Virginia Wine and Social Media – Part IV – Bluemont

The Social Media Interviews – Virginia Wineries – Part IV:  Bluemont Vineyard

This is the final post in the Virginia Wineries and Social Media series.  To recap,

• The original post – ‘Social Media: Do Virginia Wineries Get It?’
• The Social Media Interviews – Part I: Breaux Vineyards
• The Social Media Interviews – Part II: Doukenie Winery
• The Social Media Interviews – Part III: Corcoran Winery

The intent of the interviews is to showcase Virginia wineries that are actively engaged in Social Media, and to provide a forum for dialogue  and information for other wineries considering the move to the 21^st century.

For today’s interview, we hear from Kevin Rupy of Bluemont Vineyard.

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About Bluemont Vineyard: In early 2007, Mark Zurschmeide and Bob Rupy started Bluemont Vineyard, partnering with their brothers Bruce and Kevin, respectively.  The 25-acre vineyard officially opened its doors in the Fall of 2007, where it specializes in popular Virginia varietals such as the Norton and Viognier, as well as other popular varietals such as Merlot, Vidal Blanc and an assortment of fruit wines.

The winery’s tasting room is in a renovated home on the mountain sitting at 951 feet above sea level with spectacular views of the valley from the patio and deck.  The goal at Bluemont Vineyard is to offer a unique experience on the Virginia wine trail. Northern Virginia, and Loudoun County in particular, are home to so many fine wineries and Bluemont Vineyard aspires to continue in that heritage. The Vineyard is excited to be a part of the Virginia winemaking tradition, and it looks forward to becoming a destination spot for wine trail enthusiasts throughout the region.

When did Bluemont begin using Social Media?

We first started with Facebook about two years ago, and we quickly followed that platform with accounts on both Twitter and Flickr.  Most of our efforts are focused on Facebook and Flickr, although we are beginning to expand our efforts on Twitter as well.

What social media tools do you currently use (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogging, Ning, etc.)?

Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are the primary tools we utilize for our winery.  While it may not technically be considered a ‘social networking platform’ we also put forth a fairly robust effort towards our bi-weekly newsletter.  There are numerous other social networking tools that are available, and we are examining those as well.

For example, we would like to expand our presence into sites like YouTube, since much of that content can be shared with our fans on other portals (e.g., Facebook).  In addition, with digital technology it is so easy to create video content and get it up on the web and our fans love that type of content.  In fact, for patrons who request it, during weddings out at the winery we will soon be providing live video/tweeting offerings that will enable the bride and groom to share their big day with those who cannot be there in person.  All of this will happen in real time and will utilize existing social media platforms

But at the same time, I think it is important that we (and any other winery for that matter) not bite off more than we can chew.  I think a better approach is to harness a limited set of tools to the greatest degree possible, as opposed to taking on too much and accomplishing too little.

Does Bluemont have a defined approach in terms of how you spend your social media time (formal Twitter strategy, specific customer acquisition plan, limited to Facebook, etc.)? If so, please describe how you developed this strategy.

I check Facebook periodically throughout the day.  It is my first stop in the morning and my last stop at night.  In general, we spend anywhere from 15 minutes to one hour each day on our social networking sites.  Some days can be busier than others, but quite frankly, we view it as time well spent and it is actually a lot of fun.

For example, we do a weekly trivia challenge (every Thursday at 2:00 PM), that has generated a great deal of participation.  Winners receive a wine tasting coupon for two.  The fans really love it, and it is a great way for all of us to interact.  It takes some time to carry all of that out (e.g., finding a good question, doing the trivia challenge and coordinating the coupon), but it is well worth the effort and we love doing it.

We try our best on Facebook to post on a timely and periodic basis with posts of interest to our fans.  But at the same time, we don’t want to overwhelm our fans with annoying and pestering entries.  We feel like we have struck the right balance, and it is something that we are very sensitive to.

On our Flickr page we try to refresh our pictorial content on a periodic basis.  In addition, we spend some time looking at (and reaching out to) folks who are posting photos taken at the Vineyard to their own pages. Many of the pictures are fantastic, and we have gotten to know some of these folks in person as a result of their sharing their pictures on sites like Flickr.

Has Bluemont realized quantifiable results from utilizing social media (increased tasting room traffic, sales, buzz, media attention, etc.)?  Describe.

