Adapt or Die. (Winery Website Developer Edition)

There is a small industry that caters to wineries seeking ecommerce. These companies, IBG, Vin65, eWinery Solutions, Submerce, and others, exist because they develop and build (possibly also design) websites just so wineries have a way to sell their products online. Wineries pay perhaps $5,000 (amounts do vary) for the build and then pay a monthly hosting fee (really a software rental fee) that comes to $300-$400, less if the hosting company takes a percentage of sales.

So will Facebook and other social media sites eliminate them? See the excellent blog post from goodgrape.com: http://bit.ly/btFX3h The relevant portion is the second part of this post. And see the comments for some thoughtful disagreements.

Facebook won’t replace winery websites at least for now. But the times they are a changing, and it will be interesting to see how and when it all happens.

Something similar happened once before to another industry. It was an industry I worked in for years, and one day, poof! It was gone. Here’s the story:

Once upon a time there was a big industry that employed lots of craftspeople (artists, really, in their own way) called the Typesetting Industry.

It employed a hundred billion people (well, quite a few anyway) in many cities, especially New York (the place I was most familiar with). The classified job listings in the Sunday NY Times specifically looking for typesetters was huge. (This was before Craig Newmark invested his list.) The ads just for typesetters took up many columns of tiny type (a job a typesetter had, by the way).  If you were even halfway good, you could work all the time plying your craft.

Then one day in 1984, the Mac, an Apple Laserwriter, and software called Pagemaker came knocking at the door. They hadn’t been invited to the party, but decided to attend anyway.

The typesetting industry laughed and laughed. “This is not how we set type, you puny little toy machine. We use big machines, with lots of code.”

Someone started up a magazine about this new fangled thing now called “Desktop Publishing.” And someone took their new Mac, their new Pagemaker, their new Laserwriter, and created a big ad for this magazine.

And it was the ugliest thing you ever saw. “Would You Believe We Created This Ad on a Mac?” the big headline of the ad said.

Everyone laughed. It was badly typeset. Wordspacing, linespacing, typography was awful. It was impossible to read. It needed to be laughed at.

But not for too long. Because hardware gets better, software gets better, and most of all, people get better. And over time, this new-fangled device started to take over the lower end of the market. Simple ads, resumes, flyers.

The quality and variety of the work done on a Mac increased exponentially until it even surpassed the existing model. And those in the type industry who didn’t get it, didn’t stay around much longer. And those who did, adapted, found a new business model, learned what was now needed in the marketplace.

So perhaps Facebook (and whatever else there is now and may be coming soon) is not an ideal solution to replace a winery website now. But it would be a mistake to ignore it.

It may be too complex for Facebook to replace ecommerce sites now. But that will get better (or something better will come along to replace it), people will learn how to use it better, and for some, it will be good enough for now.

One day wineries will wake up to the face that they may not need to spend $300-$400 per month on software rental and maintenance. And then the companies that develop winery websites will either figure out how to extend their reach, how to offer additional services or they too will go the way of the typesetting industry.

Adapt or die, as they say. Adaptation takes time, dying happens all at once.

 

Random Thoughts on Wine and Social Media

Special consulting rates are offered to clients who provide Peet’s coffee served with cupcakes from Kara’s. (added 4/6)

Being a social media expert is like being a mail-merge expert in Microsoft Word. It’s nice, but there is so much more than just that one thing. (added 4/6)

The 4 stages of iPad: 1. Who needs it? 2. I agree, but I prefer my laptop. 3. Wow, that’s cool. Someday. 4. Do you take American Express? (added 4/6)

If you go to a party, don’t expect a round of applause when you first enter. Same with social media. People don’t hang out on Twitter or Facebook simply to talk to you or buy your wine. Listen, engage, be friendly. Over time, who knows? (added 4/6)

The Red Queen said: Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that! –Alice Through the Looking Glass (added 4/6)

There’s no downside to engaging your customers in dialogue.

If you don’t have time to talk to your customers, why do you think they have time to buy your wine?

