Surely you shouldn’t have to tip at a wine tasting? Or maybe you should!
YOU’RE ON a visit to the Cape winelands to buy a bottle or three or to enjoy lunch with one or other glorious backdrop. En route you stop for a wine tasting. R100 plus per person. Come time to pay for the tastings and the fella asks if you’d like to leave a gratuity. Hmmm!
In South Africa you always tip the petrol station attendant, don’t you? Maybe not every car guard? The waitron at a restaurant, surely? Why not the person who does the pouring at a wine farm tasting room and tells you all about the wine, the farm, et al? Do you tip the barman when you buy a glass of wine or a pint of beer? Hmmm! But then aren’t you expecting more from the guy or the gal on a wine estate?
Tipping in the tasting rooms is not expected by the management at most cellars in Stellenbosch, Constantia, Paarl and other wine districts. On most farms it’s against the wineries’ policy for the tasting room staff to receive a gratuity, let alone ask for it. And yet! Sooner or later somebody’s going to chance their arm again and they might just take a chance on you.
Come on!! Tip the people who serve you at wine tastings!!!! If you find yourself at one of the Cape’s exquisite wine farms, you are most probably a person who has ‘made it’ already, able to afford several bottles of wine. The person serving you is most probably still striving towards his or her ideal… R20, R50 or even R100 [extra] will not make you poorer. If it does, you should probably not be where you are at that moment.
Of course you should tip [at a wine tasting] if you are happy with the service.