Tasting fees: Cellar door tastings - to charge or not to charge?: What does the latest marketing research, economic realities and the Californian experience tell us?

Whether to charge for wine tastings at cellar door has long been a hot topic within the Australian wine industry, as was illustrated by the online discussion that followed after Wine and Viticulture Journal editor Sonya Logan tweeted a remark by presenters at the Wine Industry Marketing Conference in Adelaide in February advising against the practice. Although fairly common in California, asking cellar door customers to taste wine is relatively unheard of in Australia or New Zealand, but should local operators follow their US counterparts? Damien Wilson takes up the case.