How Social Media is Impacting the Wine Industry

The Wine Industry and Social Media

My desire to marry my love of wine and my passion for writing has finally come to fruition. 

Currently in the process of crafting a whitepaper, that is looking more and more like it will be an eBook, I share how Social Media is being used in the wine industry.  In my search for vineyards and wineries who use Social Media, I found at least one to highlight for each of the following social networking platforms: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Blogging.

The journey has been a fruitful one, albeit long and arduous at times!  The people I have met and the resources I have discovered have proven to be worth all the time and energy thus far invested.

In the coming weeks, I will be posting each winery's individual case study, as well as highlights from the actual whitepaper.  For now, here are just a few snippets from the interviews I have conducted thus far:

Lisa Mattson, videographer extraordinaire for Jordan Winery, posts timeless videos on YouTube.  When asked why she began using YouTube, her response was,

“Essentially, we wanted to find a medium that would allow us to bring all the people behind Jordan wines—and the artistry they practice each day—to life.”

Lisa Mattson, Communications Director

Jordan Winery

Sonoma County, CA

I found Twitter to be a favorite Social Media tool for the wineries I researched.  Stuart Knox, owner of St. Fix James Wine Bistro in Sydney Australia, had this to say about his use of Twitter,

“Generally it’s a word of mouth thing, not a direct marketing/promo vehicle. Having said that, if you’re willing to help others promote their business usually you will get a reciprocal effect.”

Stuart Knox

St. Fix James Winery

Sydney, Australia

Matt, from the Wine Bottega in Boston, MA, had nothing but great things to say about their use of Twitter,

“We have had positive results from using Twitter. It allows us to interact with lots of like-minded folks in the wine trade from around the world and helps us connect to them with relative ease.”

Matt

Wine Bottega

Boston, MA

Tinhorn Creek, a self-sustained vineyard and winery in British Columbia, also uses Twitter as their preferred method of Social Networking.  Lindsay White, marketing coordinator for Tinhorn Creek, had this to say,

“The biggest benefit is the direct communication we have with our consumers. It’s been great seeing people tweet about our wines, or being able to answer questions right away.”

Lindsay White, Marketing Coordinator

Tinhorn Creek

Oliver, BC

Christina Anderson-Heller, marketing director for Lynfred Winery, blogs on a regular basis and uses Facebook to promote her blog posts.  In regards to blogging, she said,

“My entire blog ‘In the Land of Lynfred’ (a word play on ‘In the Land of Lincoln’ since we are in Illinois ) is really about the lifestyle that comes with working at and being a patron of your local winery – we’re fun, a little kooky and very approachable.”

For the Facebook aspect of promoting her regular stream of blog posts, Christina said,

Christina Anderson-Heller, Marketing Director

Lynfred Winery

Roselle, Illinois

Through my preliminary research and readings, it is apparent that Social Media is an important factor in the wine industry. 

Keep an eye out for future posts sharing more detailed findings about how Social Media is impacting the Wine Industry.

"As soon as I post a blog I post links on our Facebook.  I like to have conversations with groups of people on Facebook"