The goal of this series is to connect with wineries and wine business that use Social Media (Twitter and Facebook) effectively. Meet Everett winery, Sojen Cellars and see how they’re using Social Media to connect with new and old friends. 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.

SoJen on Web ** On Twitter ** On Facebook

How long have you been using Twitter?

Sojen Cellars has been on Twitter through Max or I for about six months.

What prompted you to dive in?

Max started tweeting and was creating new contacts and meeting people in the industry. I began tweeting and we were connected with Russell Lowell, a very old friend from our DiStefano days. Twitter showed us that this media opens a door to create relationships with people in our industry and possible business opportunities.

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

We post information to give tweeters the chance to see what is going on in our business life; from events at the winery or winemaker dinners at a restaurant as well as club information or how people can participate in the winery.

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

We have met new people and created new relationships that have brought new faces to SoJen Cellars as well as connected Max and I with people who want to help promote our business.

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

Max starting tweeting with @SeattleWineGal and @DivaTink and those ladies opened up the door to meet them at Russell’s Dining in Bothell. Max and I knew who the owner was and that we hadn’t seen him in a long time but when we walked in the door, the General Manager recognized Max and hadn’t seen him in almost 10 years. That connection reconnected Max and I with some old Woodinville friends (Max was former winemaker at DiStefano Winery for many years). It also allowed us to reconnect with Russell and have the amazing opportunity to have a winemaker dinner there and invite new and old friends to attend. Social media allowed us to access people that we didn’t have access to by phone or email.

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

TIME! It takes time to read tweets and think about what you really want people to know about you and your business.  Many of us have other jobs or started out having other jobs. Managing two to three jobs and then finding time to peruse Facebook or tweet is a lot to swallow.

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

Meet as many people as you can in your field, have meaningful conversations; be intentional about what you post and then revel in the results!

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

Max and I own SoJen Cellars in Everett after 5 years of making wine in the garage in Lake Stevens and a decade of experience in the field.  We are a true husband and wife team with both of us winemaking and managing the tasting room. We focus on blends that are versatile to be paired with food and can stand alone to be enjoyed. We also have the capacity to do custom blends for restaurants and private events. Our story is unique since both of us have a passion for wine in different capacities. Max and I met 12 years ago on AOL (before there was a charge for internet dating) I was working in Sonoma County at a wonderful restaurant that provided me many opportunities to work with wine and food pairing and catering. Max was a cellar rat at Silver Lake and then was introduced to Mark Newton and joined his staff at DiStefano. Through the love of food and wine, Max and I were somehow brought together. It was one email from me to him that started it all. His AOL screen name was Winos3. I loved it! I wrote to him “I like your screen name” That was the email that changed me life forever.

What is your favorite rock band and why? 

The Beatles because no matter how old you are, you love them!

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. See all the wineries on Twitter posts here.

Bolen Family Estates Web  *  On Twitter  *  On Facebook

How long have you been using Twitter? 

We started on Twitter about 6 months ago.  However, we really dove in the last 2 months.

What prompted you to dive in?

We are a small producer and we need to sell our wine directly to consumers.  This economy has really squeezed the small guys, while the big guys that can afford to slash prices are getting all the shelf space and distributor love.  I have had to look outside the box and find ways to connect with consumers to try and get my story out.  In the end of the day, the story is what sells my wine.

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

I try and start conversations.  There are many people posting links and firing out information.  It has become a little less personal.  I try to reach out and personally touch people.  I am not looking for followers as much as I am looking for contacts.  I don’t just need a number that says someone is following me.  I want someone that I can connect with.

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

Brand awareness and increased traffic are the two main benefits.  There has been a definite uptick of traffic to my website and people are beginning to talk about Bolen Family Estates.

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

Through Twitter I connected with a restaurant wine director in Palm Springs.  She came to Napa and stayed at our guest house.  Since then she has become our strongest restaurant account and at wholesale prices, not FOB through a distributor.

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

Technology has a tendency to intimidate people.  Also, this is a new way to sell wine.  There is the tried and true distributor grind and that is the route most people know and choose to go.  The social media realm is a true frontier for customer acquisition.  The thing with frontiers is, not many people have the perseverance to survive.

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

Be patient and watch what the successful one’s are doing.  Just start some conversations and see where they go.  Start to use these small tweets to get your story out.  Remember, these are people, talk to them.

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

We are one of the only Napa Valley Wineries that only make Merlot.  We are going to be releasing our 2007 Merlot on June 26^th.  Our winemaker is Tom Rinaldi (the founding winemaker at Duckhorn and current winemaker at Provenance) and our grape source is Beckstoffer.  Our Merlot is 100% Merlot every year.  We never have to blend our wine.

What is your favorite rock band and why?

Motley Crue.  I just can’t help getting pumped up when I hear a Crue song.  

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!

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

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…

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…