Taking Stock

[JimCook]

Al,


Having attended a variety of different types of wine tastings, getting exposure to 100 or so guests without having to pay anything (no exhibitor price documented in the text posted here) is a marketing/advertising deal. If there are 100 guests, going off of a 1/2 ounce pour per wine per person, that's two bottles of each type of wine per person (24.5 ounces per 750mL bottle). Get more generous with the pours and you're stillat only four to eight bottles of wine per wine type. It would be a different volume consideration if a country club was asking you to donate wine that would be consumed for someone's wedding, for instance.


In addition, depending on the caliber of the other winery's in attendance, there's a 'boosting' effect - if the attendees recognize any winery, they assume off the bat that the other wineries must be of a similar caliber and will generally try the wine.


If you are able to take orders or sell wine on the spot, it's an even bigger opportunity for Al Fuchino's Mobile Tasting Room. As Mike noted, and having had a business myself for a while now, it's different when people want you to give away your stuff for their benefit/activity/event.


- Jim

 

[grapeman]

That sounds about like the event held locally last winter. Since I am not yet commercial, I was naturally excluded from the event, even though there were no sales at the event- only a charity for a local musem. It was touted as tasting the "Best " wines of the area. Since there are only 4 wineries in the area licensed so far, those were the only ones representing the local wines. It kind of burns me up. Only one of those wineries has been making wine for over a yearand no one except that one uses much oftheir own product. I would have loved to contribute to the event, since all my wines are Estate Grown and vinified.


I guess that is one of the problems of going slow to get things set up with a good product before entering the marketplace.


Only you can decide on the feasability of participating in an event like that Al.

 

[JimCook]

Appleman,


I believe it was Seth Godin who wrote a book called 'All Marketers are Liars,' and he's right, or at least they are master of using relative vocabulary. The challenge rests in educating the public as to what different terms mean. Take the word 'reserve,' for instance. In Europe, there are very specific meanings. In Spain, a wine labelled Riserva means 14 months in oak. But in the United States, it officially means nothing outside of implied meanings. However in a time of further growing competition, the need to further differentiate between competitors requires perhaps a little more creativity.


Of course, when you do get to go commercially fully, you've got a great Unique Selling Proposition there, being perhaps the only commercial winery in the area that is selling estate grown and vinified wine.


- Jim

 

[Waldo]

I would think that would be a very attractive "hands up" over the others too