Reconnect with todays wine consumers to build long-lasting relationships | 1

Isabelle Lesschaeve Author

Three behaviors you should start changing today to reconnect with your wine consumers so that you can deliver more memorable wine experiences.

Reconnect with today’s wine consumers to build long-lasting relationships | 1

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Today’s wine industry faces a critical issue – we are disconnected from our consumers. 

Whether you’ve noticed a decrease in traffic in your tasting rooms, are struggling to have an engaging conversation with your guests, or even feel that you should have more "wannabe wine experts" through your doors, this new podcast, “We Taste Wine Differently,” aims to provide actionable solutions to your challenges.

I’m Isabelle Lesschaeve, and in this first episode, I’m drawing on my 30 years of experience as a sensory and consumer scientist to share with you the three main behaviors I've identified that you need to start overturning today if you want to connect more with your customers.

And no, they don’t need to be wine experts! Whatever types of people you welcome into your winery or tasting room, you’ll be able to provide them with an unforgettable experience.

In today’s episode, I’m talking about:

• Why insisting that consumers become wine experts is driving people away from the wine tasting rooms

• The problem with assuming consumers within a generation interact with wine in the same way

• The evidence of wine preference segmentation based on sensory phenotypes and how these consumers experience flavor differently

• Small, easy changes you could make to tailor the wine tasting experience to your guests

• How to gather useful insights from your guests without overwhelming them

Links from today’s episode:

• Learn more about Tim Hanni and the four wine phenotypes

• Your free resource to discover the five mistakes turning your guests away – and how to fix them!

Connect with me, Isabelle:

• Learn more about working with me on my website

• Connect with me on LinkedIn

• Follow me on Instagram

• Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Bonjour and welcome to today's episode of We Taste Wine Differently. I'm your host, Isabelle Lesschaeve. I want to talk about disconnect. Haven’t you felt at times that you were not speaking the same language as your consumers, or that you did a great job presenting your wines and nobody bought a bottle or signed up for your wine club.

I know it hurts, and we all know the global wine industry is at the crossroads. Several factors have contributed to the decline in wine consumption globally, but somehow, I strongly believe that one of the factors, not the only one, but one of them, is that we lost touch with wine consumers. We disconnected along the way from them.

The world evolved around us, but most of the wine industry stayed entrenched in its traditions and tasting rituals. Especially on the wine hospitality [00:01:00] side. So today I want to dive into the three main factors that created this disconnect. And more importantly, how you can start rebuilding trust and long-term relationships with your consumers and potential ones.

Bonjour and welcome to We Taste Wine Differently, the podcast designed to empower you, wine professionals, and help you truly connect with today's wine consumers through the power of sensory experiences. Each week, we will explore practical science-backed methods and actionable insights rooted in sensory and consumer science to transform how you taste, talk about and present wine, ultimately enhancing the tasting room experience and building long-term relationships with your consumers. [00:02:00] Are you ready to taste wine differently and adapt to today's changing dynamics? Let's dive in.

Let's start with this optimistic story. I read a post the other day on LinkedIn. That's where you will find me, uh, if you want to connect there. A young wine maker was sharing his first experience, presenting his wines to a small group of people.

There was a photo of the event, participants were seated around the table under a beautiful white pergola. It was sunny and felt very welcoming. They all seemed to have a good time. Harvey, however, looked nervous and wanted everything to be perfect, obviously. So in his post he asked his social connections for advice on how to improve his future wine presentations.

As a sensory scientist and tasting coach, it's always a privilege to share [00:03:00] my experience with the younger generation. So I was most happy to oblige and provide some guidance. This is what I wrote. “Participants want to learn about you and your wines. Of course, however, don't fall into the trap of lecturing them.

Have a conversation. Listen to what they say and observe. These events are an amazing opportunity to learn from your customers and adjust your presentation for the next time.” Yes, my wine peers, it's time that we stop educating consumers about wine and the intricacies of making it. I can assure you that people can appreciate the fine flavors of your products without the need to be wine certified.

However, I think it's a good time to educate yourself and your teams on the many facets of wine consumers so that you can build lasting relationships. I'm a sensory and consumer scientist, [00:04:00] not a marketer, so I won't talk about marketing strategies or social media tactics to build your following. No, that's not my specialty.

