Stuff article Sept 8th, 2025
SPONSORED CONTENT BY SERVICEIQ
Casita Miro has become a benchmark for hospitality excellence
On Waiheke Island, Casita Miro isn’t just known for award-winning food and wine. The vineyard and restaurant has become a benchmark for hospitality
excellence, thanks to owner Catherine Vosper’s commitment to training her people – supported by a long-standing partnership with ServiceIQ.
Together, they are showing how structured on-the-job learning can elevate guest experiences, build staff capability, and raise the bar across New Zealand as per our wine tourism.
For Vosper, investing in people has never been optional. “A healthy business will always seek to make their business better, unrelentingly! You must never stop working to raise the bar,” she says.
“As people are the core of hospitality, investing in their education and other pastoral growth experiences means that your business will provide increasingly better customer service.”
Vosper believes the impact goes well beyond customer satisfaction. “Your staff will feel better in knowing that they are worthy of such educational investment,” she says. “It’s a win-win situation! It’s extremely important that we, as hospitality businesses, look at our industry sector as a whole and work together to help lift professional standards.”
Service that makes a difference
This commitment shows up in the way visitors experience Casita Miro. “The result of better service is greater job satisfaction and confidence for the team who have made the customers happy,” Vosper says. “It is such a wonderful feeling to make someone happy… and of course, it is great for business for happy customers to spread the word of their satisfaction. They will do your marketing for you!”
Her philosophy has helped establish Casita Miro as a standout in New Zealand wine tourism. But Vosper is also clear that excellence is not achieved in isolation. ServiceIQ, the nationwide work-based training specialist for New Zealand’s service sectors, has been a key partner in supporting her team to continually lift their skills and confidence.
Pippa Saxon, National Account Manager at ServiceIQ, says New Zealand makes outstanding wine, but what truly elevates a wine tasting is the story and service.
“Structured, on-the-job training means every host can deliver that story with confidence and consistency, so visitors have a memorable experience, and venues see stronger sales,” she says.
“Our approach is industry-backed, developed in partnership with New Zealand Wine, and the unit standards are chosen to lift service quality across cellar doors around New Zealand.”
Cellar Door Excellence
That collaboration is now extending to ServiceIQ’s new Cellar Door Excellence programme, designed specifically for wineries.
Vosper says the fit was obvious. “On Waiheke, our busy season is over summer, and we will double our staff numbers for six months. They need to be trained quickly and thoroughly, so the ServiceIQ Cellar Door programme is a no brainer.”
The programme equips seasonal and permanent staff alike with practical skills to engage visitors, communicate product knowledge, and deliver consistent service. For busy wineries like Casita Miro, it means newcomers can get up to speed quickly without compromising the guest experience.
The initiative also creates clear pathways, says Saxon. “In partnership with New Zealand Wine, Cellar Door Excellence pathways into the New Zealand Certificate in Tourism (Level 3), so teams can gain NZQA-recognised skills while they work. For venues like Casita Miro, it sets a clear benchmark for hosting tastings, improves guest experiences, and builds a pipeline of talent who can progress,” she says.
Building confidence and careers
Vosper has seen first-hand how structured training benefits everyone in the workplace. “This style of training benefits the entire team! People stay in a position for longer when they can see their professional growth, obtain career advancement and receive better pay when they reach their educational goals,” she says.
Learning lifts confidence, connection, and loyalty, says Vosper. “The trainer is always learning, too. If the business is successful, it can pay better wages and provide bonuses and perks so staff will stay longer.”
Raising industry standards
Looking ahead, Vosper wants to see consistent excellence across New Zealand wine tourism. “New Zealand already has a reputation for great wine. But you need to be able to sell it! This is particularly important in our current economic climate,” she says.
Vosper believes the Cellar Door Excellence programme has the potential to transform the sector. “Imagine if every single Cellar Door in the country had staff armed with multi-cultural empathy, warmth, sales techniques, wine intelligence and local knowledge, the world will be knocking at our doors!”
To explore tourism training opportunities, visit ServiceIQ’s tourism programmes, particularly the Cellar Door Excellence programme.
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