Archive for the ‘Wine Marketing Rules’ Category
A clear eyed understanding of the wine industry is the prerequisite for the industry’s health and for success working in the industry. Too often I bump up against folks in the industry that don’t appreciate some basic truths about the industry. This, in turn, leads folks who want to succeed in the wine industry down a path that inevitably runs up against roadblocks. The five facts that follow are among the most important clear-eyed views of the wine industry that…
In 1990 I went to work for a wine-oriented PR firm in Santa Rosa, California. I was fresh off the college boat, had never worked in public relations and the only insight I had into how the media works was that I saw newspapers and magazines arrived at my home with relative regularity. I didn’t know any journalists or writers. I read a lot, but the idea of speaking with writers and suggesting topics for them to write about held…
“Our aim is to democratize wine. The mission is to remove the elitist, stuffy image from wine and bring it to the people.” The odds are 2-1 that any new consumer-facing wine service, app, editorial venture or website will make this above claim about what it is they are attempting to accomplish. More often than not, this “mission” is driven either 1) by the fact that the wines being sold or promoted through the new service are under $30 per…
There appears to be a growing acceptance within the wine industry that not only ought wineries in the United States include ingredients on their labels, but that consumers are demanding it or will demand it. This idea is on the verge of becoming accepted wisdom. But is it true? And is it necessary? A recent survey by the Wine Market Council found that consumers generally do not place much value on ingredient labeling or nutritional labeling on wine bottles when…
You are a small producer of wine. Say, 5,000 cases. What can you expect from working with a distributor? This is an important question that will be addressed at the upcoming 3-Tier Symposium being produced by Wine Industry Network in May. As a reminder, here is the basic conditions under which a wine producer must work in order to see their products end up on the shelves of a retailer or the list of a restaurant in another state via…