“The perfect climate for wine.” This is the claim of the Washington State Wine Commission. Just because you say it, does that mean it’s true? Is this statement akin to the little engine puffing, “I think I can, I think I can?” Hot on the heels of being adorned with Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator, Winemaker of the Year by Wine & Spirits, hosting the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference, Washington is finding itself in an identity crisis. While many in the press are raving about wine quality, varietal diversity, and value, it still seems that the general public (outside of the Northwest) is unaware that Washington makes more than apples, planes and Microsoft products.

Think back to when you were 25 years old. You were just coming of age. You were full of dreams, plans and goals, but you were still slightly immature, arrogant, and in need of some refining. This is Washington Wine 2010. Even the oldest of Washington wineries is under 30. Many are still exploring their strengths and recovering from failed relationships. This is the coming of age of Washington wine.

I write this as I sip on three wines from one of Washington’s most respected and oldest wineries, L’Ecole 41. Marty Clubb, owner and managing winemaker, in talking about the economy says, ”It has taken its toll on the wine industry, slowing the ultra premium tier and giving many of us pause to look back, examine our strengths and weaknesses and refocus our plans for the future.” It is my belief that Washington produces some of the best wines in the world that nobody is drinking.

Scale

We could talk all day about distribution problems in the %^&#’ed up system we have in America, but California wineries don’t seem to have a problem getting their wine on every wine list from here to Poughkeepsie. One of the hurdles Washington wineries need to overcome is scale. California produces nearly 4 million tons of grapes each year. Washington sits at roughly 150,000 tons. Per winery this breaks down to California wineries producing approximately 571 tons of grapes each while Washington wineries produce only 214 tons. Even at the most basic math, not only does California have 9 times as many wineries, they EACH produce nearly 3 times as much wine. Are Washington wineries too small? Does the boutique winery hinder the national awareness of Washington wine?

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Lettie Teague reports, “When I went looking for Washington wines in New York, traditionally one of the state’s strongest markets, I came up empty-handed.” I’ve seen this scenario repeated on several occasions as we’ve promoted Washington wine twitter tastings and trying to orchestrate tastings with fellow wine writers. The only wine available at a national level seems to be Chateau St. Michelle Riesling, Columbia Crest Two Vines (if you’re lucky Grand Estates) and maybe Hogue and Charles Smith brands. Washington produces some amazing wine, but will anyone be able to melt at the taste of a 2004 XSV Cabernet like I did a few months back? Or, can the readers in Roanoke, VA find this magnificent Apogee from L’Ecole?

Are quality and volume attainable?

Brand Awareness

10 years ago 80% of the Washington wine brands did not exist. 10 years ago California had twice as many wineries as Washington does today. Growth combined with scale makes brand awareness a difficult proposition. In my opinion Washington needs greater brand awareness. The commissions that help promote the state should focus their budget and efforts outside the state. Does Seattle need a Taste Washington event to promote Washington wine? Aren’t you really just preaching to the choir? How about a Taste Washington event in Atlanta, GA? Let’s see the Washington Wine Commission bring 200 wineries to the 2011 Rhone Rangers in California! That would make an impression. Seattle (and Spokane) is already on board with buying local. In a recent article, Mike Veseth of the Wine Economist says, ” The lack of regional identity may be a serious issue in the long run, I think other problems are more pressing right now.” I disagree. Regional branding is what Napa and Sonoma have done right. Where the hell is Columbia Valley? Does anyone know where Snipes Mountain is? Regarding regional branding, I think there are three areas in Washington that with a little polish, could explode in this area:

1. Walla Walla – It may seem like a no brainer but this Norman Rockwell town with over 100 wineries still struggles to bring in the people. Walla Walla (holla holla), needs a bigger marketing presence and more effort put on destination appeal. Let’s face it; it’s a challenge to fly in to Walla Walla. Napa and Sonoma have the easy draw of flying in to San Francisco, not to mention the immediate population base of 6.9 million people in the bay area. If Walla Walla is going to be able to support it explosion of growth it is going to need to look for ways to bring in people beyond Kennewick and Spokane.
2. Woodinville – This is an area that is obviously exploding. With 90+ tasting rooms, Woodinville gets it. Drawing on the Seattle area population of over 4 million, wineries are flocking to the area. While the grapes might not be grown there, the wine is certainly flowing. In my opinion, Woodinville will continue to see growth and will become the state’s PREMIER tasting destination.
3. Lake Chelan – As a destination, Lake Chelan is positioning itself to be a strong region in the state. Estate vineyards, quality wine, and majestic views add to the romantic appeal. Chelan’s challenge lies within its infrastructure (lodging and restaurants) and its geography (3 hours from Seattle and Spokane).