Absolutely.  We put tremendous effort into building our Facebook fan base and in recent months it has definitely paid off for us.  This time last year, we had less than 250 fans on our Facebook page.  After an aggressive push to build that fan base (e.g., through promotion on our website and periodic discussion in our bi-weekly newsletter), we are now over 1,200 fans.  In recent months, our Google Analytics data shows that Facebook is consistently one of the top referring sites to our websites.

While it is difficult to attribute direct numbers to an increase in traffic or sales, the fact of the matter is that people are sharing their experiences out at Bluemont Vineyard through their own websites and blogs, our Facebook Fan page and through sites like Flickr.  And unlike traditional media (e.g., newspapers or radio), these portals allow wineries to directly interact with their customers and fans.

We believe these relationships on social networking sites strengthen our real-world relationships at the winery.  It is always great to encounter fans from our Facebook and Flickr pages out at the winery, and we are also looking at ways to reach out to our Facebook and Twitter followers with exclusive events conducted on their behalf.  For example, I have seen some wineries do Facebook meet-ups and even tastings for their Facebook fans.  In addition to being a great idea, it is also a lot of fun and well worth the effort.

Since many Virginia wineries are small, family-run operations with limited staff, finding time to devote to social media can be a real challenge.  What advice can you share with your fellow wineries on how to work thru the time constraints of the social media learning curve and how to best use their social media time?

Here’s an interesting factoid for wineries to consider: if Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populous on the planet.  With 400 million users, that puts it ahead of the United States but behind China and India.  And because Facebook is organized by geographic regions, that means your information can be tailored to reach out to just those users in your immediate area.

Considering the substantial benefits that can result from utilizing social media such as Facebook, I think it is so important for Virginia wineries to make the time to establish a presence in this realm.  As much as tending the vines, making the wine and running a winery are an integral part of the day, so too is expanding (and getting to know) your customer base.  Perhaps the greatest thing about embarking on social media efforts for wineries is the fact that with today’s technology tools it is easier then ever.

In terms of finding the time, I think it is safe to say that wineries can accomplish a great deal by committing anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes a day to their efforts.  It is incredibly easy to get up and running on all of these sites, and I would encourage wineries to find one they are comfortable with and just jump right in.

Given your experience thus far with social media, what are your lessons learned, and how will your approach change (if at all)?

In no particular order, here are some nuggets of wisdom I would share with our fellow Virginia wineries:

• Use social media to be, well, social! Many of our posts on Twitter and Facebook often talk about the Virginia wine industry, general topical posts and even the weather.  In other words, we are not in constant marketing mode.  Of course we discuss happenings out at the winery, but we really do look at these as social forums where we can get to know our patrons better while also promoting our winery.
• Dedicate the Time. When you do establish your social presence, be sure to make the time commitment to post content and interact.  If there is nothing for people to see on your social network, they won’t stop by.
• Publish content. Whether it is photos from your most recent bottling or a video of the wine press in operation, people love digital content.  We have found that when we post such content to our Facebook page, our fans really enjoy it.  It’s easy to do and we highly recommend it.
• Keep learning. Technology changes so incredibly fast that it can often times be overwhelming just to keep up with it.  Try to stay abreast of what is happening out there in the social media environment.  Often times new tools or platforms arise that can make social networking that much more productive and fun (e.g., Tweetdeck).
• Don’t underestimate the power of these tools. Social networking sites are incredibly powerful platforms.  And for an engaging and entertaining overview of these tools, I would highly recommend watching this YouTube video.  It was a presentation by an Indiana University anthropology professor at the Library of Congress in June 2008.  I know!  It sounds dry, but even if you watch the first 10 minutes, you will see how powerful these tools are (and you’ll probably end up watching the whole thing!).

Thank you Kevin for taking the time to share your social media insights and experiences (which I hope will help your Virginia wine colleagues)!

Editorial Disclaimer: Your humble correspondent is by no means a social media or wine expert – not even close!  Rather, I write thru the lens of a passionate wine enthusiast, advocate of the Virginia wine industry, observer of trends from a common sense perspective, and user of social media.

Thank you to each of the wineries that participated!

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Virginia Wine and Social Media_Part III_–_Corcoran Vineyards

The Social Media Interviews – Virginia Wineries – Part III:  Corcoran Vineyards

This post is the third in a four part series featuring Virginia wineries that are leveraging social media tools to connect, communicate with customers/potential customers, and build their brand.  To recap,

• The original post – ‘Social Media: Do Virginia Wineries Get It?’
• The Social Media Interviews – Part I: Breaux Vineyards
• The Social Media Interviews – Part II: Doukenie Winery

The intent of the interviews is to showcase Virginia wineries that are actively engaged in Social Media, and to provide a forum for dialogue for other wineries considering the move to the 21^st century.

