Sonoma State University and eWinery Solutions create the Winery Website Challenge

Linda Nowak, Executive Director of the Wine Business Institute of Sonoma State University and Richard M. Kline, Founder and CEO, eWinery Solutions, are pleased to announce a unique opportunity that benefits both a local Sonoma winery and students in the Institute’s renowned Wine Business Program. The SSU Winery Website Challenge will create a brand new website absolutely free to a Sonoma-based winery. Complete information can be found at www.ssuwinerywebsitechallenge.com.

The winning winery will receive both the completed new design and the ecommerce website, and free hosting and maintenance services for one year from launch date. eWinery Solutions software includes an easy Content Management System, Wine Clubs, Preference Based Marketing, Promotion Builder, Allocations, social media tools, embedded video, and much more.

The website will be designed and built by Sonoma State student teams during the 2010 Spring semester, under the guidance and tutelage of Sonoma State faculty and eWinery Solutions management.

The challenge offers students invaluable hands-on experience in dealing directly with the winery and developing a successful  business model for prolonged sales and wine marketing. The winning winery will be selected by a panel made up of Sonoma State faculty and other members of the wine industry to be determined.

“This collaboration between the Sonoma State University Wine Business Institute and eWinery Solutions is an outstanding example of the partnering relationships we create between the wine industry, our faculty, and our students.  These hands on experiences help prepare our graduates to be the next generation of wine industry experts.”—Linda Nowak, Executive Director, Wine Business Institute

“We are thrilled to participate in this program by donating our technology and services to Sonoma State University. It will provide students professional experience in developing and utilizing consumer direct ecommerce tools, while helping the university further its mission to prepare students with a world class wine business education.” Richard M. Kline, Founder and CEO, eWinery Solutions.

Sonoma State University Wine Business Institute is located in the heart of California wine country and created through a partnership between the university and the wine industry. This is the first and only program in the United States to focus exclusively on the business aspects of the wine industry. The Wine Business Institute is located within the university’s School of Business & Economics; a fully accredited AACSB institution. www.sonoma.edu/winebiz/index.html

eWinery Solutions is the market leader in e-commerce software dedicated exclusively to the wine industry. eWinery Solutions enables clients to achieve greater flexibility and control throughout every aspect of their e-commerce programs. Founded in 2002, the company now serves more than 300 clients in the U.S. and in overseas markets utilizing the company’s proprietary technology. www.ewinerysolutions.com

Also contributing to the program and donating their services to the SSU Winery Website Challenge are Dan Chapin, Artisan Media Services for video marketing, www.artisanmediaservices.com, and Rocco Ceselin, BR Pacific, Inc. for site design, www.brpacific.com.

 

All aTwitter over the Tasting at Hahn Estates

Having been to professional tastings in my varied career in the wine business, I was somewhat apprehensive about going to Hahn’s offices for their Taste Live on Saturday, November 6. Professional tastings (or even the big public tastings such as Pinot Days or ZAP) can be somber events with admittedly great wines tasted and the pressure to take intelligent notes stressful. (I’d much rather drink than write about what I’m drinking.)

But because I not only like Hahn’s wines a lot, but like the folks at Hahn (one of the few wineries completely devoid of attitude, just a lot of very friendly people), I decided to go with my partner Michael French. I brought my computer with me, since my cell phone does not allow people with fat fingers to type accurately on its mini-version of a mini-keyboard.

I figured I would taste a wine, write a note, taste another wine, write another note. Dull, but necessary to keep up appearances as a professional wine writer. (Truth in blogging: Fuck that shit, I don’t fool anyone.)

Now I had read on the invite that there would be “nibbles” to accompany the wines. Nibbles! I don’t nibble. I eat. So I decided I would first head off to one of my favorite spots in the city of Napa, Downtown Joe’s, a brewpub with good food and great beer (I know, but I go both ways).

Having filled up on chicken enchiladas and a delicious Porter, I headed off to the Hahn offices. Uh-oh. Nibbles? There was a spread not only fit for a king, but fit even for me. Oh, well. There’s always room for more.