Pricing

Washington had always been known as a leader in QPR (quality price ratio). Recently, with the pricing slash in California wines, Washington producers have been left wondering how to compete. Wineries making less than 1000 cases per year (which make up a large percentage of Washington wineries) have a tough time selling anything under $30 and still remaining profitable. The average consumer isn’t spending $50+ on wine these days. Established vineyards can still sell through inventory, but new wineries without an established brand are struggling to survive. Brands like Andrew Will are cutting production while brands like Yellow Hawk have called it quits. Brands like Walla Walla’s Terranova struggle to get any traction on their first vintage and are threatened with closing before it began. Robert Smasne (wine maker for 20+ Washington state wineries) says, “Globally I think we still need to be conscience of our price points. We tend to go too high for the value of our wines.” I tend to agree. Asking $60 or even $80+ for wines on vines that are only 20 years old in today’s economy is modestly arrogant.  In this writer’s opinion, many Washington wineries need a reality check and should bring their pricing down from the stratosphere.

Is Washington really ready to come of age? With 99% of the wineries being less than 30 years old, the state is still struggling through growing pains. 30 years ago, California had roughly the same number of wineries as Washington does today. Let’s look 30 years into the future…will Washington catch up and surpass California? The prognosis is doubtful (not related to quality but to population hubs) but the journey should lead to some of the world’s best wine.

What are your thoughts?

Part rant, part plea, part observation, this is the story of a region on the verge of growth. Some live in fear of the invasion of the white man like Marcus Whitman and the Cayuse Indians. Others are clinging to ideals that strangle progress and still others are embracing the potential of the region with open arms.

Spokane, just 3 hours north of Walla Walla and 2 hours from the heart of Columbia Valley is poised to become a wine tasting destination. Currently with 17 wineries to serve the population base of 500,000 in Spokane County (and another 150,000 in North Idaho’s Kootenai County), residents tend to leave town to visit “wine country” rather than experience the wine created in its own back yard. Spokane is home to three “large” wineries that boast production greater than 15,000 cases. The remaining wineries range in size from 500 cases to 5000 cases and often get lost in the glow of the mansion on the hill. Some of these wineries are consistently receiving high praise from the magazine elite and are adorned with precious medals won in the battle of competition.

Recently, news trickled down the grape vine of a new winery opening in North Spokane’s Greenbluff district. This farming community is always bustling with activity as residents pack into their soccer vans and four wheel urban assault vehicles to pick fresh fruit. Currently Townshend Cellars (20,000 cases) and Trezzi Farms (500 cases) hold down the grape canopy. A third winery in the district would certainly boost appeal and would add to the “day trip” destination.

Terranova Cellars, producing wine in Walla Walla but without a retail tasting room, chose glorious Spokane to unveil its passions to the world. Brent Bendick became the assistant wine maker for Isenhower Cellars in Walla Walla in 2004. Since that time, he’s learned the art and science of wine making. Concurrently, his first Newfoundland, Lalique, found him. Brent discovered a way to combine so many things that are important to him and start his own winery and give back to those who need it, not the least of which are the Newfoundland in the rescue program. With Brent’s wife Heidi earning her MBA from Gonzaga University, a natural Spokane connection existed.

Sadly, Terranova will not be opening in Greenbluff as expected. The Barbera, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Cabernet, and Rose will not be experienced because of county politics, Greenbluff association disapproval and other facility troubles. Brent and Heidi are sent back to the barrel room to contemplate their next moves. While not solely to blame for the decision, I do still say shame on Greenbluff for voicing their concern over selling wine that is not “grown or produced” in Greenbluff. Yes, Trezzi makes the valiant effort to grow grapes and produce a respectable Barbera but Townshend Cellars has moved production off site (with the exception of the occasional bottling and special barrels). Yes, Greenbluff, your precious T3 is grown, produced and bottled just north of Kennewick, WA. All this from a region that trucks in pumpkins to give the illusion of picking them during harvest.

