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Temecula Valley Winery Management's Wines Named Among the Best

04.1.2010
Wine Buy The Barrel


Temecula Valley Winery Management's Wines Named Among the Best

Temecula, Calif., (March 30, 2010)

Youth and size it seems are no barrier to success in the wine business. Seven wines from four boutique wineries created with the help of Temecula Valley Winery Management recently were judged to be among the best in Southern California.

Wines from Middle Ridge Winery, Fazeli Cellars, Atwood Estate Winery and Woodworth Estate Wines were included in a listing of the best wines in Temecula Valley and Cucamonga wine regions, according to a panel of wine critics and aficionados assembled by Inland Empire magazine.

The wines from the four micro-wineries were created with the assistance of Temecula Valley Winery Management, a full-service winery management company that has dramatically lowered the cost of entry into the wine business.

"It's an honor to be named along with wineries that have been around for decades," said Patrick Bartlett, executive director of Temecula Valley Winery Management, whose Virtual Vineyard to Vendor facility in Temecula allows small winemakers and growers to create and market their own boutique wines. "But the recognition is even more remarkable given that many of our winning wineries have been operating only for about a year."

Wines from TVWM singled out in the April 2010 edition of Inland Empire magazine include:

  • Middle Ridge 2008 Pinot Grigio ($21)
  • Middle Ridge 2006 Syrah ($28)
  • Fazeli Cellars 2008 Noorooz ($18)
  • Fazeli Cellars 2006 Yalda ($34)
  • Atwood Estate Winery 2006 Syrah ($26)
  • Woodworth Estate Wines 2008 Golden Maggie ($17)
  • Woodworth Estate Wines 2006 Black Dog ($24)

The wines are available at selected restaurants throughout Southern California and through The Collective, an intimate two-story tasting room at 28544 Front Street in Temecula that features a spectacular up-lit onyx wine bar and cozy bench seating for patrons.

Wine lovers can sample six different wines for $12 as part of a balanced tasting of red and white wines that changes each week. Glasses and bottles of wine for less than $30 are also available as are small plates of gourmet food from the neighboring Edge restaurant.

A little more than two years after opening its doors, Temecula Valley Winery Management already has helped dozens of clients realize the dream of starting their own wineries at a fraction what it would cost to build a winery from scratch.

http://www.californiaagnet.com/pages/landing_news?Temecula-Valley-Winery-Managements-Wines=1&blockID=206958&feedID=2523

Imports Help Wines Sales

01.27.2010
Wine Buy The Barrel


Imports help overall wine sales; end of ‘09 better; slow recovery seen

SACRAMENTO — Large scale importation of bulk and bottled wine helped boost total U.S. shipments by an estimated 2.1 percent last year, but wineries heavily impacted by shifting consumer demand may have to wait until 2011 for significant market improvement, an expert said at a major industry symposium here this morning.
Despite signs of improved sales for higher-end wines in the waning months of 2009, some winery representatives listening to Jon Fredrikson’s analysis at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium are preparing for a longer recovery.
California wine shipments for the first 11 months of 2009 decreased 3.9 million cases, or 1.6 percent, according to Mr. Fredrikson of Woodside-based Gomberg Fredrikson & Associates.
“It’s the first time in 16 years California shipments declined,” he said.
U.S. shipments decreased 1.4 percent, or by 3 million cases last year to a total of 323 million.
When shipments of imported wine are considered, total shipments increased 6.5 million cases, or 2.1 percent.
He pointed to a survey of five large wine warehouses in Napa and Sonoma counties that suggested small growth in late 2009 after a decline of 20 percent for first half of last year.
The Neilsen Company estimated that store sales of wine for the year increased 4 percent from the year before, with food store sales increasing and liquor store sales weakening.
Also, table wine sales between summer of 2008 and fall 2009 were hot for wines retailing below $9 a bottle.
In the last few months of last year, the $9 to $12 category started showing signs of increased sales, according to Mr. Fredrikson.
“It could indicate that prices are moving back up,” he said.
Boding well for the start of recovery in wine sales in 2010 is critical acclaim for the 2007 vintage for red wines now being released.
Ted Lehr, manager of grower relations in Sonoma County and the Central Valley for Jackson Family Wines, said he thinks recovery for the business will take longer for brands to regain past price points.
“We do not think it will get better until 2012 to 2013 after a year of seeing private-sector hiring,” he said following the presentation by panel experts.
Robert LaVine, director of California sourcing for Brown-Forman Corp., which produces Fetzer and Sonoma Cutrer wines, said he wants to believe recovery in 2011 is a given.
“Wine is an affordable luxury and adds to quality of life, so people will return to it,” he said.
However, global competition for U.S. consumers who may or may not carry their new-found frugality into the future may force California wine operations, including those in fine wine regions, to adjust to a new reality of global sourcing, according to another panelist at the symposium today.
More wine companies will act like consumer packaged goods companies, with a focus on price, margin and consumer acceptance, said Glenn Proctor of Ciatti Co. in San Rafael.
“As the price point moves out of their comfort level, they will source from other areas of the world and may not come back when California plants more vines,” he said.
He pointed to a large inflow of chardonnay wine from glutted Australia last year, which affected sales of such grapes from Napa and Sonoma counties for premium tier programs.
“California wine is not going away,” he said.
However, to be competitive, California wine grape growers should look at global markets as a future source for increasing quality, lower priced wine, he said.
High costs of farming may call for more mechanization of viticulture and higher North Coast yields per acre, he added.
“The premium market is going to be difficult for the next 12 to 18 months,” Mr. Proctor said.

