Enotourism

Enotourism, oenotourism, wine tourism, or vinitourism refers to tourism whose purpose is or includes the tasting, consumption or purchase of wine, often at or near the source. Where other types of tourism are often passive in nature, enotourism can consist of visits to wineries, tasting wines, vineyard walks, or even taking an active part in the harvest.

Conceptual classification
There is no common definition of wine tourism in the relevant literature. According to the “Assembly of European Rural Areas ” (AREV), wine tourism encompasses all those activities “where the wine and the local gastronomy of each region are linked to the culture – material or otherwise.” Various authors draw attention to the intertwining of culture and wine tourism. This is reflected, inter alia, in the characteristic for viticulture regions components such as wine presses or wineyards. Similarly, the wine-oriented travel motivation is used as a determinant.

Overall, the wine tourism is determined by three different actors: the wine producers (winemakers, wine associations), tourist operators and travelers. Also, the factor seasonality is an influencing factor, especially since the wine tourism largely to the growing season of the vine covered (May to October).

History
Enotourism is a relatively new form of tourism. Its history varies greatly from region to region, but in places such as the Napa Valley AVA and Wine Country, it saw heavy growth once a concerted marketing effort was implemented in 1975 that was given a further boost by the 1976 Judgment of Paris.

Other regions, such as Catalonia, Spain have only started marketing enotourism starting in the mid-2000s, primarily focusing on how it is an alternative form of tourism to the beach for which Spain is overall known.

There was also a rise in the profile of enotourism among English speakers with the 2004 release of the film, Sideways whose two central characters visit wineries and wine in the Santa Barbara region of Southern California.

Interest in wine tourism for the producer and for the tourist
For winemakers, visits to the estate allow them to value and make known directly the fruit of their work. In addition, tastings generate income on the spot (only one in ten visitors leave without having bought) and the visitors, back home, frequently buy remotely.

For tourists, a growing share of them seek to give their holidays an added value in terms of culture, discovery, art of living, gastronomy, authenticity. But wines are sought after as the most authentic expressions of terroirs.
A good introduction for tourists is usually done in the vineyards, then, through the press, the sorting room, the vat and finally the cellar. Serious tastings can explore four or five vintages under the guidance of the oenologist of the house or the owner.

In 2009, the Minister of Tourism initiated a “Grand Prix of Wine Tourism” but the first edition did not have the desired echo.

Currently
The industry around enotourism has grown significantly throughout the first decade of the 21st century. In the United States 27 million travelers, or 17% of American leisure travelers, engaged in culinary or wine-related activities. In Italy the figure stands at approximately five million travelers, generating 2.5 billion euros in revenue.

A private initiative by Recevin holds an annual “Enotourism Day” on the second Sunday of November each year to promote cellar visits in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Portugal. In North America, the first Wine Tourism Day was established for May 11, 2013 with events scheduled throughout the continent.

Chile has grown its enotourism industry in recent years, with several tourist routes being opened throughout the country, with several of them offering overnight accommodations.

Activities
Most visits to the wineries take place at or near the site where the wine is produced. Visitors typically learn the history of the winery, see how the wine is made, and then taste the wines. At some wineries, staying in a small guest house at the winery is also offered. Many visitors buy the wines made by the winery at the premises, accounting for up to 33% of their annual sales.

Very small, low production regions such as Priorat, Catalonia focus on small, intimate visits with the owner as the host and include walks through the vineyards to help visitors understand the unique qualities of the region.

More elaborate tastings can include horizontal and vertical tastings as well as full meals focused upon showcasing the wines.

As the enotourism industry matures, additional activities have been added to visits such as riding electrically assisted bicycles, called, “burricleta”.

Wine tourism covers many discovery activities:

the wine tastings, learning of oenology, sensory analysis, the sommelier;
the trades and techniques of the vine and the wine: visit of cellars, cellars, vineyards, meeting with the owners, masters of the cellars, the pickers…;
knowledge of grape varieties, soils, classifications and appellations;
the historical and cultural heritage: visiting museums (corkscrew museums, labels, Louis Pasteur’s house in Arbois…), discovering architectures (castles, estates, chapels, cellars…)… Saint-Emilion is a World Heritage Site of humanity (on the integration of wine landscapes). Many studies have been carried out by Icomos;
the food;
well being with vinotherapy;
sports and leisure activities: walks and hikes in the vineyards, hot air balloon or plane flights.

Future
Most tourism agencies see it as a segment of the industry with tremendous growth potential, stating that in some regions, it’s only functioning at 20% of its full potential.