First things first. I started up my computer. It crashed. Rebooted. Crashed again. Odd, because I had used my computer at Downtown Joe’s to check email, map out how to get to Hahn’s offices, and basically look like an Important Person. This was frustrating, because the first wine, the Cycles Gladiator Chardonnay, had already been poured. Have you ever tried to balance a stubborn laptop, a cell phone (as backup), a glass of wine and a plate of smoked trout brandade?

Smoked trout brandade? This gives you an idea of the “nibbles” that Philip Woodrow prepared. This was an extraordinary combination of flavors and textures. Mmm. Apparently that was just what my computer needed, because right after I inhaled that incredible dish, my computer booted up and I could proceed to attend to the business at hand, which was to eat more of that delicious smoked trout brandade.

But to the wine. Cycles Gladiator Chardonnay. One quick taste told me Central Coast fruit. (So did the label, but I like to think I figured it out from the taste.) It was tropical fruit: papaya, pineapple, a bit apple-y, light oak, some floral aromas. Not especially complex, but a typical Chardonnay of that style, except this one was very well made. Normally I’m not a fan of California Chardonnay (I love White Burgundy, especially Meursault). And while this wine would not get me to drink California Chardonnay regularly, it is definitely one to buy, especially for my friends who love Chardonnay.

The next wine, a 2006 Monterey Pinot Noir under the Hahn Label, happens to be my everyday house Pinot. I bought this wine even before I joined the Hahn wine club where I can now buy it at a price so low it gives their accountants heart attacks.

This wine is smooth, with delicious cherry flavors and Asian spice aromas. It is rich yet not syrupy. There is an elegance to this wine that belies its velvety texture. It was paired with shrimp wrapped in bacon. Many people at the tasting loved the pairing. I did not, though I loved the shrimp and adored the wine. To me, the fruit in the wine was partially obscured by the smokiness of the dish. Other people though it enhanced it. Shows what I know. Or what they know. Actually I found the Pinot went better with the cheeses, including the Humboldt Fog.

But so far, 2 out of 2 for the wine and 2 out of 2 for the food. (Did I say the food was incredible? I did? Ok, I’ll probably say it again later too.)

The third wine was Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon. I don’t recall the year (note: I wasn’t really tasting the wines. Wines this good you don’t taste. You drink. And I drank.) The cabernet was paired with tri-tip in a cabernet reduction sauce. There was nothing reduced about the flavor of that sauce. This was the best dish of the evening. And it had real competition too! This Cabernet showed the classic flavors of cassis and plum with a hint of chocolate and vanilla, accompanied by fine tannins and a lingering finish. This wine and food were so well paired that I saw them leaving the party together.

Wine #4: Petite Sirah. This was under their Huntington label. I enjoy Petite Sirah a lot. To me, this is a wine you drink for the sheer sensual pleasure of it. There were flavors of deep dark plum and blackberry fruit, a bit of burnt brown sugar, chocolate–not cocoa, but dark chocolate flavors. This is one of the few wines I actually can enjoy completely without food. (Some Zinfandels are like that too, though mostly I prefer wine with food.)

The wine was paired with ‘smores, though I didn’t have any. I try to limit my sugar intake to those sugars that have been digested by yeast. Of course, having had a cupcake from the cupcakery next to the Napa Valley Opera House earlier didn’t help. But the Petite Sirah was delicious and I didn’t miss the ‘smores.

A bonus round of Hahn Syrah was next poured. But I have no notes on it. I did taste it, remember liking it, though I have a bottle here at home and will taste it again this week.

Also on the food table were vegetables, though I didn’t have any. They were green. And while I remember reading somewhere that vegetables are good for you, I also remember reading not to believe everything you read. But they did look good.

It was interesting to note that at the start of the Taste Live, everyone was busy on their cell phones and computers, tweeting away, happily paying attention only to themselves and their keystroking. But that didn’t last long. Soon people were doing as people ought to be doing. Talking, being friendly, enjoying the wine and food. And forgetting to Tweet.

