How can a winery organise tours of its estate without placing too much of a burden on its staff?
The Impossible Scenario
It’s Saturday morning. One group is having a tasting in the cellar. Another has just arrived for a tour. And three people are waiting in the shop.
It’s impossible to be in two places at once.
I’ve heard this scenario dozens of times whilst working with wine estates. Wine tourism is a real opportunity — but it often clashes directly with the reality on the ground. Welcoming guests, selling wine, producing it, and guiding tours: all at the same time, with the same people.
What an audio tour changes
A digital audio tour is a guided tour designed once — and which then runs every time there’s a visit, without needing someone on hand all the time.
The visitor arrives, scans a QR code displayed at the entrance to the estate. They enter a 4-digit access code specific to the estate, and begin their tour from their smartphone. No app to download. No account to create.
Another important detail: the tour works offline. Downloaded in a few seconds at the entrance, it continues even deep in the cellar, where the network signal disappears.
The voice that makes the difference
What makes this format so powerful is what you hear. It could be the winemaker’s own voice—explaining why they chose that grape variety, what makes this terroir special, or sharing a story from the harvest. It could also be a generic, warm and professional voice, if the winemaker prefers not to be in the spotlight.
In both cases, the audio changes everything. Visitors no longer really want to read signs. They want to listen, watch and feel. Text on a sign informs. A voice in your ears tells a story.
Without being too intrusive, but still welcoming
An audio tour does not replace a human welcome. It complements it.
At the Cave de Vouvray, the “Chenin & Tuffeau” tour has not replaced guided tours. It has enriched the self-guided tour — the one visitors take in the areas open to the public, between guided tour slots, when no guide is available. Before, this part of the visit offered little in the way of experience: a few signs, spaces to look at without any context. Now, there is a narrative. A story. A common thread.
The staff spend less time repeating the same basic explanations. And when they meet visitors at the end of the tour, the conversation is different — richer, more detailed. Visitors have experienced something. They have questions. They want to explore further.
Does this influence subsequent purchases? Intuition says yes — an engaged visitor is likely to be a more discerning buyer. But I don’t yet have the figures to confirm this. What I do know is that the experience is better. And you can feel that.
What kind of estate is this for?
This approach works particularly well for:
- Estates that welcome visitors outside of guided tasting slots
- Wineries with visitor-accessible areas: vineyards, gardens, tasting rooms, exhibition spaces
- Estates that welcome international tourists — the tour can be offered in several languages
- Properties looking to enhance an existing self-guided tour that lacks engagement
Where to start?
The first step isn’t technical. It’s editorial: what do you want your visitors to experience? What story do you want to tell?
The content — text, photos, audio — you often already have it, without realising. It’s a matter of organising it, recording it, and putting it together.
That’s what we do with you at Merci Gabin. Not in your place — with you.
Xavier Adraste is the founder of Merci Gabin, a platform for digital audio tours for wine estates.