Wineries on Twitter: Mt Baker Vineyards

The goal of this series is to connect with wineries and wine business that use Social Media (Twitter and Facebook) effectively. These interviews can serve as a catalyst to help other wineries and wine businesses to see the benefits (and pitfalls) of joining the social revolution.

Mt Baker Vineyards on the web  -   On Twitter  – On Facebook

How long have you been using Twitter?

A: I have been using a personal account on twitter since June of 2009.  The winery page I started only two or three months ago.      

What prompted you to dive in?

A:  I was in California pouring at the Great American Food and Music Fest when I made the decision to get on the social media train.  I was struck by the high percentage of people asking about our web presence.  I became absolutely convinced of the need for a Social Media presence though through conversations with @mattsito.  He got me motivated, and gave me great tips about how to start.

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

A:  I am focused mainly on striking up conversation with people I find using Twitter Search, on my personal account.  Engaging in talk about wine and wineries, music, food, beer, MLB, etc.  The winery twitter and Facebook accounts I use to engage with up to the minute developments at the Winery.  Pictures of events, harvest updates, release news, etc.

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

A:  I feel like the use of Social Media has been incredibly beneficial.  We are located about 15 miles from Western Washington University, as well as being on the route to the most well known snowboarding mountain in the state.   We have seen a marked increase in the number of college students and the snowboard crowd coming through our tasting room.  Also, it has been a lot of fun to keep in touch with regular customers, who we normally only see once or twice a year at events, on a daily basis.  It has been beneficial to learning about what gets our customers excited as well!  Whether it’s a couple of funny pictures of the cellar crew on Halloween posted on Facebook, or a quick note on new releases, the comments are amazing to read!

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

A: I don’t think that there is any single thing I can point to.  Social Media has felt like a snowball growing as it rolls down a hill.  It seems like it is constantly growing as the content posted gets better, people tell their friends, and the conversations draw a more diverse crowd.  Momentum builds fast.

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

A:  More will follow suit in time, remember we are an industry of deeply rooted traditions.  Changing patterns about how we market can’t change overnight.  Once an innovation catches on though, it will develop very quickly.

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

A:  My biggest advice is to use Twitter and Facebook to engage your fans one on one.  Don’t use the tools to broadcast your sales pitch.  People can un-fan, un-follow just as easy as they can become interested.

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

A: Mount Baker Vineyards is located 12 miles East of Bellingham, on the Mount Baker Highway.  Our tasting room is open 7 days a week, 11-5.  We produce approximately 16000 cases of wine per year with grapes sourced from choice spots in the Yakima Valley, as well as our Estate Vineyards planted in 1978.  Typical yearly production includes up to 30 different varietals.  We have a lot of fun, and our doors are always open to people interested in wine/winemaking/grape-growing.

What is your favorite rock band and why?

A: Favorite rock group is a hard one, it is just like asking my favorite wine!  What am I pairing it with, how’s the weather, etc?  However if I had to pick just one it would be the Pixies.  Completely unique sound!  Gets me pumped up during crush!

Wineries on Twitter: Montaluce Winery

On the Web  -  Montaluce Winery on Twitter - Montaluce Vineyards on Twitter  – Montaluce on Facebook

The goal of this series is to connect with wineries and wine business that use Social Media (Twitter and Facebook) effectively. These interviews can serve as a catalyst to help other wineries and wine businesses to see the benefits (and pitfalls) of joining the social revolution.

Interview Questions

How long have you been using Twitter?

7 months

What prompted you to dive in?

My friend Ed Thralls suggested it. (@winetonite)

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

Create connections and friendships.  Promote others.

What have been the benefits of using Twitter/Facebook?

Strategic relationships #1 and Brand recognition.

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

Our food and wine conclave was fabulous.  Only promoted it on twitter and brought together many of Atlanta’s best food and wine bloggers.

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

It requires someone with a passion for the wine and lots of time.  It can be hard to get an employee to be dedicated or passionate enough.

