Trius focuses on tour that’s great for selfies
‘The traditional winery tour was long overdue for an update,’ says brand manager
The Trius brand is hoping to turn the wine tour experience on its head with a new immersive, firstof-its-kind winery experience.
Launched a few weeks ago, the tour was the idea of Trius estate manager Tim Coons and brand manager Tina Truszyk.
“The traditional winery tour was long overdue for an update,” says Truszyk. “Guests want to tour and learn at their own pace in a way that’s fun and accessible.” The tour begins in the Rosé Lounge overlooking the Niagaraon-the-Lake vineyards with a ceiling-high floral wall made of pink-coloured roses that are perfect for taking snapshots with friends.
“A wine can be elevated by the company or the experience,” says Truszyk. “We’ve switched it up, and the product doesn’t take centre stage any longer — the experi
ence is the product.
“We’re trying to bring that experience, the beauty of the floral wall, and it immerses you in rose.”
The tour continues with the entrance to the sparkling cellar, the largest in Canada. Using light, colour, movement and dangling globes, it makes guests feel as though they are inside a bottle of bubbly.
In the cellar, guests can enjoy some sparkling that has been “sabred,” whereby the top of the bottle is removed with a blade.
Adding to the immersive experience, people can challenge themselves at the aroma station, which replicates what one may recognize from the sparkling wine.
“Winery tours can become very similar, here’s the grapes, here’s the barrels. Putting guests in the driver’s seat of their individual winery experience sets the Trius tour apart from the pack,” Truszyk says.
“The tours are paired down in term of how much the guide speaks, they introduce the space and let the visitor take in the information at their own pace.”
Guests can learn how to sabre a bottle or find out how much pressure is in a sparkling cork — equivalent the pressure of a double-decker bus tire — all at their pace.
“We have lots of credibility and awards, and we’re able to do these Instagram-able moments, in each category that we were great at, and turned them into an experience.
“The product is in their hand, but it’s the experience that people will most remember at the end of the day. Next time they buy a bottle of rosé, these emotions will come flooding back to them.”
The tour also includes the sparkling house, where guests can sit in a swing designed as a muselet — the wire cage that holds a cork in sparkling wines — as well as a bathtub of bubbles.
“The tour is packed with information about our world-class wines and the winemaking process, along with beautiful installations which will have guests stopping in their tracks to take a photo,” says Coons.
The tour is available at Trius Winery seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. for $35 a guest.