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Topic: Help promoting/publicizing high end winery
| Author | Message |
| RA | Posted – 2/12/2008 6:10:54 PM | show profile | email poster HELP! I am a publicist for a NC company who owns a boutique winery in California. The bottles are unique and the wine is out of this world. I've worked with them for 4 months and have had NO success getting attention for them - and they're such great people and we've done many different things. This has never happened to me before. If you have any advice, contacts, ideas, I would SOOOO appreciate it. Their Web site is: http://www.tobaccowinecellars.com Thanks so much. Rebecca |
| observer | Posted – 2/12/2008 8:47:32 PM | show profile is this a spam? this is not a website |
| Otoole | Posted – 2/12/2008 11:10:49 PM | show profile It checks out Hey Rebecca. I'm just a writer and publicity isn't my bag. I noticed you listed the wrong URL. Perhaps there is someone savvy in the PR field who can assist with ideas: It's Tobacco Road Cellars: http://www.tobaccoroadcellars.com/ |
| writesonwater | Posted – 2/13/2008 1:47:02 AM | show profile | email poster Might the wrong url have something to do with your bad luck getting publicity? ------ http://writingporch.blogspot.com/ http://jlouiselarson.blogspot.com/ http://familyrootsandwings.blogspot.com/ |
| wineaux | Posted – 2/13/2008 8:04:21 PM | show profile I used to write for the wine business in N. Cal and did publicity too. Let me take a look at the winery. enable your email and I'll send you a note. |
| wineaux | Posted – 2/13/2008 8:53:54 PM | show profile Very interesting background to them. I can see why you may be having problems. Combine sourced grapes with an owner that has deeper roots in NC than Napa Valley and I could see publicity being more than problematic. Relationships between wineries has a lot to do with the success of the boutique wineries, since they are so much smaller and don't have the deep pockets that the big boys do. And there is such a deep sense of comraderie amongst the wineries, I found. But, I think there is a uniqueness to them that is very marketable as a story. And I think they should start locally with trying to snag the media, if they haven't already. Do they have a deep presence in all of the the festivals and such that go on in the Valley all spring and summer? That in and of itself is a great way to market themselves and to develop a following. The owners really need to be consistantly present when they happen, too. For that matter, his presence would be really important in a lot of aspects. I've got a question, was he born w/ the name Dusty Fields? I love it! They have a lot to work with, IMO. Their grapes come from highly respected and well-awarded wineries, so that makes for another intesting nut to their story. Since you aren't from the area and aren't familiar w/ the nature of wine publicity, it makes it especially hard for you to successfully market for them. But, my suggestion to you would be to put those bottles in the right hands: Critics who are intersted in wines with sourced grapes, or critics who like a winery that takes a steer from tradition just a bit. I think, and some who know wine publicity may argue with me, but I believe that getting those bottles out to the magazines with more than just the bottle and a press release with a product sheet would change your luck. Really focus on the unique nature of this particular winery, and stress it's individuality and the diverse winemakers and owners (it's really interesting where they came from, since so many boutique winermakers around them are often multi-generational locals). Don't forget to send information on suggested pricing and the amount of the wine produced. If you haven't inclued this in the information that you've sent out, please do: a map that includes other interesting wineries nearby, vineyard size, age name of vineyard manager, soil composition, growing season history, trellising method, prune dates, date of verasion, date harvested, brix and pH at harvest, average tons per acre, average pounds of fruit per vine, clone, rootstock type and any other fine data you can think of. Don't forget to mention winemaking methods. Particularly because they do veer a bit off of the beaten path in that area. A fun little thing to add that can garner interst might be a little vial of the soil from the grounds, or some other tangible thing that is organic and directly from where the grapes grow. Photos are huge and are even better if the owner and winemaker are apart of it, (crew too) along with anything that makes the winery stand apart. (I once did a story about a Sonoma wine that had a llama and a full, exotic petting zoo and that was a big part of the reason it got a front page color article.) I hope this didn't sound too sophmoric to you. I don't know what directions you have tried, but publicizing wine is so different than any other food/beverage product, since the story behind the family and the fruit really compels people to be interested nearly as much as the taste. Good luck to you! |
| writesonwater | Posted – 2/13/2008 10:02:50 PM | show profile Go Wineaux -- she knows her stuff! Sounds like a good press kit fermenting there ... |
| wineaux | Posted – 2/13/2008 10:23:28 PM | show profile Another thing I wanted to mention: You said you've been working on this for the past four months, which means you've been doing pr at a rather inopportune time;right during harvest (busy, stressful time for wineries) and directly afterwards, which is a bit of a breathing period in the industry. A lot of "buzz" is in the spring, summer and very early fall. At least, that's what I found in Sonoma Valley. You may have better luck w/ promotions in the upcoming months. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 2/13/2008 11:57:39 PM | show profile It must be so beautiful there. What a place to live. |
| wineaux | Posted – 2/14/2008 2:23:09 PM | show profile It was quite a lovely place to live. Except in the summer and early fall, IMO. To hot. Last summer, there was a day that was 114. Late fall, spring and summer are divine, but you have to have a stomache for a lot of rain. I prefer the rain over the baking heat, though. You couldn't ask for more gracious, friendly people and there was always something cool going on every single weekend. And you can walk all over the place in Sonoma. There's a bike path that weaves right through town and over to some of the wineries. People there know how to party, that's for sure. I really miss it. |
| wineaux | Posted – 2/14/2008 2:24:03 PM | show profile woops, I meant late fall, winter and spring are divine, Not summer! |
| writesonwater | Posted – 2/14/2008 10:33:08 PM | show profile | email poster Call me sappy, but one of my favorite movies is A Walk in the Clouds. (I also loved The Parent Trap and A Good Year) This part of California sounds heavenly to me. No wonder you miss it. ------ http://writingporch.blogspot.com/ http://jlouiselarson.blogspot.com/ http://familyrootsandwings.blogspot.com/ |
| Printingman | Posted – 2/15/2008 8:26:23 AM | show profile | email poster Man..... you just gave her a masters degree in winery marketing and PR. I would try to steel this account if I were you. (Just kidding) |
| wineaux | Posted – 2/15/2008 1:50:24 PM | show profile Nah, no thievery will happen on my part. lol I don't live in the area anymore, and I really think that is a big part of marketing wine (living in the region). It's such a club, I found. I think he/she has a rough road to be really succesful, since the company's home base is in NC. That's just my opinion, though. I wish I could still feel like I could effectively do marketing and pr for the wine industry in CA. I do live around wineries here in the NE, but I think it is a very different beast here. And, of course, I have no contacts here, which is another huge issue, and it takes some time to develop in any industry, I suppose. I do love the business though, hence my classy screen name. Developing relationships is such a huge part of it. |
| le tangerine dream | Posted – 2/16/2008 7:30:47 PM | show profile looks like a nice company. ...sounds like they need to hire better pr. |
