With the variety in the number of wineries comes the differences in the approaches, with each winery having their own approach targeted to their specific product mix and clientele.
Physical Sign Up Sheets
A proactive approach to collecting email addresses works well in the wine industry. Christie Shertzer, Marketing Director at Alexana Winery in Carlton, Oregon, asks for the email addresses of everyone as they come in to visit the winery. They also have set up a tasting bar signup sheet where buyers may enter their own email addresses. Alexana Winery's monthly newsletter contains a wide range of information including events and new releases to solicit sales. Their wine club is very popular and is separated into three levels, with each type of membership receiving three shipments per year and progressively higher discounts.
Offering Useful Information as the Incentive
Baldwin Vineyards in Pine Bush, New York, has
built up their subscriber list to several thousand primarily through requests by winery visitors to receive their newsletter. The informative email is issued almost monthly as events warrant and keeps subscribers up to date on the winery's current activities, including their varied seasonal hours of operation, new wine products that are being launched, and special local events that they either organize or participate in. Co-owner Jack Baldwin states that the winery's return on investment is "exceptionally high," and that they plan to "keep at it" in order to further drive email generated sales.
Online Sign Up Boxes and Word-of-Mouth
Cullari Vineyards in Hershey, Pennsylvania, has an
online subscription form for their quarterly email newsletter and terms it successful. Although the winery does not segment their prospects, Co-owner Salvatore Cullari is aware that their main driving force for subscribers is word of mouth, thus concentrates on improving that aspect.
Building by Sponsoring Community & Live Events
Special Event Manager Jennifer Franklin at Concannon Vineyard in Livermore, California, casts a wide net in its approach to seeking new email subscribers. The winery's drive for signups concentrates on local events, as well as the special winemaker nights, and music concerts organized by them. They ensure that they have a visible presence at major "live" events that are occurring in the central California region in order to solicit new recipients for their campaigns. Their monthly email promotions feature both current weekday specials and build anticipation with sneak peeks at upcoming special offers. The winery's newsletters are very informative, featuring updates of the winery's products and recaps of the month's events.