But what I will debunk today on We Taste Wine Differently and in future episodes, is all about consumer perceptions. Let me specify what I mean by that. The perceptions of what consumers see on the bottle or in your tasting room. What they touch, on how the wine feels on their palettes, what they hear from you, and of course when it comes to tasting your wines, what they smell in the glass and taste in their mouth.

All these perceptions wine consumers have, or tasting room visitors have, trigger thoughts and their future actions, whether they are conscious about it or not. These perceptions will affect consumer satisfaction and re-purchase behavior. So these perceptions have a long-term effect on those consumers. [00:05:00] But let's go back to today's topic, which is all about perceptions, the disconnect we have created between our consumers and our industry.

This disconnect led to conflicted relationships, misunderstandings and misalignment between our wine presentations, our communications, and what people wanted to hear from us. And frankly this disconnect came from our own behaviors. The wine industry created its own demise by digging a gap between them and wine drinkers or potential wine drinkers.

So there are three behaviors that I identify that you can start overturning today if you choose to. The first behavior professionals adopted is to make consumers believe they need to become wine experts to appreciate wine and this is not what all consumer wants to be. The second behavior is that we talk about [00:06:00] consumers as if they were one uniform group, or that each generation, millennials or Gen Z in particular, have similar beliefs, motivations, and behaviors when it comes to wine, that's not true. The third behavior is that we talk more than we listen, observe, and this needs to change. Let's dive in.

The first behavior that I would invite you to consider and change is that we let people believe they need to become wine experts to appreciate your wines. Listen, I have worked in the wine industry for more than 30 years. Wine tasting and winery operations is the reserve domain of technical experts, the winemakers and enologists.

And it's understandable because like many agricultural products, you need to have people specializing in the products to evaluate their overall quality. This [00:07:00] technical expertise is built along many years of experience making and tasting the products to be able to sort out a good or acceptable products from a faulty one.

This technical testing to assess wine quality requires a protocol and some standardization, of course. It's fair to say that technical experts have developed their own way of assessing the product. What surprised me, however, when I moved to the US from France, is to discover that many people interested in wine really believed that they needed to become a sommelier, a wine connoisseur to appreciate wine.

And this is particularly true in new markets like North America. In her address at the 2025 Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium, author Karen McNeil shared that registration for the Wine and Spirit Educational Trust programs was on the rise. On the WSET website. I [00:08:00] found that a total of 134,000 candidates took a WSET qualification in 2023, and its diploma course showing the biggest increase across its courses.

While many applicants are looking for a career advancement in the wine industry, many wine consumers take the first certification levels as well, and they learn through these programs, the traditional process to evaluate wine quality, the process that was designed for wine experts. Basically consumers are told to judge wine quality like an expert, and not to discover what they enjoy the most through their senses.

You know, I have a lot of respect for the WSET programs and other similar certification programs that train the future generation of wine professionals. They fit a need for the profession. However, the systematic approach to wine judging makes some consumers [00:09:00] uneasy to pursue that route and explore wine as a beverage at all.

When I ask my clients at Innovinum Academy if they want to be WSET certified to work in hospitality, most of the time they say no. They want to feel knowledgeable when choosing wine or be part of a tribe, so to speak. I remember one person in particular who had been humiliated by a wine pro during a tasting because she was describing a wine differently than he was.

So she took my sensory tasting course to feel, as she said, appropriate. That was a sad moment that day, but I'm glad I helped her to gain back her confidence. And that's what is important. This perception that people needed to become sommeliers to appreciate wine, created an elitist culture for wine drinkers. A gap between those who know and those who don't. Is that what you ever wanted? [00:10:00]

Many reports blame Generation Z and young millennials for not embracing this wine culture, for not consuming wine like their parents or grandparents. The issue might be that they don't identify with this elitist and scholastic wine culture. They grew up in a world of instant gratification and immediate access to knowledge, entertainment, and shopping. It doesn't fit with a world of long studies hours learning about wine. Ah, gen Zs.

That leads me to the second behavior the wine industry has adopted that created a disconnect between them and their consumers. It's about the trend to deliver the same wine experience to all. This current obsession with turning Gen Z into a wine consuming generation is a good example.

