Structured winery events designed around participatory, multisensory, and social formats achieve 67% repeat attendance rates compared to 28% for standard tasting experiences, because they generate memories and social bonds rather than product evaluations. The design principles that drive repeat attendance are: a narrative arc (the event tells a story with a beginning, middle, and reveal), an active participation element (guests do something, not just taste), a social prompt (a reason to interact with other guests), and a takeaway (something physical or photographic that extends the memory). Standard pours-at-a-table tastings lack all four elements, which is why they produce low repeat rates regardless of wine quality.
Hello there, the WISEr.
Consider the pattern many wineries observe: Quarterly tastings. The same 40 members show up every time. New members attend once and never return.
The regular attendees often report they’re coming for community and the friendships they’ve formed with other members, not for wine education. The one-time attendees leave because no community connection was made. The event design creates community accidentally for some — people who happen to meet others naturally — but not systematically for everyone.
Loyalty Sommelier wineries designing events as intentional community-building experiences (not wine-education sessions) typically see far higher repeat attendance and markedly higher member engagement through experiences that create belonging beyond the wine itself.
Why Wine Tastings Don’t Build Community
Traditional wine tasting format: Passive consumption. Members arrive, grab glass, taste wines. The winemaker presents information. Members listen, occasionally ask questions. No structured interaction between members. Event ends, members leave.
This format works once. It’s fine for learning about wines. But it doesn’t create reasons to return. Once you’ve tasted the wines and heard the winemaker’s story, what’s the compelling reason to attend the next quarterly tasting? “To taste next quarter’s releases” isn’t enough. Members can taste wines through shipments. Community — friendships with other members who share their passion for wine — is what brings them back.
Step 1: Shared Experience Design
First principle: Events should create experiences members participate in together, not presentations they passively watch.
Instead of a wine tasting with a winemaker presentation, try a blending workshop where members create custom blends in small groups. Members work together (shared activity creates bonding), discussion happens naturally (debating which lots to use), stakes are low but engagement is high, and members leave with a unique wine they created together.
Instead of a food and wine pairing lecture, try a cooking class where members prepare dishes in teams, then pair them with wines. Teamwork requires member-to-member interaction, shared accomplishment, natural conversation while cooking, and genuine learning through doing versus passive listening.
Instead of a vineyard tour with a viticulturist explaining practices, try harvest participation where members sort grapes, punch down fermenting wine, and work alongside the winemaking team. Physical activity together creates camaraderie, behind-the-scenes access feels exclusive, and contributing to the actual vintage creates ownership: “I helped make the 2024 Pinot!”
Wineries implementing harvest participation events may see: Before (traditional vineyard tours) — viticulturist-led groups, passive learning, repeat attendance: low. After (hands-on harvest participation) — members arrived at 7am, sorted grapes for 2 hours, helped punch down fermenting tanks, worked alongside the winemaking team, received a signed bottle from the exact lot they worked. Repeat attendance: high. A solid core of members returned for the “reunion harvest” annually. The difference: passive tour versus active participation in creating wine they’d later drink together.
Step 2: Intentional Connection Points
Second principle: Structure moments that force member-to-member interaction. Don’t leave the connection to chance.
Assigned seating mixes newcomers with regulars. Instead of open seating where members cluster with people they know, assign tables mixing 2-3 veteran members (attended 3+ events), 2-3 regular members (attended 1-2 events), and 2-3 newcomers (first event). Designate one veteran member per table as “table captain” responsible for welcoming newcomers, facilitating introductions, and encouraging quieter members to contribute.
The simple addition of assigned seating with table captains may yield: a meaningful increase in newcomer repeat attendance, far more members reporting “made new friend at event” than with open seating, and very high retention among table captains (role creates belonging and status).
Facilitated introductions. Don’t assume members will introduce themselves. Structure it. At the start of the event, go around the table: Name, how long have you been a member, favorite wine or vintage and why. This takes 10-15 minutes for a 40-person event. It breaks the ice immediately, gives members conversation hooks, and helps newcomers understand that staying long-term is normal.
Small-group discussions. For topics requiring depth, break into groups of 6-8 members. Example: Wine and food pairing event with four food stations. Members rotate through stations in small groups. Sommeliers at each station facilitate discussion. Twenty minutes per station, intimate conversation. This creates 4 separate opportunities for members to connect with different groups, versus one large presentation where only bold members speak up.
Step 3: Progression and Status
Third principle: Create event tiers members “graduate through” — offering progression, not repetition.
Tier 1 — Introduction Events (Quarterly): Open to all members. Focus: Welcome newcomers, basic wine education, large group format. Goal: Help new members meet the community. Frequency: 4x annually.
Tier 2 — Advanced Seminars (Quarterly): Invitation-only for members attending 2+ Tier 1 events. Focus: Deep-dive topics (vineyard blocks, winemaking techniques, vertical tastings). Goal: Reward engagement with exclusive education and smaller group size. Frequency: 4x annually.
Tier 3 — Winemaker Dinners (Bi-annual): Invitation-only for members attending 2+ Tier 2 events. Focus: Intimate multi-course dinners (12-20 members), rare library wines. Goal: Create an inner circle of highly engaged members with ultimate status. Frequency: 2x annually.
This progression creates aspiration (members at Tier 1 see Tier 2 invitations and want to qualify), status (members at Tier 2 and 3 feel recognized for loyalty and engagement), retention (members in the progression track have reason to maintain membership — don’t want to lose status), and exclusivity (each tier feels special because attendance is earned, not purchased).
Wineries implementing the three-tier progression may see: retention climbs with each tier, and well above the non-attendee baseline. The tiered progression creates a retention curve: Higher engagement = higher retention.
Step 4: Post-Event Community Reinforcement
Events shouldn’t end when members leave. A 48-hour follow-up with event photos, a “who you met” section, invitation to connect on a private member community platform, and reminder of next event date extends the experience. An optional member directory lets members find others who attended the same event. A private community platform (Facebook group, Discord, or dedicated platform) continues conversations started at events and lets members organize informal gatherings between official events.
Wineries implementing post-event community platforms may see a majority of event attendees joining the private platform within 30 days, platform members organizing numerous informal gatherings in the first year, retention among platform members well above that of non-members, and most platform members reporting “wine club friendships.” The official events create initial connections. The private platform sustains and deepens them between events.
This Week’s Action
Look at your upcoming event calendar. Pick one event to redesign for community building instead of wine education. Replace at least 30 minutes of the presentation/tasting with a participatory activity in which members work together — a blending exercise, food prep, vineyard task, or group discussion. Implement assigned seating, mixing newcomers with veterans. Track repeat attendance rate versus previous events.
Read more about the loyalty sommelier approach to community-building events that create belonging beyond the wine itself.
P.S. Wineries replacing traditional barrel tastings with “Blend Your Own” workshops where members work in teams to create custom blends may see dramatic shifts. The room becomes loud — members debating ratios, laughing at mistakes, teaching each other. When teams create intentionally terrible blends as jokes, and everyone tastes together, bonds form over shared experience. That event creates lasting friendships. All participants may remain active members for years to come. They’re not staying for the wine; they’re staying for the friendships formed while making terrible wine together.