As enotourism grows, regions such as Napa Valley have to deal with continued success and the effects that come with it, such as crowds and increased tasting room fees. This can, in turn have the opposite effect desired wherein potential visitors are driven away and turned off enotourism.

The local market, a conviction
In addition to the export and national markets, there is a third complementary growth path: the local market with the marketing of wine to the estate.

Wine tourism and direct sale to the property form a full-fledged distribution channel that is part of a sustainable development perspective. Its success is based on a proactive corporate organization and a coherent customer policy in order to evolve from an oenotourism of picking to an enotourism of conquest and loyalty.

The local market relies on the talent of women and men of wine and tourism, their ability to adapt to the new situation of their sector of activity, their ability to federate around a promising project and their willingness to use a competitive strategy.

Crafts of the enotourism strategy
The four activities of the wine tourism strategy are auditing, consulting, operational implementation and operational monitoring. The audit is an aid to understanding, the purpose of which is to clearly determine an enotourism potential.

The council is a decision aid to precisely design the strategic orientations and to decline the most appropriate actions. Operational implementation and training help to implement the recommendations and effectively lead to the start of an enotourism project. The operational monitoring is an aid to control the benefits obtained compared to the expected results.

Development in the world
Contemporary wine tourism was first developed in the 1970s and 1980s in California (Mondavi), then in other parts of the United States (Oregon, Washington, New York), Australia, and most other parts of the world. ” New World ” producing countries such as Argentina (Mendoza and Cafayate), South Africa (Stellenbosh) or Chile. Enotourism then reached Canada, Europe, Japan,South Korea or China. It is therefore first and foremost on the world and historical levels that the achievements of wine tourism are appreciated. The Network of Capital Cities of Great Vineyards which includes Logroño (La Rioja), Bordeaux, Florence, Cape Town, Mendoza, Napa Valley, Porto, Mainz, San Francisco, and one of whose roles is to highlight the initiatives in matters of wine tourism in these cities, rewards each year the best of these actions with the Best of Wine Tourism Contest.

At the European level, the Vintur program, which is associated with the Assembly of European Wine Regions, is a forum for exploring the development of wine tourism.

Initiatives have proliferated in recent years, for example in the Mediterranean countries, Australia or New Zealand with the Wine Tourism Network.

Italy
The strade del vino are marked by a system of cultural information panels (oenological, historical…) and a network of lodging stages (taverns, wineries, agriturismo, ecomuseums…). Today there are 142 wine routes and are regulated by the law of July 27, 1999.

The first wine route was born in the Friuli region in 1963. The ancestor of all the wine routes was “invented” by Marquis Michele Formentini, president of the pro loco of Gorizia. First named Strada del Vino e delle Ciliegie (Wine and Cherry Road), it was later called Collio Road.

Germany
The Deutsche Weinstraße (German Wine Route), about 85 kilometers long, runs through the main villages and wine towns of the Palatinate region. From north to south, it crosses the municipalities of Schweigen, near Bad Bergzabern, at Bockenheim an der Weinstraße. The road is one of Germany’s most famous holiday routes. It crosses the second largest wine region of Germany. Many wine villages along the old federal roads (Bundesstraße).

Two cities dominate the vineyard: Landau, with its university and zoo, as well as many buildings dating from the Belle Epoque and Neustadt an der Weinstraße where the election and the coronation of the German Queen of wines (die Weinkönigin), located very close to Hambach Castle, “the cradle of German democracy”. Both towns are characterized by the picturesque wine villages surrounding them. The wine route is famous for its festivals, there are more than two hundred a year, sometimes more popular, sometimes more elegant, but all allow to get to know the region and its inhabitants.

The creation of this road in 1935 was a measure of the expansion of tourism after the liberation of the Palatinate region.

Spain
It is difficult to estimate the total number of tourists visiting the wine regions each year. There were approximately 1.5 million visitors in 2008. The diversity of the architecture of its wineries is also an asset for the development of tourism. Wine tourism certainly brings great opportunities to a country that is the world’s third largest producer of wine and has the largest vineyard area in Europe.

Some routes are dedicated to wine tourism: Bullas (Murcia), Jumilla (Murcia), La Mancha, Jerez Wine and Spirits Route, Ronda Wine Route, Vino Somontano Routa (Aragon), Wine Route and Cava de Penedès (Catalonia) etc.

France
Historically, in France, the establishment of wine routes (in Alsace – see Route des Vins d’Alsace – then in other regions) was obviously a forerunner of local actions.

The study carried out by the AFIT (French Association of Tourism Engineering) in 1999 highlighted the interest of French and foreign tourists for wine tourism and marked the starting point of studies and many steps to develop this type of tourism. According to AFIT, one in five French people choose their holiday destination because it is wine. 40% of foreign visitors come to France “too” for wine and gastronomy. 29% come only for wine and gastronomy.

The surface of the French vineyard is 850 000 hectares. 5,000 wine cellars welcome the public, for an average volume of 1,500 people per year and per cellar. The “Alsatian Wine Route” has about 1.5 million visitors a year, as well as the vineyards of Burgundy. In recent years, there has been a growing number of initiatives, be they elected officials, wine-growing associations, trade unions, municipalities, tourist offices, wine merchants, independent wine growers, tourism professionals, etc. More and more internet sites make it possible to find places of visits, ideas of stays or tourist offers “packaged”.

France, both the leading wine producing country and the world’s leading tourist destination, has a wine tourism potential that is both realistic and lucrative. In terms of international competition, whether tourism or the wine sector, wine tourism is an important card to play for France, especially since in the world the actions of development of wine tourism have taken place. multiplied in recent years. Much remains to be done, the Dubrule report (2007), commissioned by the French Ministry of Tourism, emphasized the importance of valuing wine heritage (in particular landscape and architecture), visibility and networking of the supply, the training of the actors (opening of a professional license “).

In this effort to promote French wine tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched in February 2016 VisitFrenchWine, official portal of wine tourism in France.

Brazil
In Brazil, it is not just tourists, but hikers and locals that go through different wine tourism routes. In Rio Grande do Sul, in addition to the Vale dos Vinhedos, the Serra Gaúcha have numerous options such as the Sparkling Route, Stone Paths, Pinto Bandeira, Flores da Cunha wines, Caxias do Sul. In addition to Rio Grande do Sul, there are also the São Francisco River Valley (northeast of the country) and the São Roque region (São Paulo state).

Tourism “bate vuelta” is very important in the city of São Roque – SP. People from all over the region in the approximate distance of 100 km visit the city weekly where they enjoy beautiful walks, varied restaurants and the wines, spirits, distilled, artichokes and sweets produced in the city.

Portugal
Wine tourism has, for the most part, niche characteristics. The practice of wine tourism is in a great phase of growth, due to the high value that is given in this sector.
From the standpoint of the development of the first emerging modalities, visits to caves and cellars of Porto wine date back to the early fifties of the twentieth century. More recently, there are some other types of wine tourism that complement the national offer in this area:

the Fairs, Festivals and Wine Events frequent both in urban centers and in rural context;
the Wine and Vine Museums and Interpretation Centers, still in limited numbers but found in both urban and rural contexts and are of a public or private nature;
the Agro-Tourism in Quintas that begins to develop, with particular expression in some regions of the country;
the Wine Villages and the Cruises, especially in the Douro region;
the Wine Routes, a project that since 1994 has been embraced by several of the country’s viticultural regions.
In terms of international demand, the Portuguese wine market is mainly sought by the United Kingdom and France, followed by Brazil, Spain and Germany. There is also an interesting 25% share of the US market.

Ecuador
Flag of Ecuador.svg Ecuador: It is one of the regions of Latin America where the culture of wine has been growing. At the end of the last century the cultivation in the valley of Patate, Tungurahua province, at 2200 masl, with few hectares of tropical climate and two annual harvests of native varieties (white national, black national and muscatel), produced the wine of Mass. Later it was elaborated for many years, until now the wine of concentrated must.

The wine culture in Ecuador is growing rapidly in the last decade. In 2006, one glass was consumed per inhabitant and today 1.5 bottles per inhabitant are consumed. This wine culture was developed largely by The Wine Guild 2

There are currently two wineries that vinify their grapes: one in Quito, Chaupi Estancia 3 that produces white wine from Palomino grapes, and another in Guayaquil, Dos Hemisferios, which uses grapes mainly of French origin.

In 1999, the winery Dos Hemisferios began planting in Guayaquil at 0 meters above sea level and 10 kilometers from the coast. With tropical climate and calcareous soil it has 2 harvests a year. The maximum temperature is 32ºC and the minimum temperature is 18ºC and with a thermal amplitude of 14ºC. Despite the relative humidity of 70% throughout the year, there are 3 months of rain in the winter and 9 months of drought in the summer.

Pests are cryptogamic diseases, mites and other insects, birds and bats. 18 to 20 cures per vegetative cycle should be performed.

Due to the lack of cold sprouting should be induced with Dormex, and even fructification is very low (50 qq / ha), but with a high leaf / bunch ratio.

Malbec, Cabernet, Merlot, Sauvignon, Ancellotta, Chardonnay and Sauvignon grapes are grown.

Source from Wikipedia