From what I read and what I hear, there are strong beliefs out there that all members [00:11:00] of this generation have similar beliefs, values, motivations, and behaviors when it comes to wine. But frankly, you know, it's wrong. I'm sure you know Gen Zs who love wine and boomers who don't like wine or don't collect, you know, thousands of bottles of wines, but let's go beyond generations.

Wine consumers are multifaceted, motivated by different values, needs, or cues. You're probably familiar with demographic or behavioral segmentations of consumers. The wine market council releases such a report every two years. They would survey a large group of wine consumers, slice and dice the data to understand participant responses as a function of their age, gender, location, type of residences, et cetera.

While these surveys provide general trends, again, they let us assume that people from a certain background will act similarly. Nope. And it's particularly true in terms of wine [00:12:00] preferences, the flavor of the wines people like. In my early days as a sensory scientist, I conducted and published several studies to map the taste preference of American and Canadian consumers.

Focusing on white wines, Chardonnays, red wines, all table wines. Really, we would not ask people to report the wines they like the most or consume the most, but we would invite them to a tasting. They would come and taste six to eight wine samples and answer really one big question. How much do you like this wine?

Then we would analyze the liking data. And look for groups of consumers liking similar wine styles or specific flavors in a wine. Consistently, we saw different segments of consumers expressing different sensory preferences. We would often see a large group of people liking fruitier [00:13:00] and sweeter wines.

They were all dry wines, by the way, but just some wines were perceived as sweeter because of the fruit characteristics. The group liking less fruity wines with complex flavors driven by oak treatments was usually a smaller group of participants, and never have we seen any correlation between taste preferences and demographics or generations.

I will put some of these references in the show notes. My previous research aligns with Tim Hanni's work on perceptual individualism. Tim Hanni, a master of wine, conducted large studies as well, showing that people's wine preferences are shaped by their unique sensory and psychological makeup, meaning that what tastes good for one person may not to another.

His research, often in collaboration with Dr. Virginia Utermohlen led to the concept of phenotypes. [00:14:00] Four basic consumer groups defined by physiological and psychological differences in taste perceptions. So those four groups were described by those attributes. The sweet group prefer light, delicate, sweet wines, and often find stronger or more alcoholic beverages, too harsh.

I'm sure you know some people like that. The hypersensitive group were highly sensitive to flavors and sensations, and they would prefer clean, crisp wines and often avoid bold, oaky or tannic wines. That's probably the people I've seen in my previous studies. The sensitive group was the largest group, and this group enjoys a wide range of wine stars from delicate whites to full-bodied reds.

And the last group was described as the tolerant group. They crave intense, powerful flavors and prefer rich food bodied wines, especially big [00:15:00] reds. They tend to be less sensitive to bitterness and alcohol and often cannot understand the appeal of lighter wines. See, we all have different preferences. So with this data in mind, why do we always want to deliver the same testing experience to all visitors in our testing room?

Why not tailor the testing experiences to the people's type by first asking a few questions? This was nicely done at one Napa Valley Winery I visited in the past few years. The host was going through the regular tasting. There were two Sauvignon Blanc, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Sweet Muscat. When I saw the list, I mentioned to the host, I wasn't a fan of cabs, especially because I was very sensitive to green nodes and that it would be a waste on me.

She listened and smiled and said, well, I'm sure I can find a cab that you will enjoy. [00:16:00] She did. She chose a different cab produced on their estate. It was from a different vineyard and it passed the test. No green flavors and a lovely, a lovely wine.

Well, listen, I, I know that a tasting room can be very busy on the holiday weekend, um, and ask a few questions to do a triage before recommending a tasting flight might be too much to ask you, but you know, with automation and especially with this young generation really connected online all the time, these few questions can be automated online if you have an online booking system to register your future visitors.

Which leads me to the final behavior I would strongly recommend to change that I can summarize with those few words. Stop talking and start listening during each tasting. That's the same advice I shared with Harvey, the young winemaker earlier. [00:17:00] Please don't assume people are visiting you only to learn about your wines and be educated.

Yes, they want to experience your wines, but only a few would want a full download on your wine technical sheets. And one pet peeve I have is when the tasting hosts keep talking while I'm tasting. To experience wine with our senses, we need focus. We need silence. So the more you talk, the less you let visitors experience your wines.

