Wine

10 Strategies to improve your winery's direct to consumer sales program

Improving marketing for a winery's direct to consumer sales program is essential for driving revenue and growing the business. There are several strategies that wineries can implement to increase the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and boost direct to consumer sales.



  1. Develop a clear brand identity: A strong brand identity is essential for building trust and loyalty with customers. Wineries should develop a clear and consistent brand message that communicates the unique qualities of their wines and the values of their business. This includes developing a logo, color scheme, and tagline that represents the winery's brand.


2. Utilize social media: Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are powerful tools for reaching new customers and building relationships with existing ones. Wineries should create social media profiles and post regular updates about new wines, events, and special promotions. Additionally, wineries can use social media to showcase the behind the scenes of their business, such as the vineyards, winemaking process, and the people who make it happen.


3. Create engaging content: In addition to social media, wineries can also use content marketing to connect with customers and build their brand. This includes creating blog posts, videos, and other forms of content that educate and inform customers about the winery and its wines. Wineries can also use email marketing to reach out to customers directly and keep them updated on new wines, events, and special promotions.


4. Optimize your website: A well-designed and user-friendly website is essential for any direct to consumer sales program. Wineries should make sure that their website is easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and optimized for search engines. This includes using keywords in the website's content and meta tags, as well as ensuring that the site is fast and easy to load.


5. Leverage customer data: Wineries should track and analyze customer data to better understand their target market and tailor their marketing efforts accordingly. This includes tracking customer purchase history, demographics, and preferences to target specific segments of the market. Wineries can also use customer data to personalize their marketing efforts and create more effective campaigns.


6. Invest in events and experiences: Events and experiences are a great way for wineries to connect with customers and build brand awareness. This includes hosting wine tastings, winery tours, and other events that give customers an opportunity to learn more about the winery and its wines. Wineries can also create unique experiences such as wine pairing dinners, vineyard hikes, and more.


7. Partner with other local businesses: Wineries can also increase their marketing efforts by partnering with other local businesses. This includes working with restaurants, hotels, and other tourism-related businesses to promote the winery and its wines. Wineries can also partner with local retailers to sell their wines in-store.



8. Utilize Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for reaching new customers and building brand awareness. Wineries can work with social media influencers in the food, wine, and lifestyle spaces to showcase their wines and educate audiences on the winery and its products.



9. Invest in paid advertising: Paid advertising, such as Google AdWords or Facebook ads, can be an effective way for wineries to reach new customers and increase direct to consumer sales. Wineries can use paid advertising to target specific segments of the market and drive traffic to their website.



10. Create a loyalty program: A loyalty program is a great way to reward customers for their repeat business and encourage them to purchase more. Wineries can create a loyalty program that rewards customers with discounts, free bottles of wine, or other incentives for making repeat purchases.


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  1. Ready to take the next step for your wine or hospitality brand?

New Wine Deal Announcement Great Mother's Day Gift!

Disclaimer: Affiliate links contained in this blog post, and if you make a purchase I may receive compensation from your purchase.

California Wine Club is currently celebrating their 30th Anniversary, and to celebrate, they are running a great deal right now. Click the link below for the full details, and use Code “1990” at checkout for 30% (Crazy right?!) off your first delivery!

With Mother’s Day Right around the corner, a wine club membership would make the perfect gift for mom!

Check out their wines here:

Anniversary Sale: Celebrate The California Wine Club's 30th Anniversary by Saving 30% on Your First Delivery when You Join with Code 1990 until 6/30. Does not apply to gifts or case club series

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Virtual Wine Tasting and Wine Trivia with Kris Round 2 (Copy)

Hey there! How’s quarantine treating your right now??

Wine Trivia Last week was a little extra special, we a had a special guest, Joe Exotic!!

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In all seriousness, we had a blast, and had fun with my friend Chris Luecke serenading us with Joe Exotic hits. If you have a zoom call coming up, and want to add some fun to it, Chris does this for charity and will add a little comic releif during these times. You can read more about him here.

I just wanted to share some gratitude from the past couple weeks.

For the past two Friday nights I’ve had people show up to my virtual happy hour, Wine Tasting w/Kris, and it’s been such a great way to feel connected to others right now, especially since I live by myself (ok, ok, I have a pet rock).

In all seriousness, it’s been great to kick back on Friday night after a long week of online classes, see friends and new faces, and then get to share my passion for wine with others.

This week will be no different.

Friday night we’ll be pouring the @robertmondavips :

2018 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Monterey County Chardonnay Aged in Bourbon Barrels 🥂.

All the tropical notes hit your nose and palate with this aged chardonnay, with the bourbon barrels really bringing out the vanilla, toasted coconut and pineapple.

