For your winery cellar door, brewery, distillery, wine bar, hotel, restaurant or activity center we are here to bring people to you.  Have buses, will travel to all suburbs and regions of our great Southern State.

Below is a simple summary of how we both may be able to benefit from a working relationship.  Please make contact to have a chat.

Karrie & Steve

Proud to be South Aussie

Our roots are firmly planted in South Australian vineyard soil.  With no desire to expand interstate or “go global”, Adelaide Winery Tours engages SA skills, experience and ideas to provide the best possible local tour and transport experience.  Not the cheapest.  Not the largest fleet.  THE ONE people will remember, tell their friends about, the one punters will come back to time and again because we will make sure everybody has the BEST day.  Adelaide Event Transport, Adelaide Airport Transfers, Adelaide Partybuses, Adelaide Brewery Tours – same place, same number, same experienced, helpful bunch of enthusiastic staff and drivers.

Where we come from

It’s hard to say when or where it began, but some of us remember Ansett, Compass, TAA, Krondorf, Rosemount and Tolley’s.

I founded and operated a business called Adelaide Impressions Chauffeured Services for about 20 years.  It was there where minivans evolved to compliment and eventually surpass stretched limousines for popularity.  More people, MORE ROOM, more fun and better economics.  To this day our 12-29 seat LimoBuses and Partybuses are busy as great value alternatives to Hummer limos for school formals as well as winery tours.

Today and tomorrow

Currently we operate a fleet of small to large buses, with the mean group size in the 10-20 guest range.  An average week sees us conducting 15-20 regional & metropolitan tours, scores of local school sports transfers, numerous lifts to and from the airport, concerts, parties and wine bar hops.  We share work with most of the major transport and tourism operators in SA – another facet of the current business model with origins in the chauffeur scene of decades past.

2021 is a most interesting time to be alive and in Adelaide.  How lucky are we really?  Live music is back, sport is back.  We have every reason to celebrate.

Our customer groups are predominantly local, or have a large SA component, celebrating birthdays, work social club outings, hens days and the like.  Repeat and referral business is a huge factor in our continuing success.  Hence apart from lockdown and of course venue capacity constraints we are in fact reaching targets ahead of schedule.  Let’s hope this virus gets handled really soon, and that we all learned the value of working together, helping each other.  Connecting the regions with the city, and venues with each other = have bus, will travel.

How WE do it

We are here all year round, not just when the weather is sunny, or at Christmas time or during wedding season.  Local people have plenty of reasons to celebrate, like a birthday, work social club outing, sporting club tour, family lunch or my personal favourite: “just because”.

Most of our staff and drivers LOVE wine, beer, cider, gin and all things South Australian.  Scrumptious food, tasty platters, regional fresh produce.

Many groups choose a liquor licensed bus, and almost all of our drivers have a current RSA.  Hence the booking process, the on vehicle and at premises behaviour code includes a set of rules designed for patrons to know what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.  We hold a security bond for all outings, so in the rare case of issues we have means to remedy, such as extra cleaning, souveniring or a broken glass.  99% of bonds are returned to customers in full.  Detailed T&C’s here: http://www.adelaidepartybuses.com.au/standards-of-behaviour/

Customer and venue booking information flow

Most new customers find us online via Google, Facebook or Instagram.  A huge portion of our work is repeat or referral business.  All groups are made up of friends or acquaintances, ie they know each other.  We do not sell tours “by the seat”.

The booking process starts with an enquiry email, message or phone call, then a written quote with options accounting for start/finishing suburb, preferred region, venues and dietary needs.  A deposit follows to secure a reservation.  This sometimes happens many months from an event, or literally the day before, with most tours organised 3-6 weeks out.

Some customers arrange their own venues, while for the majority we recommend places to visit based on group size, the occasion and what the customers’ preferences are, eg whites over reds, organic wines, beer-gin-cider and so on. 

A draft itinerary is drawn up, venues are contacted as soon as practical.  We aim to build a relaxed, yet interesting day, with enough time not just for tastings, but for purchases and to potentially stay and share a glass/bottle where appropriate.  Most tours have a format of 1-2 group tastings, lunch, then a chill stop for guests to enjoy a drink with their mates before heading back home.  Often we manage to fit in a scenic spot for group pics as well.