And obviously that's not what you want, is it? It doesn't mean you have to let them do their own thing. Of course, use that time to listen discreetly and observe. Wine tasting hosts are so focused on sharing stories about their wines that they forget to connect with their guests on a personal level. My advice is to get to know your visitors first.

Where are they from? Where are they on their wine journey? Are they new to wine or are they [00:18:00] already quite involved in the category, you know, spending dollars on wine bottles and enjoying discovering different styles? Through these informal conversations, you can start typing your visitors into consumer segments that can be relevant to your business.

You could start by grouping people based on their involvement in the category. The high involvement group would be people, you know, eager to learn, taking some wine appreciation classes, you know, reading books, you know, learning on YouTube. Those people are, you know, the high involved category where maybe you can talk more about the wine making intricacies versus the low involvement wine, uh, drinkers who just want to find a beverage that fit their lifestyle.

So they don't need to have the full download of your tech sheets. You can also type people based on the wine style they usually drink [00:19:00] the most at home. And also test whether they are adventurous or risk adverse. Meaning, you know, if they are white wine drinkers, can they expand, you know, and explore your reds, or they really want to stick to the whites. So based on these first few responses, you can tailor the wine experience to serve your visitors best.

During the tasting. Visitors may not share direct feedback with you about the wines you served, but you can observe their behaviors and you can learn a lot by observing. For example, are they engaged in intense conversations that are not related to wine?

They probably just want to have a good time and the wine is just a medium, so it's probably not a good idea to offer your one club subscription by interrupting them. Observe if they finish one sample or two samples and not the other ones. That's a [00:20:00] great indication that they really enjoy those two samples. We often do that in our consumer test.

Compare the liking scores given by the consumers and the actual consumption behavior. Misconception behavior is often found as a good predictor of future choice. So if they finish, you know, two samples out of the five that you served, start the conversations about what they liked about them and they might want to take some bottles home.

Or maybe when you observe them, they look bored. Obviously you want to check on them and maybe offer something special. Why not using the wine aroma wheel and turn the tasting into a fun game to find different aromas in each wine. They may not purchase the wine, but they will leave your winery with a memorable experience linked to your brand.

You can collect so many valuable insights from observing, listening, and leading [00:21:00] conversations about people's perceptions rather than just focusing on your products. However, you need a minimum of structure and alignment among staff to collect this visitors data. I get it. So I will dedicate a full episode on how to do that in the coming weeks.

Wow, it was a lot for a first episode of this new show, We Taste Wine Differently. I really wanted to share my perspectives on the disconnect I see between the wine trade and their consumers and potential consumers. So to recap, I shared with you today that improving your relationships with today's consumers meant changing a few ingrained behaviors and beliefs that have likely contributed to the current crisis.

Let's acknowledge that not all consumer want to become expert to enjoy your wines. Drop the elitist appearance and conversations to focus on people. [00:22:00] Become more consumer centric. Of course, if your target consumers is the small percentage of wine aficionados, you already know the type of experiences they look for at your winery.

But overall, the majority of people don't want to be expert or be expected to be experts when they come to your winery. The second behavior I invite you to change. Is to understand that consumer behaviors cannot be generalized to demographics or generations. Behaviors are triggered by beliefs, motivations, sensory cues and more.

You need to better understand your consumers by talking to them more. And if DTC, the direct to consumer is part of your distribution channels, you have many opportunities to learn from your consumers and potential ones. And for that, that's the third behavior I invite you to change. You want to engage with consumers differently, start [00:23:00] listening and observing more, collect more data to identify insights relevant to your marketing and communication strategies. We will have more opportunities in the future to dig into these topics.

And that's it for today's episode of We Taste Wine Differently. If you enjoyed it please subscribe or follow the show wherever you listen to podcasts. If you want to learn more about how I can help you and your team implement a sensory driven tasting experience, visit my website at innovinum.com. It's I-N-N-O-V-I-N-U-M.com. And I have a gift waiting for you there. It's a free resource to discover the five mistakes turning guests away, and how to fix them fast. It includes a tool to assess practices in your testing room. You will also find the direct [00:24:00] link to download this paper and the tool in the show notes. À bientôt.

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