2018 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Monterey County Cabernet Sauvignon Aged in Bourbon Barrel as well.

Complex and well aged, this Cabernet gives you notes you’d expect from a Caramel latte and a slice of berry pie.

I chose both of these wines as they are not only fun because they are aged in bourbon barrels and full of complex flavors, they are also very well priced at well under $15 a bottle, and are available at most grocery and wine stores!.

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I’ll be doing Wine Trivia with Kris Round 3 this Friday, May 1st at 5pm PST/8pm EST on Zoom 💻 🎉!

Put your wine knowledge to the test, and experience a new music vibe as we switch genres this week, to go with our bourbon barrel wine theme.

Hope to see you there! 🥂

Signup for Happy hour here!!!

Looking for great wines to drink and fun wine events to attend, follow my Instagram! If you’re in the wine industry and want to partner with me, feel free to shot me an email!

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Virtual Wine Tasting and Wine Trivia with Kris Round 2

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Weekend Report #icymi :

First wine trivia night was a success!

We had a great time sharing our bottles, and just connecting with other humans.

While some of the wine questions may have been a little bit above the wine “novice” level, everyone enjoyed the 90s dance hits that were slinging from my spotify playlist.

Since everyone had a blast, I’ll be doing Wine Trivia with Kris Round two this Friday, April 24th at 5pm PST/8pm EST on zoom.

And now that we have some veterans from the first round, I invite everyone to come give a new set of questions a whirl!

(And while I don’t believe in giving out easy questions, the next round will have a different focus with some more “mainstream” questions #yallwin)

So pencil in Wine Trivia with Kris on your calendar for Friday night and make an appearance!

Here’s to hoping Wine Trivia with Kris makes the @zoom_Video_communications @sociallifemagazine which they haven’t made yet, but they’ll realize they should soon #paparazzi .

Looking for a calendar that showcases this event and other great wine events like it?

Checkout @thevirtualtasting room for all latest wine events across the internets!

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This week for Wine Trivia I wanted to take an opportunity to showcase two great wineries that are both family owned and started by the same family: @imagerywinery and @benzigerimagery.

For this week's virtual happy hour, we will be doing a quick tasting of two wines:

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2017 Benziger Cabernet Sauvignon

2017 Imagery Sauvignon Blanc

Both of these wines are right at or under ~$15 at most grocery stores and wine stores like @traderjoes @totalwine and others!

Both of these wineries craft unique wines, and have their own unique characteristics which we will dig into on the zoom call.


So check these wines out, go pick them up before tomorrow and taste them together with me before jumping into trivia!

Can't wait to see you there tomorrow night at 5pm PST/8pm EST on Zoom.

You can find the link in my bio to signup for a reminder and to get the link.

P.S. Winning team/solo this week will get a FREE bottle of Imagery Pinot Noir!!

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Signup for Happy hour here!!!

Looking for great wines to drink and fun wine events to attend, follow my Instagram! If you’re in the wine industry and want to partner with me, feel free to shot me an email!

Virtual Happy Hour!

Hey all you cool cats and kittens! (Couldn't help myself...)

I hope everyone is staying safe in these times, and if you're looking for some new Friday night plans, I will be doing a fun little "virtual happy hour" tomorrow night, at 5pm PST/8pm EST!

There will be a chance for everyone to meet someone new, discuss some wines and show us what you're enjoying these days, then we'll jump into some trivia!

And if all that wasn't enough, I'll be giving away a gift card to one of my favorite wineries, Dry Creek Vineyard for the top finishers (single household teams allowed)!

Hopefully, I can regale you with my corny jokes, punctilious
trivia, and bad looks!

The call will be on zoom, which you can download here: https://zoom.us/download

Can't wait to see you there!

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Ways to Ferment and Age Wine

There are several ways to ferment and age wine, and while you don’t need to know how every wine you drink was aged or fermented to enjoy them, having an understanding connects you with the wine and gives you an appreciation you wouldn’t have had before.

Here are a few of my favorites I found at Cakebread Cellars a few months back:

1) Ceramic Eggs: Concrete eggs increase contact with the solids from the harvest and can really solidify the flavors and textures of wine to make it come into its own without any outside help. It works great for wines that a winemaker may want to increase the body of the wine. It works great on whites that need a little more intensity, while not adding extra flavors or characteristics you might get from oak. Using a concrete egg may seem new, but the concept isn’t. Ancient winemakers were known to have used clay pots to ferment in the country of Georgia, which is where some would argue was the birthplace of wine.

2) Oak Barrels: The classic standard. Wood barrels, and more specifically the use of oak, in winemaking has been around for a couple millennia. The fun part with oak barrels is the ability to create drastically different flavors than already presenting in the wine. With an oak, or wood barrel, you can decide what type of oak, where its from, if its old or new, if its been used in winemaking or other spirit making before, and can control the inside through charring or toasting. This opens up a whole world of possibilities.

3) Stainless Steel: A lot of winemakers will use stainless steel to simply ferment first, then move their wines to another medium like oak or pots to continue to age their wine because stainless steel is easier to work with, produces more consistency, and is scalable. But it also has been used in aging and allows for the wine to not take on additional tones or flavors, depending on what the winemaker is looking to do. . You don’t always have to know how your wine was made to know it tastes good or doesn’t. . But the real magic happens when you can start to pick out the difference and see the interplay of various techniques and how they have shaped the wine in your glass.

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Captain’s Log, Day 19 in Isolation: An unlikely pairing

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

The family unit challenged me to bring my A-game to the digital communal dinner tonight, so naturally I emptied the fridge on the counter and just tried to make sense of what I had.

By sheer luck, I had recently watched a Tiger King episode discussing the particulars of using salvageable ingredients to make craft pizza.

Luckily, I had some leftover Trader Joe’s pizza dough that made for a solid foundation.

I searched for the right vintage to pair with this mighty pie adorned with aged swine meat products, and alas this Bernardus 2017 Sauvignon Blanc was the one that could balance out the savagery of the pizza that emerged from my oven like a phoenix emerging from the flames of destruction.

While no end in sight appears on the horizon, we have bountiful wine stores, and are taking new protective measures to protect the crew from further paradise lost.

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Champagne...

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

"Remember, gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's champagne." -Winston Churchill | Gyé Sur Seine, Champagne, France |

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Quarantine Survival Wines

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

Are you ready to survive? Do you have the wines you need for the next few weeks? Don’t fret, with my Quarantine Wine Survival Guide, all your questions about which wine to drink on which days and how you’ll be feeling are demystified. Check out my Instagram stories if you’re ready to delve deep into the inner recesses of wine for the next few days you’ll be spending at home.

Cheers!

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Wine and Travel: Napa

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

Good thing I only drink wine on days that end in “y”…

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

Friday afternoons in Cali are my kind of afternoons

I’ve been beyond blessed to visit some amazing places and do some neat things, but by far the best times I have are with the best people. Alex and Jess came in for the week, minus little Daniel, and we had such a fun time having an adult getaway in Napa this past week checking out Cakebread Cellars, St. Supery Estate and Black Stallion Estate Winery So grateful to have a best friend like Alex and his amazing wife, Jess. Cheers to this amazing couple!

P.S. Spend less time planning the perfect trip, picking the perfect wineries or making the perfect itinerary. Instead travel with the right people and you’ll never go to a wrong place.

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Wednesday Wine Wisdom...

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

My favorite question I get asked about wine is how to find the best wineries.

This can be a relative question, but I'm going to break the mold and give you a straight forward answer.

In wine producing areas, these little appellations or regions are built around communities.

Sure, there are at time rivalries between wineries, or families that own different wineries and vineyards, and sometimes there are rivalries inside the winery.

But most of the time, from the planting vines through the harvest and crushing grapes, wineries and vineyards ban together to help each other because they know they each can't do it alone.

It is during these times that relationships are built, basic human nature, resistance and hard work builds camaraderie.

It also gives outsiders opportunities to see the subtle and nuanced differences in how different viticulturists and winemakers differentiate their brands.

That's why when you walk into a winery or tasting room, you can get some amazing recommendations from the winery staff.

The best way to find the best wineries is just picking a place on the map to start, and making sure to charm the socks off of the winery staff so when you ask them "Where to next?" they give you their best recommendations.

Now go forth and find the best wineries, and let us all know what you find! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Photo credit: Lauren Davis⠀⠀

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Local Travel Ideas

Beyond thankful for a fantastic week long visit from the man, the myth, the legend himself, UK (Uncle Kevin). Somehow we always find ways to keep ourselves entertained. More importantly, you can thank him for not having to sleep on cardboard boxes for sheets in the guest room when you come to visit in Monterey, because the man knows how to put his touch (just a pinch of southern charm) on a new place.

Oh and did I say we both love wine?

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Wine: Weekly Download (from Napa County!)

This week's weekly wine download comes from one of the most eminent wine regions of California, Napa County!

Had a fantastic weekend camping out and hoppin' and poppin' along the Silverado Trail and tasting some outstanding wines!

Over the course of the weekend I got to hit:

All of these estates were fascinating to taste, and even more so to visit as you move through the valley and see how microclimates affect the different growing conditions of the wine.

Napa is one of those places you have to do at some point if you want to understand the historical context of wine making in California, and really the United States.

The thing I really enjoyed about this weekend was learning more about Cabernet Sauvignons that I normally don't drink a lot.

Napa put Cabernet Sauvignon on the map, and to be able to taste in one of the top Cabernet producing regions in the world was magical.

Cheers to a good weekend of enjoying the beauty of California, its rich bounty of wonderful wines!

Safe travels to all this week!

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Wine: Weekly Download

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Just catching up with last weekend, and dropping a weekly wine download.

Found THE spot at The Cheese Shop in Carmel!

Three wines and some cheese for $16? Let’s just say, I’ll be spending a lot time in Carmel...

Also checked out Scheid Vineyards’ tasting room in Carmel, which was a blast.

Quick tip from Kris’s Wine Sense:

A lot of tasting rooms in the US (will have to cover tasting rooms in Europe in a separate post) have a standard tasting menu and an estate or reserve tasting menu.

I personally don’t do an estate or reserve tasting menu until I’ve tried the standard tasting menu, because if the wines on the standard tasting menu don’t grab my attention or are something I enjoy, I don’t see myself spending the money on the reserve.

On the flip side, sometimes tasting rooms will have wines and wine styles on the reserve menu that you might not be able to taste on the standard menu, so take those opportunities to try the things that you enjoy!

Be intentional with your palate and your pocket book, and try stuff that you’re interested in and drawn too. . Also, don’t be afraid to push the limits, and try something that is outside your comfort zone!

Cheers

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Starting 2020 Right: Gratitude and Plans for the Year!

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

Starting the year off right with nothing but pure gratitude.

Last year was both my best and most challenging year yet, but it's funny how God works to give you just a little bit more than you can handle, so your faith grows just a little bit stronger.

I am so grateful for these moments last year that made me who I am this year and put me on the course I am supposed to be on.

When I look back at these moments, while they were my most liked, I also like to think of them as decisive points in my life, where I had breakthroughs in discovering a little bit more about who I and what I am supposed to be doing.

I discovered my passion for creating, and learned how to use my skills to create from my passions and find fulfillment and in sharing those creations with others.

I learned the value of enjoying the moment, taking a step back, and savoring the calm before the chaos.

I noticed how a just a view has a way of cutting straight to me, and can change me for the better.

I amplified my affinity for learning about wine.

I unlocked my addiction for travel.

I learned to see mountains everywhere, and worked on my strategies for conquering them.

Lastly, I'm most grateful for meeting an amazing human being who works daily to meet me half way and supports me in all my endeavors.

Recently, someone asked me to sum up what 2020 will be for me in one word.

FOCUS.

I'm looking forward to taking more action on things that I care about and my priorities, like my career, my love of creating, and of course WINE!

I have some big things lined up for this year, and can't wait to share them with all of you, so here's to #wheretonext in 2020.

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Wine: Weekly Download

Weekly wine download:

Checked out Carmel Valley and one of the wineries there, Boekenoogen Wines, and had a nice little tasting, although my palate is still recovery from a nasty little cold that knocked me out for a week, hence the lack of posts.

Nothing a little wine won’t fix!

Stopped in Paso Robles last night, and perused through some Spanish varietals of Diablo Paso which provided the perfect amount of spice to free up the sinuses. They are famed to have the best Tempranillo in Paso and this doctor concurs!

After getting a quick recommendation I rolled over to Indigene Cellars and got to sample some great Reserve Pinots (actually picked in Carmel Valley from up the road) and good Sangiovese.

Raymond, the owner, knows how to pour his wines and make you feel welcome in his spot. . After a little wine this weekend and kicking this cold, current priorities of work: more wine. I mean Christmas shopping... Two birds with one stone? Lotta bottles going in the stockings this year!

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Joshua Tree - Image Winery

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

The other night, while hanging out in Joshua Tree, I got to enjoy one of my favorite wines from this year, Imagery Winery Pinot Noir.

I was fortunate enough to visit them back in March when I was scoping out different wineries in Sonoma County.

What I remember best was how I was the only one there, yet they pulled out every stop to make sure my wine tasting experience was five star, regardless of who I was.

Also, got to meet their head winemaker, Jamie Benziger, who gave some insights and context in how they distinguish their wines, and gave me some great recommendations on where to go next.

Needless to say, I'll be making a visit back to Imagery Winery very soon…

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Fashionably Late...

Kris Levy Wine and Fitness

Like wine? Yep, me too. Show up late to all the parties? Two things we have in common.

That’s why I put together a short list of four holiday wine picks that can show up fashionably late but still deliver in style.

Check it out in my stories on Instagram, and get a couple ideas for when you’re at the grocery store tomorrow at 2:59pm and the store closes at 3 pm and dinner was served at 1…

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