Took a wine trip last fall and was genuinely surprised by how different the tasting room experience felt compared to my pre-pandemic visits.
Wine tourism has bounced back to 2019 levels across most major regions. Mediterranean spots especially seem to be thriving, with visitor numbers matching or exceeding what they saw before everything shut down. But the experience itself has evolved in ways that actually make it better.
More outdoor tasting options now. Smaller group experiences that let you actually talk to the winemaker instead of being shuffled through with forty strangers. Wineries learned some lessons during the restrictions, and a lot of those changes stuck around because, surprise, people prefer them.
The reservation systems everyone implemented out of necessity have become permanent. Nobody misses showing up to find a two-hour wait. Advance booking means you actually get to sit down, have a conversation, and feel like a guest rather than cattle being moved through. Multiple producers told me that per-visit spending went up once they switched to reservations. Makes sense, when you’re not rushing people out to make room for the next group, they tend to buy more.
If you haven’t visited wine country since 2019, you might be pleasantly surprised. The crowds are back, but the experience is more personal. That’s a combination I didn’t expect but definitely appreciate.