Rumblings of horse drawn wagons have been heard as wineries from Walla Walla, Prosser, Yakima and further west look to Spokane for the next frontier. With the great land rush in Woodinville moving ahead, wineries are seeing the benefit of an extended tasting room. It’s easier to take your wine to the people than to expect and wait for them to come to you. Washington wineries are allowed two off site tasting rooms. With Seattle and Spokane being the two main population hubs, the next frontier logically seems to be Spokane.

Is this bad for the region? Should we fear the invasion of the outsiders? In this writer’s opinion, the answer is an emphatic NO. What would have happened if Chateau St. Michelle or Columbia Winery pruned the vines of progress? Growth of the region is good for the existing wineries. People look to a destination. A region with 10 wineries spread all across town (like Spokane was just 5 years ago) doesn’t garner much attention. Now, 8 tasting rooms downtown, 5 in the valley and 4 up north, there are distinct tasting regions that encourage day trips, weekend trips and walking tours of downtown. Wine events are happening daily, and the CVB’s First Friday Art Walk has become a signature event in Spokane. The city is thirsty for good wine and entertainment. Don’t believe me; just go to Arbor Crest on any given Sunday evening in the summer. Wine and smiles are all you’ll see.

Continued growth, either home grown or outside tasting rooms, means a greater draw from rural northern Washington, northern Idaho, and Western Montana. Maybe even some of those Tri-Cities folk will head east and do some wine tasting. While some fear the future, the future is coming. I predict 20 tasting rooms / wineries in and around the downtown core in just 5 years. Established wineries should embrace this change and plan for the increased tourism and business. As people visit, they’ll want to find your wine when they return to their homes. Wineries that track visitor patterns, set up appropriate distribution, and extend their tasting room through social media will see the juice flow.

As for Terranova, the journey continues. With 2007 wine bursting at its skins some tough business decisions lay ahead. Brent seems confident that the right doors will open and he can continue his quest of helping the Newfoundland rescue dogs.

Visit Terranova on the web: http://www.terranovacellars.com/

EAVB_EYDIUDNMGM

While a small contingent is crying sour grapes over the 2010 Wine Blogger’s Conference I see more of a collection of curious choices rather than barrel of bad bloggers. Like most things in life, you can’t please all the people all the time nor would you want to try. The conference is in the books and hundreds of posts are streaming in about the adventures of wine writers. Here is what I do know:

• The 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference was extremely well organized. I was very impressed with the attention to detail and seamless operation of the logistics.
• Walla Walla is a fantastic host city. The Marcus Whitman hotel, the downtown tasting rooms and the participating wineries were all gracious, accommodating and generous.
• Washington is making kick ass wine that is just now starting to come into its own. The world better watch out because some of the best value and quality wines are being made in this state.
• The conference is misnamed – It needs to be called the wine writers conference (thanks Tom Wark).

Because we live in a world of “sound-bites” and “tweets” – I’ve decided to compose this post into 34 short, hopefully quote worthy bits that sum up my opinions, thoughts and experiences. These are the observations of a first time attendee to the Wine Bloggers Conference AND someone who has only been in this “industry” for less than a year. I’ve also included a few of my favorite pictures from the event (some that I took, others that I borrowed).

Overall Impressions

1. Who knew there were enough of us to hold a conference? While some make lazy veiled attempts to satirize our existence, we heard over and over from winery PR and trade that blogger mentions and wine write ups make a difference.

2. Individually, we’re all entitled to our opinion, style, format and approach. In this young medium of media the lines are still being formed. The best approach to success is to find and stay true to your voice, be consistent, pursue quality, and be patient.

3. Wine writers (formerly known as bloggers) are forcing the traditional media to be more transparent (via Steve Heimoff of Wine Enthusiast)

4. Networking with other bloggers was the single biggest take away from the conference. Connecting with peers, sharing our struggles, hearing success stories, and being inspired by goals will stay with me forever.

5. There are no experts at this, only those who have been doing it longer and have refined their voice and quality to garner a following of similar minded people.

6. Those that think bloggers only talk to bloggers are full of sh^t. Bloggers may be more apt to comment on other posts but the consensus is that each of us has developed varying sizes of local followers.

Conference Activities

I mentioned some curious conference choices in the first paragraph. Here are some directed at the attendees as well as the organizers.

7. I find it pretty curious that one of the state’s key influencers was not more involved. In speaking with Paul Gregutt, he mentioned that he offered several times to be more involved. Paul literally wrote the book on Washington Wine and I would loved to have seen him part of the activities.

