A tour of Finger Lakes wineries involves stunning vistas of the lakes, whose moderating effects protect grape vines from severe temperatures; exposure to a burgeoning and diverse wine scene suitable to any palate; and sometimes, well, a nice buzz.
Jennifer Meyers / The Citizen
Kia Decou, of Flagstaff, Ariz., looks over at friend Catherine Bohannon, of New York City, while sampling wines at Americana Vineyards and Winery in Interlaken Monday afternoon. Local wine trails will now be participating in a “safe group wine tours initiative” program.
Kia Decou, of Flagstaff, Ariz., looks over at friend Catherine Bohannon, of New York City, while sampling wines at Americana Vineyards and Winery in Interlaken Monday afternoon. Local wine trails will now be participating in a “safe group wine tours initiative” program.
But for winery owners and the wine trail directors who promote the Cayuga, Keuka and Seneca wine trails, they would be just as happy if their tasters took the sophisticated route of dumping back most of the wine they are poured after taking an opinion-searching sniff and sip.
To reach that goal, the wine trails have announced an initiative to give yellow or red warning cards to groups treating a wine trail as a pub crawl.
Wineries have reported public urination or female patrons going topless on their properties; groups with the goal of boosting wine glasses or wine bottles as mementos of the occasion; verbal arguments with employees; and even one new graduate jumping off head-first from a winery's deck.
And then there's the concern of drunk driving once the groups are dropped off by a limo, bus or trolley at their vehicles.
“There's no law that says they can't drink on the bus between the wineries,” said Joe Gober, the owner of Americana Vineyards on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail and one of the leaders on the new initiative. “By the time they arrive, they're pretty intoxicated. We've experienced vomiting in the parking lot or urination in the parking lot.”
Paul Thomas, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail executive director, said drunken misbehavior by group tours is not an epidemic, but the goal is to “gently bend behavior back in the direction we prefer.”
“We really want the positive,” said Cathy Millspaugh, executive director of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. “Have a good time. Enjoy the scenery. Enjoy the wineries ... not a drunk fest.”
The development of the “Safe Group Wine Tours” program started last December. Members of the Cayuga, Keuka and Seneca wine trail executive committees, as well as the respective wine trail directors, brainstormed a way to bring cohesive management of unruly groups by wineries and cideries.
The idea for borrowing the yellow and red disciplinary cards from the game of soccer was suggested by Mike Fitzgerald, of the Finger Lakes Winery Tours company, Thomas said.
Yellow cards will be given as a warning and provide the group the chance to get an unruly or misbehaving participant back in line in order to continue their wine tour.
Red cards will be reserved for rare circumstances and will limit, or even bar, the group from visiting other wineries.
The goal is to create a better line of communication between winery staff and a group's leader who has arranged the outing and has the most invested in continuing the day as planned.
“Usually if there is a group leader, they can really control the group as a whole, say 'Quiet down' or 'Come on, we need to end this now,'” Millspaugh said.
The cards include space to describe the offense that is inspiring the card. When a group is carded, winery staff will immediately call the next winery or two on the group's itinerary to notify them of the issues with the group.
“Basically, the jig is up,” Millspaugh said.
Group tours will also be asked to abide by a code of conduct prohibiting drunkenness, damage to winery property, theft, rudeness, threatening behavior or inappropriate body exposure. They will also be required to make reservations.
Part of the growth of misbehavior reflects the growth of the Finger Lakes wine region's winery numbers and popularity, wine officials said.
Some of the groups come from the Ithaca-area colleges, so the wine trails corresponded with college officials on the development of the warning card program, Gober said.
Thomas talked to peers in California's much older Napa Valley wine region about how they handle gone-wild groups. Napa wineries have raised tasting fees - taking out the economic advantage of cruising to wine tastings - or physically altered their driveways so limousines and buses can't fit, Thomas said.
But neither of those options are right for the Finger Lakes, which is opting for the yellow and red cards, he said.
“It's first of its kind,” said Gober, referring to the group management techniques of wine regions across the United States.
The ultimate goal is to bring the program to all the wine trails, including the Canandaigua Wine Trail, and to all wineries, whether they are official wine trail members or not.
“I truly believe everyone will participate,” Millspaugh said.
