One of the biggest mistakes we see wineries make isn’t during a wine tasting experience at the winery.

It’s what happens after the tasting.

A guest visits, they enjoy the experience, perhaps they buy a few bottles, but they aren’t quite ready to join the wine club.

Then they leave…and we have no way to continue the conversation, the relationship.

We hope they’ll remember us. We hope they’ll come back. We hope they’ll tell their friends.

Hope is not a strategy.

Today’s visitor may become tomorrow’s wine club member, next quarter’s corporate gifting client, a future event attendee, a roadshow guest, and eventually a loyal advocate who introduces your winery to dozens of new customers over the next decade.

But only if you earn permission to stay in touch.

That’s why we believe data capture is one of the most underappreciated growth strategies in DTC.

Not data collection for the sake of filling a CRM or Point-of-Sale platform, but REAL relationship building.

Every guest should have an easy, frictionless opportunity to share their information with informed consent, technology has made this remarkably simple, beyond pen and paper.

• QR codes.

• NFC tap-to-share technology.

• Guest check-in platforms like RedChirp‘s.

When guests voluntarily provide their information early in the tasting experience, your team spends less time typing, your records are more accurate, and checkout becomes faster because much of the work is already done.

More importantly…the relationship doesn’t have to end when they walk out the front door. The tasting experience should be more than a one-time transaction based on hope for more.

With permission, you can continue sharing stories, new releases, upcoming events, and invitations that are relevant to their interests. The richer the data, the more meaningful those conversations and relationships become.

At a minimum, consider capturing:

• First and last name

• Email address

• Mobile phone number

• Permission for email and SMS communication

If your experience allows, consider adding:

• ZIP code

• Wine preferences

• Upcoming milestone celebrations

• Corporate gifting potential

• How they discovered your winery

• Source codes (where they first interacted with the winery) such as tasting room, roadshow, member referral, or event

Better data doesn’t mean sending more messages, but it means sending better ones. The goal isn’t to build a bigger database, it’s to build more relationships.

Every guest who walks through your door has already raised their hand and said, “I’m interested enough to spend time with your brand.” Don’t let that opportunity disappear because you never asked for permission to continue the conversation.

How are you capturing guest information today, and what has worked best for your team?

One final thought: Wine clubs are rarely won in a single conversation. They’re earned through a series of positive interactions. Data capture is what makes the second conversation possible.