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About Corcoran Vineyards: Corcoran Vineyards – located in Loudoun County, VA – is owned and operated by Jim and Lori Corcoran (Lori is the winemaker).  In 2002, the Corcoran’s planted their first block of Chardonnay grapes on their farm – which is known as Corkys Farm.  Today, Corcoran produces ~ 2,000 cases of wine annually.

Corcoran wines are created using traditional methods that enable the full flavors of the grapes to be tasted in every bottle.  Limited production, meticulous cellar work, and careful selection of fruit ensure the highest quality possible.   They have a tasting room located just outside the village of Waterford, in a restored log cabin dating back to 1750 restored log cabin.

When did Corcoran begin using Social Media? What social media tools do you currently use (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogging, Ning, etc.)?

We have 2 twitter accounts (I started to tweet in 2008, which I was one of the first Virginia wineries to do so), 2 Facebook accounts (Corcoran Vineyards & Corcoran Wines), both my husband and I are on LinkedIn and I blog (Off the Vine with Lori).   Editorial Note:  Be sure to follow @CorkysFarm and @CorcoranWine on Twitter.

Does Corcoran have a defined approach in terms of how you spend your social media time (formal Twitter strategy, specific customer acquisition plan, limited to Facebook, etc.)? If so, please describe how you developed this strategy.

We consider it another avenue to keep guests informed of what is happening at the winery.  It is part of our overall communications program.  Facebook and Twitter are our main communication methods, but I also try to blog 4 times a month.  We use them to try and keep it a little more personal with our friends & guests of the winery.

Has Corcoran realized quantifiable results from utilizing social media (increased tasting room traffic, sales, buzz, media attention, etc.)?  Describe.

Yes, we use Google analytics to measure the results.  Facebook now tells us every week how many visitors and new fans we have.

Since many Virginia wineries are small, family-run operations with limited staff, finding time to devote to social media can be a real challenge.  What advice can you share with your fellow wineries on how to work thru the time constraints of the social media learning curve and how to best use their social media time?

You have to dedicate 10-30 minutes a day to social media…my time seems to go up because I do our website as well so I try and keep them all linked together with the same information.

Given your experience thus far with social media, what are your lessons learned, and how will your approach change (if at all)?

As far as lessons learned, we have found that the younger generation uses social media much more and we need to keep up…the dynamics of how businesses are run has changed exponentially so we need to change as well.

Jim and Lori Corcoran

Editorial Disclaimer: Your humble correspondent is by no means a social media or wine expert – not even close!  Rather, I write thru the lens of a passionate wine enthusiast, advocate of the Virginia wine industry, observer of trends from a common sense perspective, and user of social media.

Next up in the series – Bluemont Vineyard

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Virginia Wine and Social Media – Part I – Breaux Vineyards

The Social Media Interviews – Virginia Wineries – Part I:  Breaux Vineyards

As a follow up to my post three weeks ago – Social Media: Do Virginia Wineries Get It? – I contacted several Virginia wineries that are ‘actively’ engaged in social media to solicit their input on how they are utilizing social media tools to connect with consumers. Today’s post is the first in a four part series featuring Virginia wineries that are leveraging social media tools to connect, communicate and build their brand (and setting a great example for others).

My initial post on the subject was intended to create (or continue) dialogue between Virginia wineries, PR folks, bloggers, and me, with the hope that we could all learn from each other.  The number of comments/responses surprised me – as did the position several of the respondents took. Unfortunately, a few of the ‘most colorful’ responses were sent to me via email, and would not comment directly to the post.

One of the disagreements came from an unexpected source – a friend of mine who knows a tremendous amount about wine, and in particular, a lot about Virginia wine.  As we discussed why he feels Virginia wineries do not need to embrace/leverage social media, one of the primary reasons he cited was the amount of tasting room traffic wineries have on the weekends – especially those wineries located on one of the ‘Wine Trails.’   (in fairness, I paraphrased his comments here for brevity)

I categorically disagree with the notion that wineries – especially small Virginia wineries – do not need to embrace/leverage social media simply because their tasting rooms are packed on the weekends.  I’ve only come across a few wineries that appear satisfied with their current level of sales with no desire for future sales growth or winery expansion.  Most of the winemakers and winery owners I’ve spoken to all have plans (and desire) for near-term growth.