8. I find it pretty curious that some bloggers chose to skip the three winery bus tours on Saturday. Granted we are all adults, but paying hundreds of dollars (or more) to sleep off a hangover or just chat with friends at the hotel seems like a big waste. Your loss.

9. I find it pretty curious that more focus wasn’t put on Washington wine. I realize that this is not a Washington wine conference, but there are 650 wineries in the state. Why would I need a whole food and wine pairing session with wines from everywhere except Washington?

10. I find it very curious that only one Spokane winery make the trip to Walla Walla to pour their wine. If Spokane wants to gain momentum as a wine destination, more energy and effort needs to be put into exposing the wine to passionate people like wine writers.

11. It’s also very curious that some wineries participating in sessions like speed blogging or ’meet the wineries’ wouldn’t have information about their wine. At the very least have your printed spec sheet about the wine. Go the extra mile and provide a social media contact card that has your wine info ALONG WITH your Twitter, Facebook and Web info.

12. While not curious, I was somewhat disappointed with the overall outcome of the conference seminars that I attended. The most engaging and informative was the Food and Wine Pairing with Chef Jeffrey Saad. Also, I’m sad that I made the poor choice to skip the Geology of Walla Walla to sleep in. I hear it was very useful.

13. “Moving your Readership Beyond Bloggers to Consumers” provided 1 or 2 nifty web sites and essentially told me 1) Establish your voice, 2) Focus on quality, 3) Be everywhere – i.e. multi-platform engagement.

14. In “Advanced Wine Blogging” Jeff Lefevere provided a huge list of tools. While the list is pretty amazing, I could have been equally served with a hand out or link. The panelists are all very well respected and established, but I felt the session was underutilized to provide ACTUAL advanced techniques and insights from these guys who make it look easy.

15. I also attended a session by Craig Sutton about “Creating Conversions” – Craig is very well spoken and obviously a professional. I learned some stuff from his presentation but was hoping for more info on search engine optimization.

16. My favorite session was the Video Blogging session with Andrea Robinson, Chris Oggenfuss, and Lisa Mattson. I learned a ton of great information and more importantly it inspired me to make some changes to my own blog / vlog. This session and the two mentioned above can be viewed here http://cavemanwines.com/blog/

Speed Wine Blogging

Think speed dating but with wineries trying to ‘hook you up’ with their wine.  I learned that I am not a speed blogger. I also learned that first impressions can lead you astray. It’s like getting that hot girl to go out on a date with you and then realizing you made a mistake when you have an actual conversation with her. Also important to point out…if you’re not spitting you may go home at 2 with a 10 and wake up at 10 with a 2.

Wines of note:

17. WHITE: Desert Wind Winery Viognier, Maryhill Viognier , Ortman Family Wines Edna Chardonnay, and Long Shadow Poets Leap Riesling

RED: Solena Estate Pinot Noir, Louis M Martini Lot 1 Cabernet, Trio Vintners RIOT, Long Shadows Sequel Syrah and the Molly Dooker Velvet Glove.

Great description from my friend Randy Watson of @thewinewhore – “The Velvet Glove comes up to you screams in your face to get your attention, pulls down your pants to get you all excited and then runs away leaving you empty (and pantless).  

A Day with Winemakers

18. I can’t say enough about the day we spent with wine makers on the lottery buses. The conference organizers did a great job keeping the locations of the bus trips a secret.  In keeping with my brief synopsis of everything…here goes.

19. Rick Small of Woodward Canyon is an amazing winemaker and storyteller. Listening to Rick’s passion for the wine while walking through his 30 year old vineyards was a life changing experience.

20. The panel of winemakers session at Beresan introduced me to the BEST Viognier I have ever had. Wine maker Quentin Mylet of Turtulia Cellars was proud of his first release and his passion poured from his body.

21. Lunch at Whitman Cellars was a mess of an allergy attack. Sadly I did not get to enjoy the wine as I was distracted with itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing every 15 seconds. I do remember a delightful Cab Franc and dining in the barrel room was a treat!

22. Dinner with Otis Kenyon was a special occasion. Sitting next to Steve Kenyon sipping a 2005 Reserve Merlot while enjoying the evening speaker, Lettie Teague was a dinner to remember. FYI, Merlot goes great with beef cheeks.  

Extra Curricular

23. Make sure you know where you’re going if you’re going to walk to an after hours party. Walla Walla may be a small town, but walking east doesn’t mean you’re going to find the house you’re looking for.

