Author Archive
5 Things Every Video Marketer Should Know…Before Production Begins!
Posted by: | CommentsWe recently celebrated the completion of our 175th wine industry related promotional video and had several people ask 
us what the “secret” is to creating something that’s actually effective versus “just another marketing spend”.
Well, the secret is… Read More→
Tradition, please meet Technology…I think you’re going to get along famously!
Posted by: | CommentsI was sitting on a plane recently surrounded by people either banging away on their laptop or “thumbing” through their phone and it got me thinking about the wine industry’s relationship with technology. People have suggested that the wine industry is so steeped in tradition and so far behind “technological times”, that online marketing for suppliers will never work. They suggest that the industry is too “word of mouth” dependent, and that winemakers really do drive around with an 800 page dog-eared print directory in their pickup rather than research what they need online.
Is that really possible…would we chose to make life harder in the name of tradition?
I started to think about this and it occurred to me that the wine industry is all about making things easier…with two caveats. First, it leads to better quality wine and second, it helps sell the wine we produce.
Just a few examples to hammer home my point:
In the vineyard we’ve designed gentler mechanical harvesters. On the crush pad, pneumatic basket presses are better than the originals, and in the cellar, double sorting machines provide even cleaner grapes. We have products like Acrolon’s TankNet that allow you to monitor and manage tank temperatures from anywhere in the world and management systems, like WMS, that allow access to production activities anywhere you can get on the internet. Our tasting rooms have POS systems, like VinNOW, that can track customer behavior and buying habits at a level inconceivable 10 years ago. In the marketplace, we can monitor activities at the account level to see where our competitors wines are being sold and where our wines need to be. Online marketing providers, like the Wine Industry Network, is now connecting buyers and suppliers in a virtual marketplace never before seen, and are growing at a rate that exceed even the most optimistic projections!
With all that said….I hope we never lose the traditions that make the wine industry so special. Who doesn’t love walking the vineyards and seeing them change from one season to the next, the smell of fermenting grapes during harvest, experimenting with different blends in the lab and the excitement surrounding a new release. Best of all….celebrating the fruits of our labor in a way that other, more “technologically advanced” industries only dream about!
George Christie - Founder & President of WIN
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Selling Wine…Meet Facebook!
Posted by: | CommentsFor the last two years, like just about everyone I know, I’ve been friending, posting, and indulging in a lot of general voyeurism on Facebook, but mostly trying to figure out how to use this channel to actually help sell. Not indirectly through clever posting…but really sell.
Well….leave it to the brain trust over at Cruvee to come up with a solution….and I love it! 
Not only have they been making it easier to control the accuracy of your winery’s online data, the new Facebook application they’ve developed allows participating wineries to add a “WINES” tab that not only markets their brands in a way never before seen but also links your fans directly back to their shopping cart. Wineries now have the opportunity to finally try to convert their fans into actual consumers. Here’s the best part….it’s FREE!
Check out a few that are already on board:
- Jordan Vineyards & Winery: FACEBOOK LINK
- Hanzell Vineyards: FACEBOOK LINK
- Twisted Oak Winery: FACEBOOK LINK
George Christie - Founder & President of WIN
Now I’m not here to tell you what to do…but this should be an easy one. Just visit www.cruvee.com , register your winery (if you haven’t already) and follow the instructions for the Facebook application.
Good selling!
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Do I Really Need A Video?
Posted by: | CommentsNo…you don’t really need a video, but one of the greatest characteristics of our industry (lucky for us) is the curiosity our customers have about day to day life at the winery. For those that are fortunate enough to work at one, it’s great…there’s no doubt about it, but certainly not always as glamorous as it appears from the outside. Nonetheless, all are welcome as we open our doors for our customers to take a peek behind the proverbial curtain!
But… what happens after a great visit? How do we extend the experience?
George Christie - Founder & President of WIN
For direct marketers, email, and now social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, have been outstanding tools to maintain dialogue and relationships and provide a “virtual” extension of the “winery experience”, but how do we leverage the one thing that no one can copy…the people behind the brand?
This is where video crushes the competition! Nothing, and I mean nothing, captures the passion and personality of a winery’s people better than video! Good news…your customers would always rather watch a few minutes of video on your winery happenings than read another email and the bonus… search engines LOVE video!
Here’s the best part…your video doesn’t need to cost a ton of money or look like a Hollywood production. In fact, some of the most interesting and engaging videos that I’ve seen are the simplest and are shot with a flip camera. I know these videos drive the “real” videographers absolutely nuts, but guess what…the viewers don’t care. They just want something authentic. That doesn’t mean that hiring a pro isn’t a good idea, just don’t let a small budget deter you from exploring and including video in your plans.
Here’s a great example of video at its best: Seghesio Harvest Video. They wanted to capture the family’s involvement around harvest, and more importantly, give the viewer a real sense of their commitment to quality.
Harvest is just around the corner…think about bringing your customers onto the crush pad!
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To Custom Crush or Not…Good Question!
Posted by: | CommentsThe last few years have seen more growers in Northern California wrestle with canceled contracts, a decline in grape prices or the worst case scenario….not selling their grapes at all! The question they face; do I cut my losses, take what I can and live to fight another year or….commit even more dollars to this year’s crop and gamble on making my money back on the bulk market?
George Christie - Founder & President of WIN
Sounds like a simple question, but as with anything related to agriculture, there are no guarantees…guaranteed!
For the conservative, the bulk market is definitely not the answer. Spend less in the vineyard, be as efficient as possible, hang a little more fruit and hope that buyers appear at some point before the rains begin. Hopefully they’ll make their farming costs back and maybe next year things will get better.
For the more aggressive, taking matters into their own hands and processing their own fruit to sell as bulk wine is the answer. They believe that wineries will continue to supplement the grapes they process with purchased wine and will be willing to pay for quality once they have a better read on the demand for their brand. They’re betting that the wineries already playing the bulk market will increase the amount of bulk they purchase. All of that, coupled with the increase in new world négociants and custom label business, is the best way to extend the harvest and protect their investment…even if it takes a little more time and money to get it back.
The truth is….no one really knows.
Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Sell your grapes for as much as you can and allocate a small percentage of your crop each year to custom crush. Work with a good winemaker and reputable facility and if there’s an uptick on the bulk market for your varietal…you win. If the demand for grapes swings back around…bulk prices usually go up right along with it, so you can win there too.
One thing most growers can all agree on is that the business of selling grapes has changed…and may not be changing back for a while.
NOTE: To learn more about current market conditions check WIN Members: Ciatti Company and Turrentine Brokerage.