There are some remarkable people in the wine business. Interesting people. Intelligent people. Friendly people. Talkative people. Are people who work in other industries the same? Would a party of shoe salespeople be as much fun? Who knows? Who am I to pass judgment on how boring people in other fields are? (That was a joke. Get over it.)

This was a terrific event. The food was delicious. The wines were excellent. But it was the people who hosted and the people who attended that made the evening. I’m only sorry that I didn’t get to talk to everyone who was there, but met new people, talked to others I’ve only tweeted with, and had a truly great time. But oh, those wines and that food!

 

Is There Such a Thing as a Feminine Style Wine?

I was in a restaurant the other day and the sommelier recommended what turned out to be a glorious Chateauneuf du Pape. La Crau de Ma Mere 2004. The sommelier said it was a feminine style wine because the winemaker was a woman. I was eager to see what that type of wine would be. I still don’t know.

The wine was rich, deep dark fruit, smoke and lavender. It actually tasted very much a New World style. Yet I wonder whether there is such a thing as a “feminine” wine. Yes, some wines are more elegant and lighter than others, and some are dark and brooding, but I wouldn’t call one feminine and the other masculine.

I also thought it was odd that the wine would be considered feminine just because the winemaker was female.

So my question is this: Is there such a thing as a “feminine” style wine? And if so, is it synonymous with light and delicate? And if not, what would it be?

The restaurant, by the way, was Chez Papa Resto in San Francisco which has some of the best food in the City.

 

Focus on what you do well, not on what someone else does poorly

There have as of late been quite a few blog posts about the folly of hiring so-called Social Media “Experts”. Most make the very good point that merely because someone has created a Facebook page and knows how to spell “Twitter” it does not make them experts in the art and craft of wine marketing, branding, and communications.

Just as people are smart to be wary of web developers who live in their mothers’ basement and have built websites for their friends and some small businesses, whom you hire for your business is a very important decision. There’s a lot more to building a successful ecommerce website than knowing HTML and Flash.

That said, I’ve also noticed that many if not most of the people doing the complaining are basically complaining that they stand to lose business if people choose someone else for their social media consulting. Yes, they are right to be concerned; everyone these days needs to maintain and increase their client list. Their bios show how long they’ve been in the business as compared to other people who claim to be experts. So the blog post comes across as just a big complaint, rather than helpful tips to others.

Sometimes you just have to focus on what you do well. Spending too much time and energy focusing on who is following you on the freeway and less time keeping your eyes on the road create its own set of problems or even a crash. And it is also possible that a newbie has a great idea that never occurred to you because you are used to doing things the same way over and over and have gotten into a rut.

Let customers and potential clients know your skills and your vision. Demonstrate what you can do for them, and let the other folks stand or fall on their own. And who knows, maybe you can also learn something from a newbie.

 

The Passion of the Newly Converted

Over and over again we hear how everyone must immediately enter the social media space. Blog posts have been written saying that you cannot wait because “there is such an impossible catch up that you will never get current.”

This is just nonsense. I don’t mean to say social media has no value. It has great value. Wineries (and other businesses) can do very well to communicate with their customers, listen to them, re-create the tasting room experience online. It’s good to monitor your brand to see what others are saying about you.

But social media can only work as one element of an overall marketing strategy. There are many reasons a winery may choose not to enter this space.

1. They are small and like it that way. Not everyone wants to become a megawinery. They may not have the staff (some wineries are literally one or two-person operations). Their efforts may be better spent elsewhere.

2. They may not be good at it. Not everyone is sociable. Social Media has been compared to a cocktail party. Not everyone likes cocktail parties. Some just stand around in a corner staring at the onion dip. If you can’t do it well, it can actually hurt your brand to do it.

3. They may want to do it but just cannot afford the staff or the time. It’s not something you can do every now and then. Social media does require a commitment. In old media, a winery may realize the benefits of a full page ad in the Wine Spectator, but if they don’t have the money for it, they don’t get to take the ad. And SEO should not be neglected. That takes time too.

