The Booming Popularity of Instagram Live Wine Events

Published on May 19, 2020

I call them the “Witching Hours.” Every day starting at 5 pm, my smartphone buzzes alive with notifications. Someone is going LIVE on Instagram! Then another and another! 6 pm, 7 pm until they finally start to die off around eight. And that’s just the first round of Witching Hours for IG events in Europe and South Africa. Like clockwork, if I forget to shut off my phone, I’m sure to be awakened at 2…

Published on May 19, 2020
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Wine Shopping in the Age of Social Distancing

Published on May 14, 2020

I just had an intensely uncomfortable experience. Since France started easing Covid restrictions on May 11th, I’ve been itching to get out of the house. So today I took the plunge and walked to my local wine shop to pick up a few bottles. When I got there, I made a note of the shop’s safety precautions posted outside. Everyone must wear a mask. Only two customers allowed in the store at once. Maintain at…

Published on May 14, 2020
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60 Second Wine Review — Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio

Published on May 10, 2020

Note: This wine was sent as a sample. A few quick thoughts on the 2018 Peter Zemmer Pinot grigio from the Alto Adige. The Geekery I’ve been studying Northeast Italy for the D3 Wines of the World unit of the WSET Diploma and one stat about Alto Adige really took me by surprise. The area is hugely dominated by cooperatives, which make around 70% of all the wine from the region. Now most of this…

Published on May 10, 2020
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Now is the time for wineries to think BIG with online wine events

Published on May 6, 2020

Since the launch of VirtualWineEvents.com, I’ve been stunned by the response. Even though the site has only been live for a few days, we’re going to hit more than 100,000 pages read by the end of today. We’ve haven’t even climbed to the top of Google search rankings yet. So nearly all of this is coming from word of mouth. However, the big driver behind the “pages read” number is that once users are on…

Published on May 6, 2020
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min read General, Wine marketing

A New Tool to Help Promote Online Wine Events

Published on May 4, 2020
by  in General, Wine marketing
My post last month on How Can We Make Virtual Wine Tastings Less Sucky? generated quite a response. While most of it came from wineries seeking honest feedback on their VTs, I also received numerous inquiries from folks wondering how I was finding these events. For me, it was relatively simple because they’re popping up everywhere on social media. But when I went to Google “Virtual Wine Tasting,” I quickly realized what a chore it…
min read 60 Second Reviews, Napa Valley

60 Second Wine Review — Hess Collection Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay

Published on April 23, 2020
by  in 60 Second Reviews, Napa Valley
A few quick thoughts on the 2016 Hess Chardonnay from Napa Valley. The Geekery Donald Hess came from a family of brewers in Switzerland. But in his twenties, Hess purchased a mineral water source and founded Valser Wasser that grew to become the largest in Switzerland. It was a search for new sources in California that would bring Hess to discover Napa Valley wines in the 1970s and eventually lease the old Mont La Salle…
min read General, Millennials, Wine marketing

Talking about Millennial consumers today on The Real Business of Wine!

Published on April 20, 2020
by  in General, Millennials, Wine marketing
I’m very excited to have been asked by Robert Joseph, aka the Wine Thinker, and Polly Hammond of 5forests to join them on their April 20th Real Business of Wine panel talking about wine consumers. While I’ll be there to share some insights on Millennial buyers, the event is going to cover a lot of ground. “Join us for this very special session in collaboration with ARENI Global, as we explore the changing face of…