Gasoline prices shift emphasis on attracting regional visitors to wineries

Wine regions turn to locals for patronage as steep gas prices dissuade North Americans from taking road trip vacations.

Steep gasoline prices are dissuading North Americans from taking long road trips for their vacations. Wine regions are responding by encouraging locals to rediscover the wineries and vineyards close to home.

 

The New York Wine and Grape Foundation is one of the wine or tourism organizations promoting stay-cations. "If you think of centric routes, we have a huge population within a 300-mile radius with potential visitors from New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Toronto, Montreal and other cities," Jim Trezise, the foundation's president, told Wine Business. "We're saying you can fill your tank for $80 and get away for a great wine weekend at a bed and breakfast without having to pay for a plane trip or go through airport security."

Anecdotal evidence indicates wineries in the state of New York saw neither a drop nor hike in the number of visitors as of late June. "In fact, the amount of sales per visitor seemed higher," Trezise noted. "The people who showed up seemed to have the purpose of buying wine, but we didn't get as many casual visitors as in previous years."

Trezise said it was too early to predict what vacationers will do. "We'll have to wait till the end of October to see how we fare throughout the busy season. It's something the Foundation is going to try to track without violating any confidences."

As of late June, the number of visitors to California's wineries remained consistent but Karen Ross, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, noted that guests were more often locals choosing to vacation closer to home to save on fuel costs.

It still remains to be seen how California's forest fires and the widespread smoke they've generated might influence the decision by Californians to spend their vacation within the state, as well as the effect on out-of-state tourists.

North of the border, Ontario's wine regions are feeling the impact of higher fuel prices and the slump in the American economy. "We're seeing a big difference in the number of travellers from the U.S. and well as local day trips," confirmed Sherri Haigh, director of public affairs at the Wine Council of Ontario. "People are cutting down on the number of times they hop in the car because they find it very expensive."

There is some good news. "When visitors do come to our wineries, they're buying more wine--say a case instead of a few bottles--and wine at higher prices," she added. "What we have to do is remind people in our region--on both sides of the border--how inexpensive it can be to take a trip to our wine country and that's what we're promoting."