A week in Bordeaux with global wine tourism leaders was the most uplifting time I’ve spent with wine industry professionals for a while. Despite current pressures on the industry, the atmosphere was optimistic, with a joint sense of purpose around positive actions wineries can take. Good to know that despite the current morose climate, wine is not a lost cause. 

Bordeaux was the venue for the 25^th-anniversary celebrations of Great Wine Capitals (GWC).The initiative started here at the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, with The Best Of Wine Tourism competition launched to highlight and reward wine tourism initiatives. Today, the network includes 11 wine cities worldwide:  Adelaide South Australia, Bilbao/Rioja Spain, Hawkes Bay New Zealand, Lausanne Switzerland, Mayence/Rheinhessen Germany, Mendoza Argentina, Porto Portugal, San Francisco/Napa Valley USA, Valparaiso/Casablanca Valley Chile and Verona Italy. 

All together 

The week brought together wineries and tourism professionals from these regions to share initiatives and experiences. Technical visits across Bordeaux from the Médoc to Sauternes and Saint-Émilion, showcased different approaches, with dinners and lunches in properties, a tasting of wine from the 11 member regions in the stunning Bassin des Lumières and a day of presentations and discussions in the amphitheater of la Cite du Vin. 

From doom and gloom

Listening to the opening overview of the global wine industry by Rodolphe Lameyse, CEO of Vinexposium, was painful. His data showed global wine sales slumping dramatically compared to beer and spirits. Stocks are still blocking pipelines, the high cost of money is leading to ‘just-in-time’ stock management, banks are withdrawing support and tariffs and other economic uncertainties are leading to delayed payments.  So far, so depressingly familiar. He did highlight some areas of growth, white over red, corners of Asia and perhaps a slight uptick in parts of Europe. His  conclusion that ‘the invisible hand of the market’ is reducing and reorientating production, leading to fewer producers and consolidation, was not great news for most of the audience.

To a ray of sunshine 

Brigitte Bloch, President of Bordeaux Tourism and Congress and Vice-President of the Wine Tourism Centre at Atout France, raised spirits with a French and largely Bordeaux perspective. Tourism contributes between 3% and 8% to the French economy (depending on definition and measurement). Wine is a major attraction: one in two visitors associates wine with France (I’d love to know what the others had in mind) and one in three cited wine as a motivation to come visit. 

France welcomes 12 million wine tourists a year, of whom almost half are international; and they spent 5.4 billion euros, of which 1.8 billion goes directly to wineries. It’s an important revenue for rural economies. Research (see below) shows wine tourism numbers are rising in Europe, although less so overseas, with google searches up 20% a year. 

The future of wine tourism is bright

As well as congratulating and promoting the winners for the excellence of their wine tourism initiatives, the GWC finances education and collaborates in research. Dr. Gergely Szolnoki, Professor of Market Research at Geisenheim University, presented the first 2025 Global Wine Tourism Report, produced with UN Tourism, the OIV, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network, and WineTourism.com. 

The data 

Two-thirds of the wineries interviewed reported wine tourism was a profit centre, generating around 25% of total winery revenue (including on-site sales). Although the core audience remains 45–65 years, younger traveller numbers (25–44) are growing and they are focused on education, sustainability and gastronomy – all things that wineries do very well. This is an opportunity to reach a generation losing interest in wine.

Good times 

Not every wine tourist is a wine expert – nor wants to be. 80% of winery visitors come as part of a holiday; they just want to have a good time with family and friends. But they are potential new wine consumers, and wine needs more of those. Cellar and/or vineyard tours and tastings are still the main offer, but this is no longer enough to seduce this population, who want authentic experiences, personal connection and culinary, eco-friendly and nature-based experiences. 

If the price is right

A GWC research grant recipient, Magalie Dubois, Assistant Professor at the Burgundy School of Business in Dijon, used a “pay what you want” option in Bordeaux, Lausanne and Napa to discover just how much visitors are prepared to pay for these experiences. Her conclusions show most European wineries aren’t charging enough, with guests happily paying more than 15% above the fixed fee in Europe, although less than requested in Napa.  She encouraged wineries to run their own pricing experiments to understand the real value of the experiences they offer.

