An open letter to the MICE industry. Written between harvest and delivery deadline, with a glass for courage.
We read your article. We laughed. Then we went quiet — because we recognised ourselves in every paragraph. Just from the other side of the high table.
You confess your sins? Fair enough. So do we.
1) Pride -> Humility Our sin: “We’ve been making wine since 1887. What could possibly go wrong?” A lot. Quite a lot, actually. A wine cellar is romantic on Instagram and a logistical nightmare in practice. No power sockets. No WiFi. Staircases that the 19th-century architect definitely did not design with flight cases in mind. Our virtue: We now ask proactively: “Do you need a technical entrance?” And we listen — even when the answer is “a forklift for the projector”.
2) Greed -> Generosity Our sin: The most beautiful backdrop, included — but the second bottle at the networking? Extra. And the third. And the still water. Our virtue: Cut the wine package, lose the client. A good open-bar concept isn’t a luxury. It’s risk management.
3) Wrath -> Patience Our sin: Setup starts at 6am. The group arrives at 6:05. All 47 of them. And asks if they can “have a quick look at the cellar”. Our virtue: We breathe. We smile. We think about the vines outside, which also need 10 years to produce anything worth drinking. Patience is a growing virtue.
4) Envy -> Collaboration Our sin: “Have you seen what the winery in the next valley is doing? Wine tasting with a DJ and a drone show.” We saw it. We rolled our eyes. Then quietly copied it. Our virtue: This industry runs on mutual referrals when we’re fully booked. Envy doesn’t make good wine. Collaboration does.
5) Gluttony -> Restraint Our sin: “We could add a barrel tasting. And a tour. And a second tour. And a dinner with the winemaker. And cheese afterwards.” The programme then runs nine hours. Guests leave after three — full, but confused. Our virtue: Fewer stops, more impact. A good evening needs room to breathe. And no, “one last glass before you go” does not count as a break.
6) Sloth -> Diligence Our sin: “We did it the same way last year.” True. And last year the welcome table was too far from the door. The signage was missing. And the bathrooms only opened after the keynote. Our virtue: Checklists. Location run-of-show. And a team meeting the evening before where we talk not about wine, but about emergency exits and power supplies.
7) Lust -> Good taste Our sin: The sunset over the vineyards is so good we put it in every proposal. “Golden hour among the vines.” Sounds wonderful. It is wonderful. For exactly 23 minutes. Then it gets dark, and we haven’t planned any outdoor lighting. Our virtue: The setting serves the event — not the other way around. We don’t place candles without reading the fire safety plan first. Usually.
A winery as an event venue has character, history, and the smell of old oak. It also has quirks, blind spots, and at least one staircase too many. But it learns. Slowly. With dignity. And with a good vintage as motivation.
To all event managers: we see your sins. And we won’t cast the first stone. We’d rather pour you a glass.
— The winery. We also worked with Excel. We regret it.
At winepop.events we bring both worlds together — so your next event at a winery doesn’t fall apart because of a staircase.
Inspired by: The 7 Deadly Sins of MICE by Fernanda Udaondo Varela, Vice President of EMA 🔗 Original articlendo
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