Wineries experiment with new ways to market and sell during COVID shutdowns

Wineries in Northern California’s Wine Country rely on visitors and direct-to-consumer purchases, and over the past three years this area has been knocked around with devastating fires in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Floods in the spring of 2019 caused several small family-owned businesses to close shop. Then in the fall PG&E disrupted businesses and lives with its Public Safety Power Shutoff. Now wineries cannot open their tasting rooms due to coronavirus concerns. But this community is tough, resilient. We call ourselves Sonoma Strong. And, we are seeing some wonderful, creative ways to keep Sonoma County present in the minds of the rest of you out there, and keep the wine flowing into your cups.
Jeff Bundschu of Gundlach Bundschu recognized that people can’t travel to his Sonoma winery and vineyards, so he decided to bring the vineyards to you. On his YouTube video he says, “You could go for a walk around your own block or you can take a Block Walk with Jeff Bundschu.” For those of you who are not familiar with vineyards, a block is a section of the vineyard, such as where Bundschu is in this video (https://youtu.be/tKHn-0uGOPY,) which is Block 7 of the La Paz vineyard where cabernet sauvignon is growing. Bundschu talks about the varietal growing there and how it grows in the conditions of the land and climate (the terroir.)
At another local winery, Pangloss Cellars, they are offering a $25 gift card to a local restaurant with the purchase of six or more bottles of their wine. (See it here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=pangloss%20cellars&epa=SEARCH_BOX) This approach does a few things. When Pangloss buys the gift cards from the restaurants it puts money in the restaurant’s pockets immediately. It offers an incentive to Pangloss customers to purchase their wine. And, for the out-of-towners who purchase Pangloss wine and get the gift card, they have part of their itinerary already worked out and something to look forward to when the pandemic is over.
Lots of wineries are offering free delivery of wine orders to locals, or curb-side pick-ups. Others are reducing, or eliminating, shipping charges, which can be quite costly.
Scribe Winery created “Hacienda at Home” that includes recipes that complement the wines ordered, free shipping and a Hacienda playlist “so you can bring the Scribe vibe home.” See it here on their Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/scribewinery/photos/a.263333387056171/2933530173369799/?type=3&theater.
Considered the oldest commercial winery in California, located in Sonoma Valley, known as the birthplace of the California wine industry, Buena Vista Winery is also doing curbside pick-up. They have a little fun with the winery’s history and its founder, Count Agoston Haraszthy, or rather an actor who plays the Count. Watch it here on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BuenaVistaWinery/videos/498577227488311/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARCvSrFEpBkiSabyMGphX6QqDmuH_Xzanjjvkeps-xKXNIRzRzHqSicbDVihZQfocNi_fHCuj5J0XoAa.
The owners of Belden Barns wines in Sonoma County live in San Francisco and are offering free doorstep delivery for San Francisco orders of six or more bottles. And they’ve started free virtual tastings every Sunday at 5 p.m. and a 35 percent off “Virtual Tasting Portfolio” that consists of 11 wines. See it here: https://www.beldenbarns.com/product/virtual-tasting-11-wine-package.
Bricoleur Vineyards is committing 10 percent of all wine purchases to Redwood Empire Food Bank, one of the major providers of food to the food-insecure population. The winery is also offering a discounted shipping rate on all orders.
Sosie Wines, another producer with owners who live in San Francisco, is offering “complimentary blue glove delivery within 50 miles of San Francisco” along with discounted shipping for those who live farther away. They are also scheduling “virtual tastings” with the owner/winemaker. See their Facebook post here: https://www.facebook.com/sosiewines/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARDQBZM8KqQdoJvVCd3l363Fvz9k-p-OWLFuEMccmraiGc4xdCus8YgnL5ptI0-GZeWIrOPsacYHykKk.
All these examples call to question how the saturated wine industry might change once we’re on the other side of COVID-19. Small producers struggle to stand out against big-name wineries who have instant name recognition and seductive tasting rooms. A lot of really good wine producers don’t have tasting rooms and have to find a direct-to-consumer following that will buy their wines. But maybe this shelter-in-place lifestyle has forced wineries (and others) to think differently in how they market and sell their products, and how they interact with their clientele.