SOURCE:
By Jeff Quackenbush, Business Journal Staff Reporter
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/17868/imports-help-overall-wine-sales-end-of-09-better-slow-recovery-seen/

Wineries Urged: Go Mobile

01.20.2010
Wine Industry goes mobile

 

Mobile marketing is top trend at Direct-to-Consumer Symposium

by Jane Firstenfeld

Keynote speaker Michael Becker explained that mobile devices are now by far the most popular digital devices in the world, so it's worth the effort to incorporate mobile marketing in your winery's mix.

Santa Rosa, Calif. -- A keynote address and a breakout session at the 2010 Direct to Consumer Symposium emphasized that winery marketers must include mobile communications as a key element in their promotion and sales plans. Yesterday’s event, in a new location at the Hyatt Vineyard Square in Santa Rosa, drew an overflow audience of about 300, mostly representing California wineries large and small, plus another 100 staffing the well-attended trade show.

Mobile marketing was barely a footnote of last year’s DTC Symposium in Napa: This year, it was the main event. The phenomenon, which has surpassed mere cell phones to encompass every type of voice-, text- and Internet-enabled mobile communications device, does not include the ability legally to sell wine. But as texting, tweeting and social media such as Facebook have come to dominate communications worldwide, these channels cannot be ignored by marketers hoping to build their consumer communities.

During just a scant few years of the past decade, “Mobile phones have eclipsed all other channels” of communications, said keynote speaker Michael Becker, vice president of mobile strategy at iLoop Mobile Inc. The United States now has 235 million unique cell phone users, he said. On the average, each makes some 200 calls per month and sends 586 text messages, he said. That figure exceeds 4 billion texts daily in the U.S. alone: The medium is even more popular in other nations. Approximately 60% of the U.S. population uses text messaging to communicate; some demographics show the number reaching as high 90%.

Learning to use texting and the mobile media for marketing requires a steep learning curve, however, and it is not something to jump into unprepared. “If you want to start a great mobile campaign,” Becker warned, “don’t start there.”

Marketers should ensure that mobile plays a role in all aspects of their brand message. “Think multi-channel; make sure your message is integrated across your customer’s lifestyle, including point-of-sale, radio, TV and print promotions.”

Because mobile devices cannot be used to promote consumption of alcohol, this medium is the place to start building communities, Becker stressed. In order for marketers to access consumers via mobile devices, each consumer must opt-in by agreeing to accept communication from a particular company. Once you are assured a consumer wants to hear from you (and is qualified by age and location to do so), then you may contact them strategically to keep and build their interest.

Becker demonstrated a simple call-to-action promotion: He asked the audience to dial 47201 on their cell phones, then enter the text DCTS to win a bottle of fine wine. Many did so -- one of them entering 400-plus times -- before a winner was announced.