Although social media is certainly not the panacea of winery success, it is a medium that cannot be ignored – Virginia wineries are going to have to embrace social media (just my opinion – highly unlikely that I’m wrong) to stay competitive.

To continue the dialogue, and to make the case to those ‘social media hold outs,’ I went directly to the source – one of Virginia wine industry’s most active social media practitioners – Jennifer Breaux-Blosser of Breaux Vineyards.   (Editorial Note:  some responses were condensed)

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About Breaux Vineyards: Breaux Vineyards is located just west of Leesburg, VA in the town of Purcellville.   In 1994 the Breauxs found themselves captivated with a picturesque piece of Virginia landscape that would rapidly evolve into one of the fastest growing wineries in Virginia. Along with scenic views, there were 3 acres of grapes on the 404-acre property that were planted in 1985.  Breaux now has over 100 acres under vine.

Assisted by Dave Collins, who would later become Breaux Vineyard’s winemaker, the Breauxs soon began making hobbyist wines. Discovering that their home-produced wines were more popular among friends and guests than many commercial offerings, the Breauxs collaborated with Dave to begin producing commercial wines at an even higher level of quality by investing in all new state-of-the-art wine making equipment and using proven vineyard practices, such as planting, harvesting and sorting by hand.

The winery and vineyard are managed and operated by Jennifer Breaux-Blosser, daughter of owner, and Chris Blosser, son-in-law of owner.  Breaux is the largest wine-grape producer in the state of Virginia and sells over 65% of their fruit to other wineries. All Breaux wines are made from Breaux Estate grown fruit that is harvested by hand, pressed on site, aged and bottled at our facility.

When did you begin using Social Media?

We started with Facebook about 3 years ago and Twitter about 15 months ago. I was very pro-active with Facebook right away with a great response. After setting up my Twitter account, it took several months before I really understood what Twitter was all about and before I was comfortable engaging with people there.

What social media tools do you currently use (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogging, Ning, etc.)?

Twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, Ning(thanks to you!), blog has been started but not live yet,  You Tube, Cruvee, foursquare, flickr, meetup, Stumbleupon, digg, Delicious, friendfeed, open wine consortium and  other wine –based sites that are mostly for trade purposes.

Do you have a defined approach in terms of how you spend your social media time (formal Twitter strategy, specific customer acquisition plan, limited to Facebook, etc.)?

I monitor Facebook and twitter daily – even when I don’t have time to commit to more than a few minutes. On days when I know I don’t have time to spare, I check in and at least search my business name for mentions, certain hash tags and see if anyone may be visiting my winery or asking a question etc. Even on my busiest days, I have time to send a quick invitation to visit or a tweet of thanks to someone who RTs (ReTweets). I check Facebook daily as well. My Twitter status automatically posts to Facebook (def. not the other way around!) just in case I only have time for one. I do log onto Facebook several times each day – regardless of the amount of time I have to check on what’s going on and to change my status, add events, and chat with people/patrons etc.  I find that I have more of a local presence there and people are so active and ready to engage that I can’t resist.  Cruvee is awesome and helps me to stay on top of ALL the buzz around Breaux Vineyards. I’m learning daily how to be more efficient without forsaking the quality. My strategy is not formal at the moment; however, I do have defined goals within my informal approach. They are:

• Engage daily on Twitter and Facebook, keep the Facebook status fresh and fun, interesting and relevant and check Cruvee daily.
• Commit 1 hour daily minimum to allow for “engagement.”
• Commit to creating long-lasting relationships with writers, bloggers, consumers and doubters of VA wine.
• Nurture the relationships with our current customers that connected with us via Social Media.
• Regularly research other social media sites to pursue new opportunities.
• Track the success of our efforts and ROI via Google analytics, Google alerts and point of sale among other things.
• You Tube when possible and link all sites back to our website (currently under construction).
• Regularly invite advocates of my trade to be a part of our industry and business (events, tastings, etc.).
• Stay on top of the latest trends in technology in order to support the growing trends in SM.
• Read and respond to blogs that are relevant.

If so, please describe how you developed this strategy.

