How the Right Audio Can Make or Break Your Guest Experience

By: Michael Fletcher / Signal Solutions

Walk into a winery tasting room with no music and the silence impacts you almost immediately. Every cork pop, every chair scrape, every quite conversation permeates the space; you yourself feel like you need to be silent and reserved. Add the right soundtrack, though, and suddenly the room breathes. Guests linger longer. Conversations flow easier. Even the taste of the wine is elevated. It all comes down to the simple, but little understood fact that the human brain is remarkably easy to influence through sound – this is psychoacoustics.

How Sound Can Affect Buying Choices

Psychoacoustics is the science of how humans perceive sound; our brains are constantly using audio cues to interpret emotion, comfort, energy, and flavor. Yes, even flavor – we call this “sonic seasoning”. Humans evolved to prioritize sound because hearing functions as an early warning system. You can close your eyes, but you cannot really “turn off” your ears. The brain is always processing auditory information in the background, determining whether the environment feels safe, exciting, intimate, or chaotic.

For wineries, that matters enormously, because your tasting room is not simply a retail environment. It is experiential. Guests are not just buying wine; they are buying identity, memory, aspiration, and experience. Music becomes an invisible architecture, shaping how people emotionally interpret the room before they consciously realize it.

Tempo alone can dramatically influence guest behavior. Faster music subtly encourages quicker movement and higher energy. Slower music encourages people to relax, settle into conversation, and spend more time tasting. Studies in hospitality environments consistently show that slower-tempo music can increase dwell time, which in turn often increases purchasing behavior.

Volume matters too. Loud music creates stimulation and excitement, but it also increases cognitive load. Guests must work harder to hold conversations, process tasting notes, and interact with staff. Moderate sound levels create warmth without forcing visitors into a shouting match over the nuances of terroir. This translates to a memorable guest experience and more bottles sold. People are more likely to buy another bottle when they are not being sonically chased out the door by aggressive dance remixes. Go figure.

Setting the Tone: Music’s Role in the Tasting Room

Often overlooked or misunderstood is the importance of music genre and how it creates immediate subconscious assumptions about brand identity. Classical music communicates sophistication and tradition. Acoustic guitar playlists suggest authenticity and craftsmanship. Jazz can create intimacy and elegance. Country music can feel approachable and regional. Meanwhile, a tasting room serving reserve Pinot Noir while blasting nightclub techno may unintentionally create what researchers call “confused sensory messaging,” or what everyone else calls “weird vibes.”

In practical terms, wineries should think about music with the same intentionality applied to lighting, glassware, furniture and art. A playlist should match the brand story, time of day, guest demographic, and pacing of service. Morning tastings might benefit from softer acoustic textures and lighter instrumentation, while evening service can gradually build energy without overwhelming conversation.

Most importantly, the best tasting room music never calls attention to itself. Guests should not leave saying, “What an excellent Spotify playlist.” They should leave saying, “I loved the atmosphere.” The soundtrack succeeded because it became emotionally inseparable from the wine, the conversation, and the memory.

Wine has always been about sensory storytelling. Music simply helps the brain believe the story faster.

Supporting Wineries Since 1987

Signal Solutions has been partnering with many Napa and Sonoma wineries for decades. We regularly  specify, design, install and service audiovisual systems that blend in with any architecture and integrate programable visual signage connecting directly with tasting room clients. 

Also, as we have done with one of our more high profile winery clients, we integrate surveillance/CCTV and access control systems into wineries of all sizes ensuring that your people, product, and property remain safe and secure. Signal Solutions will also support all of your data cabling and networking needs, providing systems that enhance not only your guest experience, but safety and operational efficiencies as well.

Michael leads engineering at Signal Solutions where he helps our customers seamlessly integrate the latest audiovisual, surveillance, access control, and network technologies into their workplaces. Previously with Six Flags, where he led IT operations for the Northern California parks, including oversight of the largest single Point-of-Sale system in Northern California, in-park audio, and data infrastructure, he has a clear understanding of how technology drives and enhances guest experience.

Signal Solutions has nearly 40 years of experience partnering with our customers for their low voltage needs. As various systems converged on to the network, Signal Solutions was at the forefront of this revolution.