20 euros is the average cost of a winery tour. The price rises to 49 euros for a top tier experience

Once upon a time, a wine tour was based on spontaneity and it was an element of novelty in the winemaker’s everyday life. The phenomenon of wine tourism has now grown to the point that wine tours are more and more sought after and have become the most requested experience by wine enthusiasts as well as a strategic offer for many wineries. Therefore, the topic of price has been inserted as a factor that must be transparent and in any case, monitored.
The average price is 20.17 euros for a basic wine tour experience, which then rises to 49.79 euros for a complete, or at least a top level experience, according to parameters that each winery identifies when formulating their offers. “Cantine d’Italia” 2024, the guide for wine tourists edited by Go Wine (presented recently in Milan), has for the first time, carried out a survey of the choices and orientations of Italian wine companies. They asked more than 400 wineries from all the Italian Regions how much wine tours cost, and surveyed various profiles; i.e., from the larger and more structured companies also considering the staff, to the family run wineries where the winemaker often plays multiple roles, including welcoming and guiding wine tourists.
Of the selected sample, there are less than 15 (4%) wineries that do not have an “entrance” cost even for a basic experience, while 62 (15%) charge 10 euros or less. The survey found that for the complete experience, 34 wineries offered a price above 100 euros.
It is also interesting to read data from the various areas in Italy, which reveal that in the North the average cost of a basic experience is 19.41 euros, while in the South it rises to 21.59. The same averages correspond to a more complete experience as well - the average cost in the North is around 43.25 euros and in the South it rises to 52.97 euros. Observing a few of the Regions, the cost is higher in Tuscany (22.17 euros), compared to Piedmont (20.07 euros) for the basic experience, as well as for the top level experience: Piedmont, 48.86 euros; Tuscany, 62.82 euros.
In light of the data revealed regarding the topic of price, Go Wine pointed out that the wine tour has become definitely part of a structured activity for many wineries. The companies formulate the offer and often detail it on their company website, during the presentation phase of their business. The choice to highlight a double level - basic experience, top experience - is also a way to offer an additional service to wine tourists in the 2024 “Cantine d’Italia” guide, as well as encourage a debate in the sector. We are faced, on the one hand, with accessible offers, or in any case non-prohibitive costs. On the other hand, the top level events sometimes involve significant spending, compared to other initiatives in the sector.
“Communication and accessibility are two strategic factors in this matter”, Massimo Corrado, president of Go Wine and editor of the guide, commented, “communicating the cost of the wine tour indicating which level will be experienced can only contribute to making the tour more professional, while creating a bond between the winemaker and the wine tourist. The wine tourist is therefore informed in the same way he reads about the winery's wines and inquires about their profile or winemaking”.
The issue of accessibility is equally important and requires some further reflection. Accessibility is the need for costs that can facilitate access to the winery, while respecting the work of the winemaker. The concept of remunerating the service as well as respecting a quality that must be paid for, goes hand in hand with the opportunity to maintain the proportions that are linked to the type of experience. And, of course, to the irreplaceable role that wine tourism plays by bringing many people closer to the wine world and reinforcing the more experts’ expectations.
Going to a winery means going into nature, appreciating the landscape, getting to know and talking to people. It is, most of all, perceiving the relationship with the land and the environment. In this perspective, the price factor must fit in harmoniously. It is important to put a value on extraordinary experiences in the prices, but also other formulas aiming to make the winery accessible to a wider audience. Plus, we must not forget that, almost always, bottles of wine are bought at the winery, which represents another cost for the wine tourist and another opportunity for the winemakers.
The objective of Go Wine is not only to enhance the hospitality at the winery, but also to communicate an aware, social vision in the sector to always maintain those factors (land, vineyard, wines, people), which are the basis of wine tourism and a way of conceiving viticulture.