I’m currently working on a more comprehensive plan for our social media based on what I am learning in my research and from others. We have a marketing plan in place for our company and have added social media as our #1. Although it’s in the plan, it’s also noted that it should not be used like traditional advertising. Our strategy includes using Social media as a tool to gain and retain customers while organically communicating with them and being available to them. Getting people interested in our business, wines and mission.

Has Breaux Vineyards realized quantifiable results from utilizing social media (increased tasting room traffic, sales, buzz, media attention, etc.)?

Absolutely! All of the above. Our tasting room is always busy so I encourage people who I’m “connected” with to let me know when they’re visiting. This helps me to loosely track the results of my efforts.  I get to meet so many patrons this way (face-to-face) and this connection helps with customer retention and satisfaction.  Most weekends, I meet a new face to the winery that I’ve connected with on Twitter or Facebook. People will come in and ask for me because they had tweeted with me or exchanged dialogue on Facebook – that justifies using social media for me. Our current customers who are active in social media love that there is a fast and fun way to connect. They’re gaining satisfaction and with that, I am again retaining customers. Those people do make purchases when they come in and they also refer their friends and family to us. I can post info about events and sell tickets as a result, or post a sale on one of the sites and immediately see the results. During the horrible blizzard we had to close for about 2 weeks total.  I got creative and had a “sneaux sale” and for every inch that fell, my online prices on wine fell. On a day that was dismal, I was able to have some fun with customers and made a few thousand dollars for the winery. I don’t do that sort of thing often so my followers accepted me giving them a “sales incentive” and they didn’t react by ceasing their follow.

As far as media buzz, where do I begin? Social Media has given us a platform to the world that we would not have otherwise. When we decided to export our wines to London, we participated in the London International Wine Fair and as we were traveling, I was tweeting and made great connections. We had writers and bloggers stop by our booth that had no plans to do so until they saw my tweets. It added validity to our business. Those connections provided buzz from London back into the US via Twitter. The local bloggers and writers have been an incredible resource for us as well. They create such an awesome excitement to an audience that is at our front and back door. I know that many of our Twitter followers are a result of the blogger influence. I believe that our supportive VA bloggers give “permission” to the rest of the world to enjoy wine from this wonderful, emerging wine region. Most people would not even think twice about following me unless they are from my area or have visited – especially those who are wine writers, “snobs or from the leading 4 wine regions in the US. Our local bloggers have clout and often times open the doors for us for many opportunities. They certainly help us gain market presence and validity. These are the people who I want to create relationships with and who can really teach the wineries so much about social media. They want us to succeed, after all.

Since many Virginia wineries are small, family-run operations with limited staff, finding time to devote to social media can be a real challenge.  Despite many of the same time constraints, you have found time to include social media in your marketing strategy.  What advice can you share with your fellow Virginia wineries on how to work thru the time constraints of the social media learning curve and how to best use their social media time?

With the lack of staffing and limitless hours put into work days, it’s easy to drop the ball on social media.  I still struggle with the balance of home life and work life as we all do in this industry. The two comingle and that’s just the way it. Like so many of us, I need 4 clones of myself in addition to the 5 other staff members I also need to get just the basics of every day complete.  I recommend taking the time to at least learn how to create and manage a Facebook account – it’s the most efficient way to see results almost immediately. A minimum of 20 minutes each day is my recommendation while you are getting acclimated to the process. 20 minutes allows for simple updates and other “bare minimums”. That encouragement of your success in gaining a presence via followers and feedback will push you to further build your site and plant the seed of soon-to-be addiction to social media. After that point, my recommendation is to spend at least 1 hour each day engaging via SM. This will help create actual relationships and propel your mission to success. You’ll have a great following in no time at all and you’ll quickly realize the potential and be sold on its significance for your winery.  I’m not a believer (yet) in paying someone to run social media for the VA wineries. By that I mean no “outsourcing” to PR firms who have to rely on you to give them your message. We’re currently emerging and morphing as an industry and people want to be connected to the people behind the wineries, vineyard and wines. It’s important to get your message out via social media in a personal manner.  Again, take the time to learn how to at least start a Facebook account and the rest will follow.  As I mentioned before, utilizing the skills of others around you may be necessary – a staff member, one of your kids or grandkids or fellow members in the wine industry are all great resources. Bottom line, SM is free with exception to the time you’d spend anyway creating an ad for a publication. Just do it!

Given your experience thus far with social media, what are your lessons learned, and how will your approach change (if at all)?

