Tastings vs Waters Edge Wineries Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Tastings vs Waters Edge Wineries including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Tastings Franchise
Waters Edge Wineries Franchise
Investment $300,000$269,674 - $769,760
Franchise Fee N/A$50,000
Royalty Fee 5%5% +$200/mo.
Advertising Fee 1%2%
Year Founded -2004
Year Franchised -2012
Term Of Agreement --
Term Of Agreement --
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Tastings Franchise
Waters Edge Wineries Franchise
Experience --

Financing Options
 
Tastings Franchise
Waters Edge Wineries Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees -/--/Yes
Start-up Costs -/--/Yes
Equipment -/--/Yes
Inventory -/--/Yes
Receivables -/--/-
Payroll -/--/Yes

Training & Support
 
Tastings Franchise
Waters Edge Wineries Franchise
Training -You will receive comprehensive training from us.We will provide you with pre-opening training courses, both hands-on and classroom based, to help you prepare for opening for business. We’ll also provide training and documentation on how to run our micro-winery tank system. On-The-Job Training: 1 week Classroom Training: 1 week Additional Training: Via Webinar
Support -Ongoing support and refresher training as needed. And, you’ll have access to confidential operational documents and manuals to help guide your daily winery business functions efficiently. Our team of experts will provide on-going support to ensure the success of your business. Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations
Marketing -Getting to know your market - we offer tools and guidance to help know more about the demographics in your market versus our benchmarks. You may want to start to look for spaces that are appropriate for our model, and get an idea on market rents.
Operations -Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 3 - 5

Expansion Plans
 
Tastings Franchise
Waters Edge Wineries Franchise
US Expansion --
Canada Expansion --
International Expansion --

Company Overviews

About Tastings

"Tastings" is truly about creating a wonderful and unique "Wine Experience" for our customers. We are Friends, Neighbors, and Wine Enthusiasts who happened upon a remarkable wine bar in Italy. After sheer amazement at the progressive wine-sampling technology, we knew we had to share it with everyone back home. After years of research and hard work, not to mention a lot of wine "sampling", we opened Tastings with the intention of impressing everyone else beyond the limits of how the bar in Italy impressed us. Tastings opened its first location in the dynamic area of downtown St Petersburg, FL in 2005. After months of inquiries and wishes for other locations, we decided to franchise Tastings in order to share this exciting new concept with everyone across the nation. It was in August of 2006 that we sold our first franchise and then our second franchise just a few months later. The level of interest since then has only intensified and we are looking forward to an exhilarating new year. We hope you will find the comfortable atmosphere of Tastings to be that of your own home. Entertaining with friends and enjoying wine & food is truly a passion of ours, and we are excited to share with you the venue to do so yourself. Cheers! Penny Maso, President

About Waters Edge Wineries

In 2012, Waters Edge Wineries was created to focus on a single brand name. Our philosophy is focused on helping people learn about the amazing world of wine and remove the barriers that keep people from enjoying wine on a regular basis.
Our franchise helps people start up complete wineries in a retail space that ranges from 2, 500 - 4, 000 square feet. Think of it as a "micro-winery.” The difference between a Waters Edge Winery and a traditional winery is that we do not grow or crush the grapes - we outsource those functions to a global network of vineyards and growers. This lowers the cost of ownership, and removes the biggest risk associated with most wineries.
Actual wine production is done onsite. A Waters Edge Winery® makes several wines that are exclusive to our winery locations. We make many of the popular varietals, including Merlots, Cabs and Chardonnays. We also make some harder-to-find wines such as Barolos, Gewurztraminers, Pinotages, Petit Verdot and Ports. We source grapes globally that will allow you to make over 50 different kinds of wine using grapes from the best grape growing regions in the world. Places such as California, Italy, France, New Zealand, Chile and Germany. We also offer a lineup of wines that are found nowhere else and add to the spectrum of tastes for our guests. These include fun wines such as our popular Peach Apricot Chardonnay and Cranberry Malbec. These wines are easy for nearly everyone to enjoy - low in alcohol and slightly off-dry.
We believe that wine is meant to go with food. And our guests will linger in our wineries longer if they have food readily available. Waters Edge has a partnership with Boar’s Head Brands to offer a light menu which includes tapas, Panini-style sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, artisan cheeses and fruits, as well as delicious desserts.

Seeking new franchise units in the following regions/states:
Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming