How To Be Noticed in a Long List of Wineries

Here in the Willamette Valley we have two major open house weekends during which many wineries open their doors to the public. Some wineries are only open on these special weekends, some have limited tasting room hours or days, and then there are those who are already open 7 days a week, 365 days a year. But on these weekends, everyone is open. It's a level playing field, a clean slate, an opportunity to show what your winery has got.

With so many wineries open, and so much opportunity to taste wine, how can a tasting room compete?  Most offer something "special" like live music, food, new releases, futures, tours and barrel tastings. Here's the problem though, those things cease to be "special" as soon as 5 of your neighbors offer the same thing. Again, how can a winery stand out when you are already all doing the same thing?

It's all in the delivery. You guessed it, the marketing spiel.

I have in front of me the guide book put out by the local wineries association. It is the essential go-to for which wineries to visit. Each winery has only 40 words to persuade the potential visitor. I did a thorough audit of the guidebook, ignoring winery names (many of which I've never heard of due to recent exponential growth in the industry), to look for items that jumped out at me. I've personally been to A LOT of wine tasting events (mostly boring), so it would have to be really cool and interesting to get me off the couch and in the car (for an hour) for some winery visits.

Here are my guidebook audit results: 
1.) Brevity is key.
No need for fancy language here, the shorter the better. I found that if I wasn't interested after the first line and a half (about 15 words, or 2 seconds of reading), I tended to tune out the rest of the summary. So, even if you can't be catchy, or witty, be short, because that is all the attention your little ad is going to get.


Best examples of brevity:
 "Join us for a spectacular new whites: Gris, Blanc, Pinot-noir Blanc. Pinot noirs and dry Pinot noir Rose." Enjoy breathtaking views & appetizer paired with wines.

"Join us for a beautiful weekend! Enjoy elegant wines, a spectacular setting, and friendly hospitality"



2.) Make your fist words the best.
This goes right along with brevity, but adds a touch of pizzazz. If you can only get your reader's attention for 2 seconds, you better make them pretty darn good. It's not a new idea- just be catchy! It can be cheezy as all get out, but catchy works. So do it.

Best examples of catchy first words:
"We've got bubbles!"
"Got Blanc?"
"Glass. You know you love it. Provocateur. You gotta have it."
"Pinotphiles Unite!"
"Put a bird on it!"



3.) Partner with someone cool.
If you want to be perceived as popular, then hang out with the cool kids! Inviting a new restaurant, vendor, or chef can bring major star power to your event. Your guests get to brag to their friends that they not only got to try your great wine, they also got to try food from the hippest, foodiest place in town. Plus, with a good partner you can get a lot of cross-promotion mojo happening.


Best examples of partnerships:
Antica Terra and Steve's Cheese (Possibly the best cheese shop in Portland)
Prive and St. Honore Bakery (So delicious! Based in Lake Oswego and Portland)
*WillaKenzie and A Cena Ristorante (Rising star located in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland)
Longplay Wine and Recipe- a neighborhood kitchen (the hottest thing in Newberg since the summer of '08!)

*Full-disclosure, I work for WillaKenzie Estate. Wish I could take credit for that partnership but all goes to my colleague and event planner extraordinaire, Claudia Bowers.



4.) Use good press.
If you toot your own horn too much you come off as insincere, turning readers off. Instead, use a bit of good press to do the talking for you. It is such a simple technique, I'm surprised more don't use it.


Best (and only) example of good press:
"...see why The Oregonian calls us one of 'the best winery views in the entire Willamette Valley'"


5.) Be wacky.
I understand you want to make sure you are in-line with your brand image, but being a little wacky every once in a while doesn't hurt. While everyone else's summary lead with "Join us" or "Come celebrate" these two wineries went out of their way to be fun, wacky and completely interesting. I couldn't help but read their entire summary. Note to self: Find websites, and visit. I do want to point out that sometimes what you think is 'wacky' and 'fun' may not actually be. Run your copy by some friends... just in case.


Best examples of being wacky:
"Analog wine for a digital world. No overdubbing, no remixing. We'll be pouring outstanding pinot noir and amazing Chardonnay from our exceptional vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains, spinning some awesome vinyl, and sharing tasty morsels from neighbor Recipe"

"In an old grain silo and next to the train tracks you will find a winery tucked away. Through the door there are little gems of Viognier, Pinot noir, Tempranillo, and Syrah."



6.) Offer seminars and tours
 I have to assume that someone looking at a guidebook is in fact interested in wine. They want to learn about wine, to understand wine, to enjoy wine! Seminars and tours are right up their alley and a great way to get them into your cellar (instead of your neighbor's). Plus, there is nothing quite like feeling the chill of a barrel room while the winemaker divulges winemaking secrets.


Best examples of seminars and tours:
"Exclusive, in-depth seminar by reservation only... We're digging deep showcasing the multiple personalities of Pinot"

"Tour through the barrels and fermentation hall with our winemaking team."

"Join Michelle & Tony Soter along with winemaker, James Cahill ... for an engaging presentation of Soter Vineyards' North Valley project"

As an addendum, I'd like to add this eloquently written summary, goes to show how you can throw all my suggestions out the window, and just write something great.

"Relax and enjoy the rustic charm and breathtaking views from our heavy-timbered frame tasting room located atop the storied Dundee Hills. Taste and learn about our distinct, limited-production, critically acclaimed Pinot noir."

I tried to leave out the winery names so as to not distract from my point, obviously that didn't happen every time.Wineries quoted include:  Airlie Winery, Anne Amie Vineyards, Ayres Vineyard & Winery, The Carlton Winemaker's Studio, Colene Clemens Vineyards, Domaine Serene, Dominio IV, J.K. Carriere, Longplay Wine, Seufert Winery, Solena Estate Winery, Soter Vineyards, Stoller, and White Rose Estate.

To see the guidebook online, click here: http://willamettewines.com/events/memorial-weekend/

Cheers-
Helen

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FACEBOOK:

- Using Twitter hashtags in a Facebook post, and/or auto-posting from Twitter to Facebook is a no-no. 

Why?
Due to Twitter's unpopularity with most of the public, which can be blamed on numerous factors, most notably that it is not very user friendly or intuitive, causes many people to have negative feelings towards Twitter, Twitter users, and the Twitter language (#s, RTs, FFs, etc.).  By using Twitter language in the non-Twitter space you are essentially bringing in a stranger to a comfortable and intimate gathering of Facebook.  You can ultimately alienate followers when you use this unknown Twitter language, doing the opposite of what you want to do on Facebook, which is create a sense of shared space and communication. At this time Twitter has 1/8 the number users that Facebook has (or about 100 Million active users total). When looking at total users, the chances of ticking off your Facebook population is high, and the time saved not creating separate posts minimal.

Addendum:

Although it is frowned on to post from Twitter to Facebook, the opposite does not apply. It is okay to have your Facebook post automatically tweeted. Since there is not a special "Facebook language" or other symbols associated exclusively with Facebook, the chance of ticking off a Twitter user is low. Plus, the utter hegemony of Facebook in the Social Media sphere leaves little expectation that any web-space will be Facebook-free (for better or worse).

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As a web designer, I recently learned that my .png images cannot be pinned to Pinterest, AND images within my Lightbox app for Wordpress also cannot be pinned. Must find a workaround.