Below is the story of Cleavage Creek Winery and how they use Social Media. Theres is a unique story. To help spread their amazing story, please comment on this post, follow them on Twitter, and re-tweet this to all of your followers. I was truly touched by the compassion of a 77 year old man and the love for his late wife.

How long have you been using Twitter?

Cleavage Creek Wines joined Twitter in April of 2009.

What prompted you to dive in?

Twitter offered a great opportunity to spread the word about Cleavage Creek’s passions of making great wines and funding breast cancer research.  Fighting cancer starts with raising awareness.  Reaching the Twitter audience only enhances the ability to do such.

What type of strategy or approach do you use when posting content?

On Twitter, you are who you are. Cleavage Creek uses the friendly approach which is precisely who we are.  We love to talk about wines. We make mention of breast cancer in an effort to raise awareness.  We like to engage others.  So many entities and individuals are using Twitter so the opportunities are endless to establish relationships and learn and share.

What have been the benefits of using Twitter/Facebook? (increased traffic, increased brand awareness, customer connection, etc)

In using Twitter, we’ve met a plethora of people from around the world, literally, whose acquaintance we might not have made with out it.  That’s amazing! It’s also very vital to our goal of raising awareness about our fight against breast cancer.  Almost everyone’s life has been touched by breast cancer in some form or fashion.  When new Twitter pals learn about the efforts of Cleavage Creek to fund breast cancer research by using our award winning wines, it helps the cause.

Is there a single success story that you can point to with using Twitter/Facebook?

Since joining Twitter, Cleavage Creek has enjoyed a good deal of wide media coverage – all has been appreciated and important to our cause.  The most touching Twitter experience is when we hear from those who are fighting breast cancer or have a loved one. They thank us for our efforts and many times tell us that upon learning about Cleavage Creek, they encourage a loved one to get their annual checkup.  It’s very gratifying to know that the mere existence of Cleavage Creek can have a positive impact. This motivates us everyday, literally.

What do you think is the single biggest barrier to why we don’t see more wineries actively using Social Media tools?

Many wineries might not have the resources to dedicate to using Twitter.  It can take a fair amount of time.  Once they learn the benefits and possibilities that might change.

What advice would you give to wineries joining the stream or getting back into the stream?

Don’t be afraid to engage anyone on Twitter.  Most people are friendly and receptive if approached in a respectful manner.  Do your Twitter home work.  Seek out others with similar interests.  Have something interesting to say. Treat Twitter members like you would wish to be treated and you’ll enjoy a rewarding Twitter experience. It’s actually great fun!

Briefly tell us about your winery, a new release, or something unique about you?

One man & a small vineyard…making award winning wines & funding breast cancer research.

Cleavage Creek is owned by Budge Brown who lost his wife of 48 years to breast cancer.  Mr. Brown obtained the Cleavage Creek label after deciding that he wanted to fight the disease and raise awareness so that others would not suffer as his wife had.  www.CleavageCreek.com

Budge Brown released his first Cleavage Creek wines on October 15, 2007.  His second wine release took place on October 4th, 2008.  Cleavage Creek wines have won numerous awards in international, national, and regional competitions – 32 medals won thus far. These are seriously good wines doing seriously good work. The latest release of new wines was October 1st, 2009.

Dedicated to fighting breast cancer, Brown and Cleavage Creek donate 10% of gross wine sales to breast cancer research.  At least 10% was the original commitment.  Brown has far exceeded that number, reaching deep into his own pockets to bolster the contributions made by Cleavage Creek. Over $70,000 has been contributed to date to efforts to fight breast cancer. Most recently, Cleavage Creek has funded a new Integrative Oncology Research Center for breast cancer at Bastyr University.

 On each bottle of Cleavage Creek is the image of a breast cancer survivor — her story is told at the Cleavage Creek website.  These ladies are not paid to do this, but they lend their time and experiences to fight the disease. A total of 20 breast cancer survivors have appeared on the Budge Brown era of Cleavage Creek wines.

 In a time when about all we hear news wise is negative, this is a wonderfully positive story — amazing what one determined 77 year old man can do!    

Here’s the complete story:

http://www.cleavagecreek.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=21

 What is your favorite rock band and why?

The Eagles…great music & fun times.