Texting is, of course, limited to 160 characters, but by embedding a link within your text, you can direct recipients to more elaborate, multi-media messages. Some cell phones already can scan two-dimensional barcodes in print or POS ads. Scanning the codes will take users directly to your website. “This is a means of initiating interactive engagement with your customers,” Becker pointed out.

Understanding the technology, your audience and your brand message are essential for any of this to matter in a material way. “My key take-away,” Becker concluded, would be, “Start today, because it will take about five months” to get an effective program up and working.  

Bring in the new
Speakers at a subsequent breakout session went into detail about how to get started. “Targeting New Customers,” moderated by Christopher Huber, direct sales manager for Napa’s Cakebread Cellars, got into the nuts and bolts, starting with a welcome vocabulary lesson provided by Craig Harper, co-founder and CEO of Apisphere. 

SMS: Short Messaging Service, the now familiar 160-max character Twitter format. Some 74% of all mobile phones can access these.

MMS: Multi-Media Service, the application technology that delivers still photos, video and audio to and from mobile devices.

LSM: Location Smart Messaging, an Apisphere application that organizes and delivers relevant information based on location.

Short Code: The abbreviated phone numbers used to access SMS and MMS.

In short, in order to put mobile marketing into action, you’ll need to secure a short code; this is a prime reason that setting up such a program takes longer than you might expect. You must obtain and register your short code, and select a carrier that can deliver what you need. This, Harper said, takes at least eight to 12 weeks. “Choose a carrier provider that knows what they’re doing,” Harper urged. “Application denied” happens more often than a novice might expect.

Your short code, he explained, is equivalent to your online URL. You want something that’s short, accessible, easy to type and that ties back to your brand, Harper explained. His company maintains an “inventory” of short codes for clients new to the game, and “sharing” or leasing one of these may be a shortcut to mobile marketing, but  it’s not necessarily the best first step. Your short code becomes a part of your total brand image, and changing it mid-stream may cost some brand loyalty.

Another bit of sage advice: Consumers place a “higher value” on text or voice mails than they do on e-mails. While they might scan their e-mails regularly, they are easily ignored. Text messages are harder to ignore, so “Don’t wake anybody up,” Harper insisted. If you text a consumer in the middle of the night, chances are she’ll opt out of your community.

Costs to get started, he said, “are all over the map” depending on your volume a nd how much work you or your company can do in-house. He suggested that start-up costs could begin at about $500, with $500 per month in management fees.

Clay Gregory, formerly with both Kendall-Jackson and Robert Mondavi, and now president and CEO of the Napa Valley Destination Council,, urged wineries to participate actively with their local destination organizations (convention and visitors bureaus and similar groups). Organizations such as these are an ideal means of bolstering direct-to-consumer sales, he pointed out, noting that “90% of wine club members are signed up at the tasting room.”  

He screened a beta-version of NVDCs new application, which will serve the council’s goal of bringing more visitors to the valley during off-peak days and seasons by providing links, maps, information and reservations to all Napa businesses, including, of course, wineries. Mobile device users will be able to plan activities in advance or during the course of their Napa stay. The application is expected to be fully operational next month, Gregory said.

Rick Bakas, director of social media marketing at St. Supéry Winery in Napa Valley, insisted that every winery marketing program should include blogging, Facebook and Twitter. When beginning these social media, he suggested:

1.    Establish a personality.
2.    Build audience trust through engagement.
3.    Be consistent.
4.    Sell wine online after trust is established.

Don’t expect your return on investment to be instantaneous. Patience is required. “Like the grapes on your vine. Let them grow organically,” Bakas said. He praised St. Supéry management for giving him the autonomy to create a personality and content in the position he started last year.

Bakas noted that one of his earliest Tweets last fall drew 561 clicks and sold 290 cases of wine during the first 72 hours. “Where we failed with Web 1.0 was by not connecting with people,” he said. “The only way social media is not going to work is if they shoot down the Internet.”

SOURCE:
by Jane Firstenfeld

http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=70720&htitle=

Wineries%20Urged%3A%20Go%20Mobile