Market Research

How do wineries learn about their markets and customers? The answer is through market research. Or at least that is what the answer ought to be. Even informal observation of customers at a wine cellar can serve as part of market research. Unfortunately, for many wineries this is the extent of their entire market research effort, and hardly any data are documented. It resides in senior leaders’ minds alone and is passed on verbally. This may be because wineries are essentially refined and highly specialized farms and product producers. Winery owners and winemakers are often highly trained in viticulture but much less so in marketing and sales. Or it could be simply because of the size of the winery and its niche focus.