It’s all about building relationships,” said Costa. “These
young people and everyone want to meet and get to know the
winemakers. It’s part of the experience. It’s not just a bottle on
a grocery store shelf.”
Orignally a free event where you brought your own glass, Barrel
Tasting admission is now $30 for an entire weekend of unlimited
tasting.
For weeks leading up to the event, Costa stayed in touch with
the descending crowds via the Wine Roads Facebook account on the
Internet. “We sold tickets in 47 states, Canada and the United
Kingdom,” she said.
Unlike earlier years, local inns and bed-and-breakfast
establishments — as well as downtown retail stores — don’t reap the
same bookings and benefits as they once did.
“I think more of the people are renting whole houses or staying
at larger hotels with multiple rooms,” said Costa. “I know the
bookings are down, but I think the restaurants still get good
traffic.”
The Wine Road hires California Highway Patrol officers for the
event and holds a series of “responsible hospitality” workshops for
participating wineries and tasting room staff.
Not all wineries are open the entire weekend. For specific hours
and wine offerings visit the Russian River Wine Road’s website at
www.wineroad.com.