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

Promote others.  Build relationships.

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

Montaluce is currently preparing to bottle our 2009 vintage white wines.  Our restaurant was just voted #7 overall restaurant in metro Atlanta.

What is your favorite rock band and why?

U2- great memories

See the entire Wineries on Twitter series

Wineries on Twitter: Travessia Urban Winery

Travessia on Twitter   -   On Facebook   -  On the Web

The goal of this series is to connect with wineries and wine business that use Social Media (Twitter and Facebook) effectively. These interviews can serve as a catalyst to help other wineries and wine businesses to see the benefits (and pitfalls) of joining the social revolution.

How long have you been using Twitter?

I reserved my account name @travessia on December 17, 2007.  At the time I was in the process of obtaining my winery permit with the TTB. I recall that I tried twitter for a few days and thought that people on twitter were from a different planet.  RT, D, #FF, MRT, Tweeple… what was all this supposed to mean?  I could not speak the “language” and sort of abandoned it.  Several weeks later I got back into it  and this time I did it with an open mind and really made the effort to try to understand how people communicate on twitter.  I become hooked, especially when I started using tools like tweetdeck which make twitter a lot easier to use and manage.

What prompted you to dive in?

I was doing a lot of research into marketing for wineries and small businesses in general and there were references to twitter everywhere.  I was also following and listening to people like @timelliot, @catavino, and @chrisbrogan who really emphasize the importance of using social media tools like twitter.

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

To be honest, I really don’t have a strategy… I just try to be true to myself.  I try to be on twitter the same person I am off the net.  What does this mean?  Imagine this…. I’m at a party, music is playing in the background, people are gathering around in small groups, there’s some food and drinks.  I know some of the people at this party but not everyone.  I try to introduce myself to the people that I’m meeting for the first time  and get the latest on what’s happening with those I’ve known for years.  I sit back a lot and just listen to what others are saying.  Whenever I think I have something interesting, of value or maybe even funny to say… I jump in.  This is who I am in real life and that’s who I try to be on twitter.  This approach has worked for me.

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

The number one benefit is that I’ve made new friends, people who are interesting and that I would have never come across if it wasn’t for twitter.  I’ve also learned a lot not only on my main topic of interest (wine), but about life and the world in general.  My friends on twitter are an incredible information filter.  I’ve also used twitter to request opinions on things that I’m not 100% sure about.  Tweeters are often willing to chime in and respond to your questions or just simply give you their opinion.

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

There have been a few occasions where I’ve sold wine to someone who did not even know my winery existed before they found me on twitter.  Same applies to Facebook.

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

I can’t speak for others, but my biggest challenge is time.  It takes commitment and there are days that I just can’t get on it.  It’s also still difficult to measure the ROI from using these social media tools. Sure I can tweet a coupon code for a specific offer at my winery and track that return fairly accurately.  However, I’m not aware of any tools that can provide users with accurate sales numbers for overall day-to-day engagement and time  investment… if there is such a tool, I would love to hear about it.

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

Be true to yourself and your wineries image, don’t try to be on twitter what you are not in real life (think of twitter as real life too, because that’s what it is). Don’t feel like you need to have thousands of followers overnight.   Some days it’s ok to just listen, don’t feel like you have to speak every day, every hour.  Also, if you say something on twitter and nobody responds, don’t get discouraged… it doesn’t mean that no one is listening.

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

Travessia is a small urban winery right in downtown New Bedford, Massachusetts.  I focus on producing wines with vinifera grapes grown in Massachusetts, which means mostly white wines.  Travessia’s tasting and sales room has been open to the public since December of 2008.  I’m now releasing my second vintage wines.  I feel that I’m about 20% of the way to where I want to be as an established small winery.

What is your favorite rock band and why?

