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Opening Marlborough A warm welcome from cellar doors SOPHIE PREECE
Photo Marlborough Tour Company
COLLABORATION IS key to reviving cellar door operations, say tourism experts in Marlborough, following the Covid-19 lockdown. As doors slowly open to locals and visitors, Destination Marlborough general manager Jacqui Lloyd is encouraging companies to work together. “Every hotel chain, every tour company, every region will be promoting their products. We are encouraging operators to collaborate by creating offerings that are unique to Marlborough, to stand out from the crowd.” Historically, 65% of Marlborough’s tourism spend has been from the domestic market, with Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch the biggest hitters, and Canterbury the largest of the three. With summer promising a drop in cruise business and international visitors - assuming New Zealand’s borders remain closed - the region needs to look after locals and tempt more domestic spend, with Christchurch, Nelson and Tasman self-drive visitors a key market, Jacqui says. Wine Marlborough marketing and communications manager Sarah Linklater has been working with cellar doors, Destination Marlborough and New Zealand Winegrowers to support wine businesses opening their doors to locals and domestic visitors, and to “think of new ways to work”. Regular Zoom meetings have enabled wine companies to seek or give advice, as everyone adapts and shares their experiences, she says. Wine Marlborough has also created a cellar door page on its website, to provide information on opening hours. By Queen’s Birthday weekend, 19 cellar doors had opened or set an opening date. Many have started out by appointment only, testing the waters of operating under 10 / Winepress June 2020
Alert Level Two, says Sarah. “It’s certainly not business as usual.” Of the 33 cellar doors published on the annual Wine Trail Map, 13 usually reduce or close their cellar door over winter, “so having 19 businesses open in some capacity this winter is a great step, given the challenges they face,” she says. Some cellar doors cannot open, because they are too small to allow for seating and distancing, and others have opened on limited hours, or under a new model. Wairau River Wines, for example, opened its restaurant as soon as it could, but has not enabled wine tastings, instead using that space for more restaurant tables. General manager Lindsay Parkinson says the team were well organised and ready to open when Alert Level 2 allowed them to do so, with contact tracing and table spacing all managed. They also promoted their morning menu, taking into account the gap left by the closure of the Vines Village Café. Opening was “first and foremost” about maintaining work for staff, he says. It was also about supporting their many loyal customers “who in the past two weeks have turned up and been really happy that we have opened”. Finally, it was about ensuring Marlborough is open. “I think that is the trickiest thing from a cellar door point of view. If you don’t open, then tourists won’t book. But if you are open, it is a bit of time until you get some momentum.” When the “wheels start turning” in domestic tourism, Marlborough needs to be ready, he says. “But in reality it is winter, and it’s going to be tough for the next few months.” Companies that are opening are looking to support – and be supported by – their local communities, says Sarah. Tupari Wines, for example, is doing complimentary tastings