24. Same party…when you turn on dance music, Constance Chamberlain bounces like Tigger for hours and Joe “Suburban Wino” Herrig does a wicked robot.

25. Same party…it’s always best to leave before the cops show up…

26. When offered wine from a snickering Christophe and Chris Oggenfuss, politely refuse or you may find yourself drinking wine made from fermented worms…no lie.

27. I felt like a proud parent when I gave Hardy Wallace some juice made from Spokane (Nodland Cellars 2006 Blend), He said, “This is the most balanced wine I’ve had since I’ve been here,” granted it was only Friday.

28. When Charles Smith throws a party it quickly deteriorates into drunken debauchery that includes stripper poles, flaming pasties, and kegs of free wine!

29. Sitting in a lobby drinking wine with a bunch of relaxed winos is a great way to experience the luxurious Marcus Whitman hotel.

30. Paul Gregutt is a cool cat. Thanks for opening your home to us for a few hours to taste how historic Washington Wine is aging. Tasting through 1994-1999 vintages from Chateau St Michelle, Columbia Crest, Kestrel, Seven Hills and more shows the awesome age ability of the state’s wine.

31. Spokane loves Ben Simons (Vinotology), Joe Roberts (1WineDude), and Eric Hwang (BricksofWine). We had an amazing time enjoying the wine and view from Arbor Crest. It was obvious that Barrister Cellars was a hit across the board for everyone as well.

Stomping on Sour Grapes

Posts by Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman and Paul Gregutt seem to indicate that there are some sour grapes over certain activities from the conference. Without being verbose, here are my comments.

32. Where are the blogs? – Bloggers do this for FREE. They have lives to attend to and being gone for 4 days or more usually means catching up on what they missed. The initial round of posts may have been easier “Top Ten” “I Learned” kind of posts, but NOW we’re starting to see more in depth evaluations of the wine and the region. See over 100 of them here.

33. Bloggers wasted my time by skipping sessions? – Sad for them if they spent hard earned money to sleep off a hangover. As far as I can tell the 20+ busses were off on their journeys with 10-15 people on each bus. Not everyone is going to be engaging and dynamic. Chances are the no-shows are about as committed to writing as they are to learning…so the result would have been the same either way.

34. Pay to Play Not Paying Off? – I don’t get this one. Yes the event is pay to play but it’s not about any one winery. It really isn’t about even promoting the region of Walla Walla. This is a Wine Bloggers Conference that happened to be held in Walla Walla. The association and town did a pretty phenomenal job of making sure that these passionate writers actually had reason to write about Walla Walla. People from Paso Robles to Paris and Atlanta to Boston are writing about the amazing wines of Washington State. I think that’s a phenomenal payoff!

As I said earlier…sour grapes? No, mostly a result of misunderstood expectations and missed information. Walla Walla rocked the wine world and the wine world fell in love with Walla Walla and Washington wine.

On June 25, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced that it will use a testing ground store dubbed “Olive Way” to experiment with several new concepts. With rampant growth halted, Starbucks is looking for ways to draw customers back to the store. One of the new concepts is to introduce wine and beer as part of its product offering. Is this a good idea? Will doing so completely change the culture of the store, or is it a brilliant move to capitalize on the distribution network to extend sales into the evening hours?

I think it’s a great idea! In fact, I have a 30 page business plan dated June 8, 2007 that speaks to the very brilliance of the idea. Howard Schultz, you’ll be hearing from my attorneys. :) The reason for the birth of DrinkNectar.com and @nectarwine on Twitter was to brand the name for the eventual opening of Nectar Coffee and Wine or Drink Nectar Coffee and Wine Bar (still up in the air with the name). I’m a planner. I have a master plan for life. Most of it is in my head, but some things are written down as goals or milestones along the journey. The master plan for the business is to have the wife finish her 20 years at “The Bank,” go to college to get her Masters in Elementary Education and then get settled in her teaching career. While that is happening, I would lay the foundation for the future wine and coffee bar with eventual plans to open in late 2011 or early 2012. Well, the wife is in school and the blog and branding has taken on a life of its own. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the potential opportunities but we’re still moving forward with the master plan.