I have learned that SM is so much more fun and effective than traditional means of getting my message out. I’m becoming slightly addicted and am learning as much as I can about it. It has helped our business to grow and gain validity within the wine community and allowed me the pleasure of fostering new friendships along the way. If I could change anything it would have been to immerse myself sooner than I did. As we grow, I am turning over my marketing to another member of my team but not social media. I see it as relationships I’ve created and I’m not willing to turn my “friends” over to someone else. My goal is to keep learning and keep getting better as we mature in our SM efforts, launch our blog and have some fun along the way with the people we get to “meet”.

Congratulations to Breaux Vineyards - 2002 Merlot Reserve was selected as favorite red wine at the Drink Local Wine Twitter Taste Off on April 25, 2010. Pictured: Chris and Jennifer Blosser.

Editorial Disclaimer: Your humble correspondent is by no means a social media or wine expert – not even close!  Rather, I write thru the lens of a passionate wine enthusiast, advocate of the Virginia wine industry, observer of trends from a common sense perspective, and user of social media.

Tomorrow we hear from Chris Wolf at Doukenie Winery and their thoughts on social media.

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Social Media – Do Virginia Wineries Get It?

Do Virginia wineries ‘get’ social media?

I guess that depends on the definition of social media.  If we use the Social Media 1.0 definition – setting up a Facebook fan page that is updated once a month with awesome discounts, or, sending out a couple of tweets each month – then, yes, many Virginia wineries do ‘get it.’

However, if we use a broader, modern definition of social media – that includes using widely accessible and scalable internet tools (in particular Twitter) to proactively engage customers and potential customers – then the answer is NO, very few Virginia wineries ‘get’ social media.

This of course is just my opinion.  I am certainly open to being convinced otherwise (although unlikely given my high propensity of always being right).

I should qualify this statement and note that there are a handful of Virginia wineries that do ‘get it’ – Jen Breaux at Breaux Vineyards definitely gets it, Lori at Corcoran Winery seems to get it, as do Keswick and Hillsborough wineries.  I realize that I may have left out a few others in the same group – apologies.

A few points of clarification for my other Virginia winery friends…

1. Setting up a Facebook fan page to post monthly specials does not meet the definition of actively engaging in social media.
2. Sending a tweet once a week about a weekend festival at your winery does NOT qualify as actively engaging in social media.
3. And, most importantly, simply responding to a tweet where someone mentions your winery is NOT actively engaging in social media.

Each of these actions is considered the minimum level of expected performance in today’s marketplace!!!

I’ve been active in the social media space for about two years now, and am still impressed by wineries that actively leverage social media tools to gain consumers and positively affect sales.  I am also equally disappointed at how few wineries here in Virginia are actively using social media, in particular Twitter, to engage consumers.

Despite the fact that Twitter is one of the most cost effective (it’s free) marketing tools available to a business today, less than a third of Virginia wineries even have a Twitter account.  John Witherspoon at AnythingWine, recently compiled a list of Virginia wineries on Twitter.  According to the list, just 58 Virginia wineries have a Twitter account, and only a few of them actively use their accounts.

Of those select group of Virginia wineries that actually use their Twitter account, even fewer actually ‘engage’ in the dialogue.  Just look at #VaWine Twitter hash tag – the volume of #VaWine Twitter traffic is amazing.  It’s even more amazing how few wineries are engaging in the conversation, even when a tweet is specific to their winery.  Good grief!  Take a look at the last 100 – 200 tweets with the #VaWine hash tag – how many Virginia wineries are actively engaged in the dialogue?  So many missed opportunities.

In addition to the absence of Virginia wineries actively utilizing Twitter, I wonder how many of them regularly post comments to wine blogs and participate in the resulting dialogue?  I haven’t noticed too many Virginia wineries posting comments to the blogs that I read.  I wonder how many Virginia wineries organize tweet ups at their winery (or other locations) for bloggers?  How many of them send out a few bottles of their wine to local wine bloggers for a Twitter Taste Live type of event?  Believe it or not, us bloggers and active Twitterers actually do make a difference. I only ask these questions because many California wineries are doing these things daily, and they are running circles around Virginia wineries in the social media world.

In defense of our wineries, I do realize that winery folk are busy doing important wine stuff – tending the vines, working the tasting room, dealing with the asinine bureaucracy associated with selling an alcoholic beverage in Virginia, and busy making wine.  But ‘being busy’ is no excuse.  Everyone is busy.  It’s now 2010, leveraging social media, and getting engaged in the dialogue is no longer an ‘option.’

