Reviews for cellar doors, breweries and distilleries

Cellar doors, craft breweries and distilleries run on visitors planning a day out. Most of them find you on Google Maps, read a handful of reviews, and pick where to go next. Many are tourists, which means the visit is your only chance to ask.

The tasting bar is the moment

Visitors stand at the bar for twenty minutes or more, relaxed, talking to staff, and usually holding a phone to take photos. A stand on the bar catches them while they are enjoying themselves, rather than at the car park when the designated driver is in a hurry.

What staff say

Glad you like that one. If you have a second, tapping this leaves us a Google review. It helps people find us.

Responsible service comes first

Two rules matter more here than anywhere else:

• Never tie a review to a free tasting, glass or bottle. Google bans incentivised reviews, and linking free alcohol to anything raises responsible service of alcohol issues.
• Do not push for reviews from visitors who have clearly had too much. Apart from the obligations, it produces reviews that do not help anyone.

More on the review rules in asking for reviews without breaking the rules.

Follows keep tourists coming back

A visitor from Melbourne or interstate may not come back for a year. A follow keeps you in their feed: new releases, events, club offers. A follow stand at the bar works well alongside the review stand. See getting follows in person.

A note on Business Profile posts

Google restricts posts that promote regulated goods, which includes alcohol. You can still use your profile for opening hours, events and photos of the venue. Keep promotional content about the product itself for your own website and social channels. See Business Profile posts.

Groups and tours

Tour groups and hens parties arrive together and leave together, often on a bus. Ask the organiser or tour guide rather than every guest, and make sure the group knows where the stand is before the tasting ends, not as they climb back on the bus.

Photos sell the visit

For cellar doors and breweries, photos of the setting often matter as much as reviews. The view, the tasting room, the food. See Business Profile photos.