Adjustments are made as the event date nears re guest number for example, which more often than not decrease in the two weeks prior to the tour.  Adelaide Winery Tours remains the predominant contact for all group bookings arranged in this fashion.

Final confirmations with venues and the customer are conducted by phone in the week leading up to the tour.  Measure twice, cut once for us means double checking EVERYTHING prior to an event.  Full final payment is taken from the customer, including a security bond.

Event info is provided to our chosen driver with two days to review, ask questions, do a little homework re places to which he/she has not been to before.

Vehicles are prepared at our central depot, and often include decorations and personalised message signs such as “Happy Birthday Maddy, from Adelaide Winery Tours”.

On the tour day our driver arrives at the customer’s place about 10 minutes prior to departure time, helps load and gives a “Captain’s Spiel” utilising a safety card similar to what we are all accustomed to on a plane.  The day’s plan is discussed venue by venue, along with time keeping, behaviour rules & expectations, what has been paid and where individuals are required to pay themselves etc.  Storage space is available for take home purchases, and felt pens are provided to record names on those.

On arrival at your place our driver introduces the group, and generally stays to supervise and co-ordinate the visit.  Many eateries have been kind enough to include a driver meal, which is very much appreciated and gives him/her every reason to stay. 

The vast majority of tours run to schedule.  Of course as we are in the people business, things can and do change without warning sometimes.  When we are running early or late, our driver makes contact with the relevant venues to advise and manage accordingly.  And on that extremely rare occasion when a tour goes hopelessly off schedule a venue may be cancelled.

Whenever a tour is happening, Karrie, Shelley, Lucy or I are contactable by phone on our main number – ie somebody is available at the office.  Drivers sometimes ask for help with phoning ahead to venues (eg with a lunch order), and you have that one constant point of contact available throughout.  Importantly if you ever have any issues or questions about a visit before, during or afterwards, please call us right away.  We are very much about dealing with situations while they are happening, to help, manage and direct where we can.

Once everybody is delivered back home safely and the bus has been checked for those pesky bits that people tend to leave behind, like phones, keys, wallets and bottles of wine (Yes, true!), our trusty driver gets to go home and have a well-deserved knock off drink.  😊

In a weekly cycle of paperwork, the driver’s report is reviewed, venues contacted if need be (rare, but if any mention of behaviour issues are written down, you will get a call for a chat), and an email is sent to the customers for feedback and to arrange return of their security bond.

Most customers do give feedback, and if your venue is mentioned, that email will be forwarded to you.

Why its worthwhile

Each visit showcases your venue to new customers.  While some will purchase take home goods, we can never tell ahead of time who will or won’t, so some cost needs to be associate with a tasting visit to ensure this is worthwhile for you.  A redeemable wine tasting fee is a good fit here, in my opinion – however that is entirely up to you.  For larger groups or occasions such as younger birthdays a reduced tasting selection might be appropriate.  I am keen to chat about all the possibilities to ensure that everybody is happy.  To match the right kind of group with your business at the best time of the day.  Some cellar doors choose to open for us prior to regular public trading hours.

You know that you will have a group arriving at a set time, so can schedule resources accordingly.

You have a captive audience for a time, eager to try your wares, potentially enjoy a glass after the tasting (time permitting), perhaps sign up to a mailing list or buy some merch.

Guests are highly likely to return on another occasion with family and friends, smaller groups, often doing their homework for private functions like family birthdays, anniversaries, work team get togethers.  And of course, the next tour with us!

Long term relationship

We are all about the long game.  Many drivers have worked with us since the beginning.  Likewise, many wineries and restaurants have been hosting our groups regularly for years.  We are all aware that little stays the same for very long, so we are keen to keep abreast of changes and help you and your staff in every way possible – so please tell us how we can best fulfill that mission.

Very happy to promote your next big event, or that special release coming up.  Social media is so powerful, and we would love to work with you to ensure our combined long-term success.

Contact us to chat!

info@adelaidewinerytours.com.au