4. Sometimes an email list is all they need to sell their products. If their wines are well-reviewed, they may sell everything on the website and run out of product before the next vintage. And they can be fine with that.

But if they don’t do it today, guess what? They can indeed do it tomorrow. Over time they can learn the advantages of social media, they can learn how it works and do it well, they can decide to allocate resources to it and drop other methods of promotions.

My point is not that social media has no value. It has plenty of value. It is important.  But if a company wants to wait and see what happens in this fast and ever-changing space, that’s ok. To say it’s too late if they don’t do it now makes no sense on the face of it. Does this mean there’s no point in starting up a new winery a year from now? They won’t be entering the social media space until then. How is it that they can they do it next year but an existing winery cannot?

So yes, social media is a good thing. It opens up markets, it connects with your customers. It can, if done right, help sell more wine. So while people who are comfortable being early adopters can benefit from their embrace of the new, there are others who prefer to wait and see where this is all going and then follow the crowd. There is room for all models.

 

Why Social Media Training Needs to be More Social

Seminars have been given on the care and feeding of Social Media. An expert stands in front of the room, eager attendees listen closely and write down every word on their computers or on paper.

Webinars are the same, except the attendees are at their own place of business or watching at home in their pajamas.

But in both cases, there is a distance and a barrier to learning just what Social Media is all about. Like many lecturers, there are people who know their subject far better than their ability to communicate it. And the lecturers aren’t always aware of the paper shuffling, the foot tapping, and the quick and not-quite-so-furtive glances at watches.

There has to be a better way, and in fact, there is. It’s a group of people getting together and talking, sharing, asking questions, getting answers. Both lecturer and attendee have their assumptions challenged, their premises questioned and a spirited dialogue emerging. Which is exactly what Social Media is about.

I have given these seminars to various groups of wineries. And what I have found is fear, doubt, and a general reluctance to engage in social media. Everyone nods approvingly, takes copious notes, and ultimately does not understand the concept. Even our question and answer sessions, while more dynamic, still have the residual “I’m not sure I understand so I won’t say anything and appear dumb.”

Granted, this could be because I am not the world’s finest communicator, at least in this format. But why should this be a lecture anyway? My own style fits very well into the style of what social media truly is. It is a dialogue, a conversation, with questions and answers.

Enter Beerinars. Let’s talk about social media over a beer (or wine, or iced tea or water or whatever) and ask, answer, challenge, offer, speak, listen, tell jokes, trade stories, learn, teach. Everyone will do each of these things. I call these sessions Beerinars even when given for wineries, mainly because wine-inars sounds dumb, iced-tea-inars is idiotic, and I happen to like beer as well as wine!

So if you just want to gather somewhere (and it doesn’t have to really include beer, or anything alcoholic, this will be during the workday) we can find a friendly spot and figure out how to participate in social media in a way that works specifically for you.

If you happen to be a winery or wine-related client of eWinerySolutions, you can sign up for these sessions at www.ewinerysolutions.com/webinars and the sessions will be in their Napa offices or other convenient spot. If you are not a client or just prefer doing this outside eWS, contact me at larry@beerinars.com and I will gather the info and set something up and get this show on the road. The cost is minimal. And even less (for eWinerySolutions clients).

For the record, I am the Director of Social Media for eWinerySolutions, but they are merely a client of mine. If your web host, employer, or best friend is a competitor, keep in mind that I do not trade info to them, from them or with them.

Larry Chandler

@larrythewineguy

 

Do People Really Care about Direct Wine Shipping?

With all the talk about direct shipping, one question keeps coming back to mind. Do people really care? I don’t mean the wine industry people, or collectors, or people just passionate about wine. But the average guy, who just wants a good bottle of wine for that night’s dinner, does he care?