Engaging with people requires time and effort. No time? Can’t make the effort? Retire already and sit on a rocking chair and watch the sunset.

Social Media is not another form of advertising. Greeting a person at the store entrance and saying “Hello” is also not advertising.

Being friendly and communicating with others won’t guarantee wine sales just as being friendly won’t guarantee you find a mate in life. But it sure helps.

You’re not the dentist or the funeral director. People are eager to buy your product. Don’t be unfriendly and send them away.

If you can’t greet potential customers at the door, greet them on their computers or iPhones.

You don’t show up at a party and say first off, “Hi. Join my wine club.” So why say it on Facebook or Twitter?

No matter how friendly or nice you are, not everyone will like you or your wine. Accept this in life too. But still be friendly and nice.

Don’t neglect the old-fashioned way of communicating via targeted email. People who have signed up for your newsletter are begging you to talk to them.

So you sell out all your wine by allocation and have a waiting list a mile long? Ok, indulge yourself. Be the nastiest person on the face of the earth. But one day this attitude will bite you in the ass.

Which is more important at dinner, the wine or the food? Neither. It’s the people you’re with—your friends and family.

Don’t make it difficult to buy your wine online. Developers do what they’re told. Learn what to tell them.

Everyone who chats about wine whether in person, online, on a blog, on social media, is a potential salesperson for you. Hire them all, and it won’t cost you a dime.

You can outsource your social media conversations, but why? You can hire me or someone else to do it, but will we care about your brand or just about the paycheck?

There are a lot of well-informed and knowledgeable people who blog about wine marketing. Reading them is free. Ignoring them may be costly.

You can mention you’re having sale when conversing on social media. But if that’s all you do there, goodbye. You’re boring.

Updates to this can also be found at www.ewinerysolutions.com/randomthoughts

 

What Buying Tea Taught Me About Selling Wine

In addition to wine I like tea. Well, coffee too, but this is about tea. And wine.

In a moment when I felt like splurging (the trip to Paris was out, a new car was out, buying first-growth Bordeaux was out), I thought I would go to a very high end tea specialist to purchase some interesting teas that I cannot get at my favorite tea store. (I don’t want to mention the name as that would be unfair free advertising for them. But if I did want to mention them, I would say Peet’s Coffee and Tea.)

So I head off to Oxbow Market in Napa, home to my favorite suppliers of exquisite provisions (love that word, provisions), and immediately went to my favorite store there, Kara’s Cupcakes. Oh, wait, this is about tea. I meant Tillerman Teas. Their tea list is extraordinary. “Tea List”? WTF is a tea list? Obviously it is a list of their teas. But they don’t just have black tea, green tea, oolong tea, etc. They have 9,000 Darjeelings, 4 million Oolongs, even more green teas, and so many black teas that a list of them cannot be printed without destroying all the remaining forests in the world. And believe me, I am not one prone to exaggeration.

I was sniffing, smelling and deciding what Oolong tea to buy. Did I want Alishan Spring Harvest or Alishan Winter Harvest? Was I interested in Jade Oolong or Roasted Oolong? Was my preference an Oriental Beauty or an Oriental Concubine? (Well, both, but never mind that. This is about tea.)

The person selling the tea began to explain a tea ceremony, the proper preparation of tea. The pot, the cups, the water temperature. He asked how I heated the water. Well, I said, I put the water in a cup and put it in the microwave…..OMG, he collapsed on the floor. “A microwave? Oh, no!!” he cried. “Never boil water in a microwave. This destroys the oxygen!”

All I wanted was some nice tea to enjoy on a cold and damp day (of which we have many lately). And now I was told I couldn’t simply enjoy the tea, but I had to do it properly or it doesn’t count.

So this leads me (finally) to say that is this what we wine people do with wine? Do we take all the pleasure out of drinking wine because we tell them the proper temperature to serve the wine, the proper balance of flavor, mouthfeel, tannin, acid? Do we explain why this vintage is better than that vintage? Do we do all this ad infinitum until the poor person who just wanted a nice bottle of wine is totally confused?