When I was about 20 I began learning how to play bass because I wanted to be like Simon Gallup of The Cure.  When I listened to The Cure, especially the stuff that was never played on the radio, I was amazed by how simple but cool the bass riffs were.  So, though I admire U2 for their massive body of quality rock music (and the fact that they have been together as one unit for so long), The Cure was really the rock band that had an impact in my life.  P.S.  Bass is the sexiest instrument ever created…

Wineries on Twitter Scott Paul Wines

On the Web: www.scottpaul.com On Twitter @scottpaulpn On Facebook

The goal of this series is to connect with wineries and wine business that use Social Media (Twitter and Facebook) effectively. These interviews can serve as a catalyst to help other wineries and wine businesses to see the benefits (and pitfalls) of joining the social revolution.

Interview Questions

How long have you been using Twitter?

Since late 2008

What prompted you to dive in?

The inter-connectedness of people with shared interests really appealed to me, and I found much of the information in the Twitterverse quite interesting…

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

A little bit of everything – links to my blog posts, announcements of new releases & events, photos of current activities in the vineyards and winery, chatter about my beloved Arsenal soccer team in London, updates from my weeks in Burgundy, Twitter-only specials in the tasting room, etc.

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

We’ve definitely seen evidence of all of the above – especially increased web traffic, great customer connections. When our stuff gets retweeted we often see significant spikes in our web activity…

What do you think is the single biggest barrier to why we don’t see more wineries actively using Social Media tools? People probably think it takes too much time – but it really doesn’t.

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

Embrace it enthusiastically, have something to say besides “buy my wine”, and enter into conversations – social media is not broadcasting, it is social interaction…

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

We’re the only winery that I’m aware of that is also a major national importer – we import 15 of the top producers in Burgundy and a killer grower Champagne – all the imports as well as our own wines are available here in our tasting room – a unique opportunity to taste old-world and new-world Pinot side-by-side. Most people don’t know that I was America’s most-listened-to radio personality in the 80s – I was Shadow Stevens on Z-100 New York, Pirate Radio Los Angeles, and had a nationally syndicated show called Hitline USA that aired in 350+ markets. And I once lived on the tour bus with the band Poison. But that’s another story for another time…

What is your favorite rock band and why?

Pearl Jam – I was an executive at Epic Records when we signed them and launched their first album – it was exciting to be a part of all of that…

Wineries On Twitter Folio Winemakers Studio

Wineries on Twitter

www.foliowine.com/pages/winemakers_studio.html 

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/foliowinemakerssudio

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/foliowinemakers

How long have you been using Twitter?

We’ve been using Twitter for about a year or so now.  It hasn’t been until the last 6 months though that we really started getting more involved and engaging though.

What prompted you to dive in?

We first signed up shortly after signing the winery up on Facebook.  Just looking for different ways to interact and build relationships with existing and new customers.

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

I have to admit; at first we were doing it all wrong.  We were using Facebook and Twitter primarily as a sales driver.  Now we see it as more of a brand and relationship builder. So we try to post things to help people keep in touch with what’s going on in Napa and also when we’re out on the road in their home area.

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

For us the traffic and sales are tough to quantify, because you may have someone that comes to the winery but doesn’t necessarily say they saw us on Twitter or Facebook.  I’d say the biggest benefits to using social media is creating and maintaining relationships with new and old customers and spreading the word about what we’re up to.

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

There isn’t one particular success story that comes to mind.  The biggest success is being able to stay connected with people who care about us nationally and internationally!

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

I think right now the biggest barriers are 1) some companies not being able to quantify and get results to justify allocating someone’s time to work different social media avenues. 2) I also think that even though social media sites are being used by multiple generations, there are some people across all generations that just don’t have the knowhow.

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

For wineries new to social media or those giving it another shot, I would say first to just be natural with your postings.  Don’t use it as a constant sales pitch.  Once you’re able to create relationships with your followers and fans, then you can have sales offers occasionally.  But if this is all they get from you, you will see your followers and fans leaving a lot quicker than they join.  Another thing is to provide meaningful content from all areas of your business (hospitality, cellar, vineyards, etc.).  Lastly, the sales results will come organically by creating long-term, dedicated relationships with people who enjoy your wine and what the winery is doing.

