With the rise and rise of the smartphone, and the march of social media into every corner of our lives, the desire to rate, review, critique and “share” every waking moment is omnipresent. But when is this appropriate, and when does it simply degenerate into rudeness or irrelevance?
The most curious thing happened a few years ago. One of the great wine regions of the world became passé in one of the largest wine markets. Bordeaux was becoming hard to find in the United States.
SVB Financial reports that buyers will begin to spend slightly more for a bottle of wine into 2011. If this is the case, the question becomes: how does the small family owned winery with a lower operating budget market their wines to consumers and try to make the most of the improving economy?
This past June, I had the good fortune of attending the Wine Bloggers’ Conference in Walla Walla, WA. Over the course of three days, many of my long held beliefs about wine PR were turned upside down, as well as most of my public relations plan (both short and long-term) for Dry Creek Vineyard. Let me explain.
Every new Internet development comes with a hyperventilating promise to change the way a winery does business by revolutionizing how it interfaces with its customers by creating a new type of community around the brand. Yet, these innovations rarely become the ubiquitous life changers they are touted to be.
Social media has become one of the most used buzzwords of the last several years—along with Google (as a verb), subprime, death panels, friend, un-friend, tweet, and of course, blog. Wine has its own set of buzzwords, of course, from biodynamic and sustainable to screwcap, critter label, and boxed wine. Put social media and wine together, and you have a possibility to dramatically shift the way we connect with and consume wine.
I belong to a small family of Port Wine producers based in the Douro Valley for many years.
I've been following the career path of Rick Bakas ever since I met him two years ago. Now the Director of Social Media Marketing for St. Supéry Wines, Rick is responsible for creating and executing all of the digital strategy for the Skalli Family wineries, including St. Supéry in Napa Valley and sister wineries in France. He has a devout and voluminous following on Facebook and Twitter and no one knows the subject of bacon better than Rick.