When we pair wine with food, do we insist that only an unoaked Chardonnay will work or a Pinot Noir from the Russian River? Do we say a wine should be cellared because it will be better in 2 ½ years?  Do we just take all the enthusiasm out of a wine purchase just because we know about wine and know what we like?

Might it be better to ask what they have liked before and find something similar without going into historical references and flavor profiles? Does someone who does not like Cabernet be told that this Cabernet got 95 points?

I know why we say this. But does it turn some customers off and they figure they’d rather not appear ignorant and serve or order the “wrong” wine?

At a tasting one man was explaining to a novice wine drinker that you never ever hold the glass by the bowl, only by the stem, so as to not heat the wine. Well, bull. Maybe the wine is too cold. Maybe the customer likes it warm. Maybe it’s just easier to hold the glass by the bowl and not worry about it. I wonder if that novice wine drinker ever went to another tasting.

If a customer wants to know the trellising system in the vineyard where these particular grapes come from fine. Tell him. But if someone else just wants a good red wine, ask him what he liked in the past, and find something you think he’d like now. He may enjoy it far more not knowing anything about it. And maybe you can turn people into wine lovers. Enjoying wine really shouldn’t be work.

 

The Evolution of Taste

Taste evolves. In food, in wine, in music, in art and in ourselves. We start out simple and grow into complexity.

Not everybody. And not with everything. But there is a definite progression as we get older in what we enjoy.

We eat the blandest of foods as babies. Pablum, applesauce, then as we get older our food gets more complex. Those who learn how to cook can become very creative and appreciate many types of dishes.

As kids we love cartoons. As adults (well, bad example, cartoons are still great). But we love action movies before we love movies with complex relationships.

It’s true with almost everything. And everyone accepts and understands this.

But not with wine. With wine, there must be something wrong with you if you don’t start out appreciating a fine Bordeaux or an older Riesling. Why?

Appreciation of wine evolves just like anything else. This doesn’t mean that today you won’t like the wines you liked yesterday. It is possible, but it’s also possible to add new wines and new tastes to your repertoire. Even among the greatest aficionados of fine Barolo, who doesn’t still like chocolate milk and Oreo cookies? (Okay, point taken. Well, I still do.) Among the more adventurous of us, tastes continue to evolve. You may not ever get to the point of “that’s it, this is what I like and I’m sticking with it.”

My own palate has been evolving ever since I started to drink wine regularly at the ripe old age of, well never mind it wasn’t legal. And from at first sweet and simple wines, my palate evolved to appreciate the better wines from the many fine wine regions around the world.

But nothing prepared me for the sudden palate shift of the last few weeks. Pinot Noir has been one of my favorite varieties. I’ve always liked the deep, rich, black-fruited versions found in California, especially from Santa Barbara’s Santa Rita Hills.

Over the last few weeks, however, I tasted, as part of a larger group, over 100 Pinot Noirs from all over the world. This was in a series of double blind tastings, each of four tastings consisted of four flights, eight wines each. And from starting out loving the dark intense Syrah-like Pinots, I got bored with them fairly quickly. At the end of the series of tastings, I began to appreciate, and in fact, love the more elegant, lighter, floral, aromatic Pinots. Every one was different, had something new to offer. I liked some more than others, some less. Some were balanced, some not. But even the lesser ones seemed to offer more than a solid block of fruit and oak. Orange rind here, lavender there. Strawberry in one, sour cherry in another.

Some wines offered multiple layers of complex aromas and tastes. One sip, I wrote down one descriptor. Next sip, I crossed out the first one, and wrote down a different flavor or aroma. And with the wines I used to love, I got tired of writing down deep rich black cherry/raspberry/oak. Maybe on the next tasting I will bring a rubber stamp that says this. It will be much easier on my wrist.

Not everyone has the opportunity to taste a variety in such depth. But even on a lesser scale, it’s a great way to continue to learn about wine and learn about what you truly enjoy. Your love affair with wine can start all over again.

 

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