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

Our winery is Folio Winemakers’ Studio and we are privately owned by the Michael Mondavi Family along with select employees within our company.  We have a beautiful property in the Carneros region of Napa Valley, which we have been at for 3 years now making our wonderful selection of wines from Napa Valley as well as other surrounding areas.  One thing that makes us unique is that we are not the traditional winery that has 4 or 5 wines.  We have a wide variety of wines, 23 in fact, that appeal to wine novices and connoisseurs alike.  The great thing about having these wines is we allow our customers to make their own selection of which wines they want to taste!

What is your favorite rock band and why?

My favorite rock band would have to be Pearl Jam.  The thing I like about them is that they make great music and have been for about 20 years now!  They‘ve never been sell-outs and changed who they are due to their fame and success.  Plus they enjoy great wine!

Wineries on Twitter: Lange Twins

The goal of this series is to connect with wineries and wine business that use Social Media (Twitter and Facebook) effectively. These interviews can serve as a catalyst to help other wineries and wine businesses to see the benefits (and pitfalls) of joining the social revolution. Click http://drinknectar.com/tag/wineries-on-twitter/ to view all interviews.

Lange Twins:       On the Web    -    On Twitter    -     On Facebook

How long have you been using Twitter?

I’ve been on Twitter since Sept. 2008 – my how the time flies!  I actually had to Google search ‘how to find out when you joined Twitter’ to get this answer.  Not a good sign – do the questions get harder?

What prompted you to dive in?

I’m an addict for new technologies and with all the media coverage on Twitter, it looked like it was here to stay.  Now look at it – something like 600 tweets per second?

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

I look at Twitter as just one more way for us to interact with our fans – the keyword there is interact.  It’s tempting to just scream offers and news from the rooftops but it’s much more enjoyable when you get to know your Twitter fans.  It’s amazing who is following you!

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

Brand awareness and interaction is the goal for me.  If someone buys your wine, enjoys it, and tosses the bottle, that’s where the interaction stops.  If this same customer does a simple Google search for the winery and finds a great way to interact with the winery (enter Twitter & Facebook) then that experience is strengthened. 

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

Oh, there are tons!  My favorites are the customers who find our wines out in the market and tweet about how much they enjoyed it.  For such a small brand like LangeTwins, it’s really cool to see where people are finding our wines and what they think of them.  On the flip side, if they don’t like it, Twitter and Facebook give you a line of communication to have a dialogue with that customer – that’s vital.

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

I think the biggest barrier is time – most family wineries like ours are running 110% all year long.  It’s fun, but incredibly consuming.  I’ve made social media (blog, Twitter, FB) a priority because I see the value in it, and, I enjoy it!  But it took a bit for everyone @ LangeTwins to come around.

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

Jump.  Pour yourself a glass of wine some night and spend 30mins browsing around Facebook and Twitter.  Then watch that 30mins turn into 3hrs!  Now you’re hooked.

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

We’re a multi-generational family owned winery that crafts wine from sustainably grown winegrapes.  As a 5^th generation family farmer in Lodi, California, it’s important to preserve the land we farm for future generations.  From using solar panels to produce green energy to restoring native habitat areas amongst our vineyards, we take an all-encompassing approach to sustainability.

New release?  Nice timing!  We are just releasing our Proprietary Tier of wines, which are limited individual lot selections sourced from our favorite vineyards.  Our initial release is a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2008 Chardonnay.  The wine label was chosen by our fans on Facebook and our blog!  Talk about a social media wine…

What is your favorite rock band and why?

Oh man – I am probably going to be ousted by the family now.  Metallica!  Since I was a kid, they’ve always stayed in my Top 5 (well, there was a rough patch there with Load/Reload) and Dec 08 my wife surprised me with concert tickets.  It was insane.  Their last album, Death Magnetic, is amazing. *changes Pandora station to Metallica*

« Previous Page — Next Page »