Unfortunately, too many Virginia wineries don’t realize this (yet!).

A Simple Case Study in Contrast – A Personal Example:  Over the last couple of weeks I’ve sent out a few tweets about a tasting event that I will be participating in next week.  Since I will be in Denver next week, Jacob (from ColoradoWino.com) and I setup a Virginia vs. Colorado taste-off to showcase wines from our respective states.  For me, this is a chance to shine a light on one the best of ‘the other 46’ – Virginia wines!

Of all the chatter on Twitter about this tasting, only one Virginia winery took the time to contact me about this event.  Rather than ask how they can get their wine placed in the taste-off, they instead offered me a 15% discount on a 3-pack of their wine, normally reserved for full case purchases, if I wanted to include it in the taste-off.  Hmmm.  Well, I guess I can’t fault them for noticing the dialogue on Twitter and at least reaching out.

Conversely, on the Colorado side, several other bloggers and wineries realized the potential of the event and have jumped in on the tweeting, and a local winery with a tasting room in Denver, offered to open their tasting room that evening to host the taste-off (which we quickly took them up on).  Actively engaging in social media – they ‘get it!’

Even wineries in California noticed the tweets on this Virginia – Colorado tasting.  I received tweets or emails from three (yes 3) California wineries about possibly including California wines in the taste-off.  Although the tasting next week is intended to showcase the wines from ‘the other 46’ – Virginia and Colorado – it was refreshing to experience that level of engagement from wineries.

Just one more, quick example of the power of proactively engaging consumers via social media to directly increase sales…  On a recent trip to Napa, I had a tasting appointment at a winery on the Silverado Trail (a winery that I happened to connect with via social media).  As I stopped at a local coffee shop to get my caffeine fix, I tweeted that I was headed to XYZ winery for a tasting.  By the time I drove from Sonoma to the Silverado Trail, two wineries sent me Tweets with an invitation to stop by their wineries also located on the Silverado Trail.  They both complemented the Cabs of the winery I was visiting and noted that they too had excellent Cabs that I might enjoy.  I stopped by both wineries, and purchased wine from both places, and have since made repeat purchases from one of them.  A simple and effective example of active engagement in social media that directly impacted the bottom line – They get it!

Why aren’t more Virginia wineries engaged in social media at this level?

Next post… a few small actions Virginia wineries can take to get engaged and leverage the power of social media.

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*****  ADDENDUM: Post Update – 9:41pm ET, Saturday *****

So, this post has ‘gotten legs’ and a lot of attention.  Although I’ve only received a few comments on this post (below), I have already received 13 direct emails regarding this post, not including a handful of Twitter Direct Messages.

Of course, most of the emails were from out-of-state wineries, wine PR folks, or curiosity seekers.  Big ups to Derek at Gadino for being the first Virginia winery to post a comment (short excerpts below).

To that end, I thought it would be a good idea to append this plea to the post… if you read this post and have an opinion either way, please post a comment below.  I value ‘your’ opinion!  We can all use this as an opportunity to learn from each other and have a valuable dialogue about a medium that is affecting each of us.

As if this isn’t already obvious, I know absolutely nothing about growing grapes or running a winery. I do however, know a whole lot about reading, thinking about, talking about and consuming wine!  So, my post is through the lens of a super-passionate wine consumer AND advocate of Virginia wines.

Given the fact that mainstream print wine publications have seldom shined a light on the Virginia wine industry, or given Virginia wine the respect it deserves on the national wine stage – I feel social media CAN BE the ‘great equalizer’ for the Virginia wine industry.

Conversely, social media could also hurt the Virginia wine industry – especially if wineries do not leverage the medium, they will surely fall behind – way behind their peers from other states who are marketing, conversating, communicating with ‘your’ customers (Virginians) via social media!

Please read this post in the spirit in which it’s intended… to serve as a reminder to this great industry that the landscape is changing.  This can be a great opportunity –  don’t sit on the ‘I am too busy’ sideline watching this happen in front of you – seize it!

(Editorial Disclaimer:  Your not-so-humble correspondent is not a social media expert, and is not claiming to be one.  Aside from being a know-it-all, I am an active user of social media, and support those businesses that engage me personally via the various social media tools.)

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