Wine and Wellness 

Felicity Carter, Founder of Drinks Insider, approached the thorny topic of wine consumption and health in her inimitable way. Questions around safe alcohol consumption and the growth of the wellness sector are contributing to declining alcohol consumption among all generations. She highlighted the challenges currently facing the image of alcohol, thanks to the temperance movement. Using the example of the brilliant scratch cards by Drink Wise Australia (see below) to illustrate how the industry can and should work together.

Panel experience.

Which bring me neatly to why I was there, I was moderating a panel of four innovators rising to these challenges. Simon Strahan, CEO of Drinkwise, joined Caroline Decoster from the La Maison Cardinale, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé; Kim Thorpe, co-owner of Black Barn Vineyards in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand; and Paulo Medina, head of Grape Ideas, the tourism arm of  Sogrape, the largest Portuguese wine company, home to such famous names as Sandeman and Mateus Rosé.

Their consensus was that wineries must join the “experience economy”: consumers want connection, not consumption. From his experience at Saatchi and Saatchi, Thorpe was ruthless in his message that innovation is vital – adding on a picnic to a wine tour and tasting just won’t cut it. He shared how wine is no longer the unique priority of the wine tourism business at Black Barn: they define themselves as ‘experts at giving people a good time’, with 17 luxury lodges, and a full summer events season, attracting a different audience and encouraging longer stays. 

Decoster also advocates an original approach, simplifying the often inaccessible language and experience of wine, through music, ‘les arts de la table’ and virtual reality, an initiative that won the Gold Best of Wine Tourism Award for 2026.

Tourism is becoming economically sustainable outside of wine sales. Medina explained as the B2C arm of the wine company, wine sales are not their prime motivation for  Grape Ideas, the tourism activity is financially independent from product sales. The attraction is the combination of the past and future, from in their ancient cellars in Porto to self-guided biodiversity treks through their vineyards in the Douro. 

Which brings us full circle to Strahan at Drink Wise, and Felicity’s warnings of neo-prohibition movement. Their whole-community approach includes government, industry, media, sports – in fact, anyone who contributes to the responsible consumption of alcohol. Embracing this healthier approach to drinking makes the wine industry more accessible to a broader and a younger audience. 

Can wine tourism save the wine business?  

Not alone, but it can help – it’s no longer a net marketing cost but can supplement revenue, creating closer bonds with customers, seducing new clients, reinforcing brand recognition and allowing winemakers to understand exactly what their consumers are looking for and how much they’re prepared to pay for it.

The outlook is good. 
Half of wineries interviewed in the research plan further investment; most anticipate growth and see wine tourism as a resilience tool. Despite what nay-sayers would have us believe, it appears people still love wine and the lifestyle. They want experiences, not just product, and are prepared to pay for them. The challenge for wine professionals is to create innovative and accessible – and give people a good time – which might be better value for everyone that we thought. 

Go visit a vineyard! 

The Best of Vineyards to visit: if you need inspiration for future trips, the winners of the Gold Best of Wine Tourism 2026 awards, one from each ‘Capital’, were announced on the last evening of the conference: 

•  Maxwell Wines, McLaren Vale, Adelaide, South Australia
• Bodegas Faustino Legacy Rioja in Bilbao, Spain
• La Maison Cardinale in Saint-Émilion – Bordeaux, France
• Church Road Winery in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
• Domaine du Mont d’Or in Lausanne, Switzerland
• Völker Restaurant & Events in Mainz, Germany
• Viña Doña Paula in Mendoza, Argentina
• Ventozelo Hotel & Quinta in Porto, Portugal
• Sterling Vineyards in Napa Valley, California, USA
• BOTÁNICO by Casas del Bosque in Valparaíso
•  Rambaldi Apartments in Verona, Italy

Thanks for reading,  sign up here to receive future posts directly to your inbox and do share with anyone interested in discovering more about Bordeaux.  Read the new Green Edition of Bordeaux Bootcamp, and explore Wine and Wellness, with  The Drinking Woman’s Diet . 
I also share my healthy passion for Bordeaux (and more) in other wine publications and with online classes. Contact me here to learn more or just say hi.

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