I realize it’s not a new concept or new idea. I’ve actually seen several similar business models. The majority of people attempting to do this either go mostly coffee with a small wine selection, they have a full stock bar with a handful of “house” wines and something resembling an espresso maker, or they are actually a full service restaurant with a pretty good wine selection. My business will combine retail wine, glass pours of over 100 wines, full service espresso and tea, and light fair food selections (probably pre-made from local vendor to avoid the need for a full kitchen). When I heard Starbucks press release I was at the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference and I have to admit the news took a little wind out of my sails. First to market matched with scale is a powerful combination. Will there be any room in the market in 2012 when I’m finally ready/able to go with my dream?

Do you think it will work? Is Starbucks on to the “next big thing?” Will a company like Starbucks be hindered or helped by its size and scope? Can Starbucks deal with the challenges of distribution, liquor licensing, branding, selection, knowledge, service, and underage access? I think the concept will work for Starbucks, but only in select stores. To go big in scale, they’ll have to work with a large distributor, and centralize the shipment of wine to their stores. Working with local wineries across their business footprint could be a logistical nightmare. A company like Starbucks will want to leverage any large scale efficiencies to streamline costs and maximize profits (which is what they are really after). The pilot store may include a handful of local Northwest wine and micro-brew, but if the concept expands, you’ll begin to see more mainline brands like Chateau St Michelle, Hogue, Mondavi, and other Constellation and Precept wines. Unlike coffee, where Starbucks can get away with 3-4 different roasts and 8-12 different bulk coffees, wine lovers will not flock to a store with a selection of 4 reds and 4 whites. However, the Starbucks wine concept will most likely be a success. It will eventually do for wine what Starbucks did for coffee. Starbucks involvement in the wine business could be a catalyst to break down interstate shipping barriers too.

Is your barista going to become a sommelier too? One other issue will hinder Starbucks on the road to wine domination. Knowledge…wine lovers are turned off by inferior service and expertise. Inexperienced wine drinkers desire to be educated. Will your local barista have the knowledge needed to service the wine business? Will Starbucks start to hire wine stewards for the later hours in the day? It is one thing to be able to explain the difference between light, medium and dark roast and only a handful of coffee drinkers geek out over the difference between Sumatra and Ethiopian. Imagine the training obstacles with learning the differences between varietal characteristics in even the most basic selection of wine.

While I may have been deflated by the original news, I’m now even more motivated to pursue the business I’ve been thinking about for four years. Starbucks will open some doors and break down barriers of consumer perception of a wine AND coffee bar. BUT…Starbucks will also leave the door wide open for someone to do it RIGHT with attention to local product, large selection, and knowledgeable service.  Thanks, Starbucks, for validating my idea. I wish you much success with “Olive Way” and look forward to the competition. With that said, if you’re a Starbucks executive reading this…feel free to reach out, I’d love to talk about business opportunities.

The other night I had a dream. It must have been set about 10-12 years in the future. Facebook was still around. HR5034 had failed and wineries were still able to ship directly to consumers. Everywhere I looked wineries were engaging with customers through social tools, conversations were happening and brand loyalty was increasing with each new interaction and conversation. As I surfed the bliss of this new future world from the portable holographic display pad, I stumbled across an amazing feature. I was talking with a winery on Facebook and noticed a mention of new releases. I loved their 2007 Syrah and wondered how the 2017 release tasted on older vines. To my surprise and wonderment a WINES tab led me to a Facebook page where I could learn about the new vintage. I clicked the futuristic “BUY NOW” button and purchased the wine. Approximately 8.4 seconds later the wine materialized at my front door. I used the retinal scanner to verify my age and proceeded to remove the floating argon enclosure with the red atom inversion gas release device.  

Wait. Facebook pages where you could directly buy wine. This obviously was a dream.

THIS IS NO DREAM – GAME CHANGING ECOMMERCE FOR WINERIES ARRIVES

June 23, 2010 Cruvee revolutionizes direct marketing for wineries that have their data in the FREE yourwineyourway.com data management service. Participating wineries can now add a “Wines” tab to their Facebook page that describes their wines and directly links to a purchasing opportunity, enriching their presence on the premier social network and significantly increasing their ability to convert their fans to actual consumers.

The future is here for wineries to convert interactions on Facebook to actual sales. Paul Mabray, Chief Strategy Officer of VinTank and digital kung fu wine master, talks on Skype about the importance AND “stupid simple” new feature.

If you’re a winery reading this:

1. Go to yourwineyourway.com
2. Sign up (IT’S FREE)
3. Enter your wine data – it will be syndicated to 50+ wine sites/tools/locations
4. Click the “Add To Facebook” button
5. Sell wine