The program will track which tour companies and which wineries are experiencing the most problems . That information will help the wine trails microtarget the effort, Thomas said.
Chris Couch, the tasting room manager for King Ferry Winery, said the winery already has rules in place that have eliminated problems from large groups of boisterous drunks. But it will participate in the yellow and red card program.
He welcomed a cohesive effort that will involve many of the region's wineries “as a way to not only make sure everything goes smoothly and nicely for our staff but to ensure an enjoyable visit for other patrons to our tasting room.”
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
To reach that goal, the wine trails have announced an initiative to give yellow or red warning cards to groups treating a wine trail as a pub crawl.
Wineries have reported public urination or female patrons going topless on their properties; groups with the goal of boosting wine glasses or wine bottles as mementos of the occasion; verbal arguments with employees; and even one new graduate jumping off head-first from a winery's deck.
And then there's the concern of drunk driving once the groups are dropped off by a limo, bus or trolley at their vehicles.
“There's no law that says they can't drink on the bus between the wineries,” said Joe Gober, the owner of Americana Vineyards on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail and one of the leaders on the new initiative. “By the time they arrive, they're pretty intoxicated. We've experienced vomiting in the parking lot or urination in the parking lot.”
Paul Thomas, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail executive director, said drunken misbehavior by group tours is not an epidemic, but the goal is to “gently bend behavior back in the direction we prefer.”
“We really want the positive,” said Cathy Millspaugh, executive director of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. “Have a good time. Enjoy the scenery. Enjoy the wineries ... not a drunk fest.”
The development of the “Safe Group Wine Tours” program started last December. Members of the Cayuga, Keuka and Seneca wine trail executive committees, as well as the respective wine trail directors, brainstormed a way to bring cohesive management of unruly groups by wineries and cideries.
The idea for borrowing the yellow and red disciplinary cards from the game of soccer was suggested by Mike Fitzgerald, of the Finger Lakes Winery Tours company, Thomas said.
Yellow cards will be given as a warning and provide the group the chance to get an unruly or misbehaving participant back in line in order to continue their wine tour.
Red cards will be reserved for rare circumstances and will limit, or even bar, the group from visiting other wineries.
The goal is to create a better line of communication between winery staff and a group's leader who has arranged the outing and has the most invested in continuing the day as planned.
“Usually if there is a group leader, they can really control the group as a whole, say 'Quiet down' or 'Come on, we need to end this now,'” Millspaugh said.
The cards include space to describe the offense that is inspiring the card. When a group is carded, winery staff will immediately call the next winery or two on the group's itinerary to notify them of the issues with the group.
“Basically, the jig is up,” Millspaugh said.
Group tours will also be asked to abide by a code of conduct prohibiting drunkenness, damage to winery property, theft, rudeness, threatening behavior or inappropriate body exposure. They will also be required to make reservations.
Part of the growth of misbehavior reflects the growth of the Finger Lakes wine region's winery numbers and popularity, wine officials said.
Some of the groups come from the Ithaca-area colleges, so the wine trails corresponded with college officials on the development of the warning card program, Gober said.
Thomas talked to peers in California's much older Napa Valley wine region about how they handle gone-wild groups. Napa wineries have raised tasting fees - taking out the economic advantage of cruising to wine tastings - or physically altered their driveways so limousines and buses can't fit, Thomas said.
But neither of those options are right for the Finger Lakes, which is opting for the yellow and red cards, he said.
“It's first of its kind,” said Gober, referring to the group management techniques of wine regions across the United States.
The ultimate goal is to bring the program to all the wine trails, including the Canandaigua Wine Trail, and to all wineries, whether they are official wine trail members or not.
“I truly believe everyone will participate,” Millspaugh said.
The program will track which tour companies and which wineries are experiencing the most problems . That information will help the wine trails microtarget the effort, Thomas said.
Chris Couch, the tasting room manager for King Ferry Winery, said the winery already has rules in place that have eliminated problems from large groups of boisterous drunks. But it will participate in the yellow and red card program.
He welcomed a cohesive effort that will involve many of the region's wineries “as a way to not only make sure everything goes smoothly and nicely for our staff but to ensure an enjoyable visit for other patrons to our tasting room.”
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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