From the tasting room, the front desk, and the dining room
Stories and Insights for wineries, hotels, and restaurants
Essays from tasting rooms, inns, and wine bars, and shorter pieces on what a host can change this week. Written for owners, managers, and the people who greet the guest at the door.
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Latest stories
Insights
Short, practical pieces on the guest’s first few minutes, wine club sign-ups, and keeping a team consistent from one shift to the next.
Meet the Winemakers
An oral history of the people who make the wine, from the vineyard to the cellar. Every one of them answers the same twenty questions.
The Wednesday newsletter
About a thousand words each week for people who run tasting rooms, inns, and restaurants. A story from the floor, a bit of that week’s Insight, and the occasional winemaker.
Work with me
For wineries, boutique hotels, inns, and restaurants that want their team telling the place’s story well.
Why this exists
What a guest remembers about a tasting room or a hotel lobby usually comes down to the first few minutes with whoever greets them. Most of the advice written for hospitality teams skips those minutes and goes straight to sales numbers.
These pieces stay in those minutes. They come from places I’ve visited, people I’ve interviewed, and the research behind both, and they’re written so an owner can hand one to a new host and talk it over before the doors open.