He can go into his supermarket or local wine shop and find something decent. He’s not looking for a Block A, Clone 2 or Famous Vineyard wine. He just wants a good red or a white for tonight.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely one of those who are outraged by the outright purchase of the various state legislatures by the liquor wholesalers. I talk to out-of-towners (yes, I’m here in the enlightened—if broke—state of California) and tell them to voice their displeasure at the restrictions imposed on their wine purchases back home. But ultimately, will they? Are they angry enough to complain or merely disappointed or even relieved that they don’t have to succumb to the pressure of joining a winery’s wine club?

I bring this up only to wonder if there is perhaps another approach that people like myself (and you, I hope) can use to persuade people to get mad enough at their states for these shipping restrictions.

I know the tireless efforts of Tom Wark and many others in the wine industry is having some effect in some states (e.g., Tennessee and Kansas which now allow direct shipping). But wouldn’t it be a lot easier if somehow we can get people angry enough to demand it themselves? Legislators will respond to angry voters. Perhaps a campaign against “government bureaucrats who tell you what to eat and drink for dinner”?

 

Social Media HighWire Act Without a Net (or Strategy)

Everyone is talking about social media. In fact, that is what social media is, getting everyone talking. But are they talking about you? And if so, what are they saying?

So perhaps you do want to be involved in social media. What is social media anyway? Social Media is simply a set of tools to enable individuals and businesses to communicate easily with other individuals and businesses.

Unlike traditional media, social media is a two-way street. Traditional media, whether it is newspapers, TV, or even websites, is a one-way street. Information comes from the source, and is distributed to the readers, viewers, and users.

But with social media, everyone creates content, and everyone absorbs the content that is created—if they choose to pay attention to what you create.

So it’s important to get people to pay attention to you. But here’s an important question: How? And Who?

And the answer to that is called a strategy.

But a strategy really doesn’t need to be a dozen people sitting around a conference table for 6 months figuring it out. That is quite daunting. There are just a few steps involved, and that involves asking questions about both your customers and yourself:

1. Know your customers. Are they young, impulsive, eager to try something new? Or are they older and buy full cases of your $200 Cabernet solely by allocation?
2. What is lacking in your current marketing efforts? Are your sales declining in restaurants, in the wholesale market, at the winery itself, through the wine club? Or do you sell everything you make and then go skiing in Switzerland for 6 months?
3. Do you have a marketing department and/or a large staff generally? Do you do everything including making the wine and sweeping the floors or are you a multi-brand Mega Winery?
4. Are you looking to establish new brands? Social media is great for this.
5. Look at the existing social media sites and see where your competitors are. Do they know something you may not?
6. Are you patient? Or are you the type to expect results from Day One?
7. Are you nimble enough to change tactics and strategy if necessary?

All of this is relevant to what strategy to pursue. And it will be different for each winery. And monitor the results and make changes based on what you find.

Most important though for the winery to think about, if you don’t really “get it,” if you just don’t see the point of social media, then don’t do it. You won’t do it well, and may actually harm your brand.

And sometimes the best strategy is to sit it out until it is clear just how to monetize all this. There’s no need to buy commercial time on TV if you don’t know whether your customers are watching 60 Minutes, Desperate Housewives, or the WWE Smackdown.

Plan your destination first. It’s better to be left behind at the station than to get on the wrong train.

 

New Vine Logistics update in the SR Press Democrat

Taking a break from mostly Tweeting (@larrythewineguy) about the New Vine Logistics fiasco. There is a great article in the Press Democrat about it, so read it here: http://bit.ly/wDsPN

 

How will the fallout from the NVL fiasco impact DTC?

Are other fulfillment houses at risk if wineries pull their wines in fear of yet another shipper going bust? Will wineries lose interest in DTC if they don’t have the facilities to do their own fulfillment? Amazon was supposedly going to give this whole category of DTC a lift. What will happen now?

I don’t think anyone knows exactly how this will play out, but it is time to start thinking of alternatives and how to best overcome these newly placed obstacles.

It is a disaster for the wine industry, even if a particular winery is not impacted. Many people who are expecting wine club shipments and don’t get them may quit other clubs too.