“Digital Darwinism” for wineries who shun Twitter

Wineries who put off using social media will experience “digital Darwinism”, a leading digital expert has warned. “Social media is one of the most powerful customer interaction channels in the world, more relevant than anything seen in human history,” Paul Mabray of winery social media index Vintank told the drinks business. “Those who choose to keep waiting will see their customers migrating to the use of these channels and will experience digital Darwinism,” he added, describing the wine industry as “the last to have not succeeded online.”

Ryan Opaz of wine marketing agency Vrazon believes it's fundamental for wineries to have a presence on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. “You can’t survive without it, there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. If you don’t embrace it, you’re back in the Stone Age,” he said.  A recent survey on social media in the French and US wine industries carried out by digital marketing agency ABLE found that 94% of the US wineries surveyed were on Facebook, compared to 53% of French wineries. It also found 73% of US wineries had a Twitter account, compared to just 41% of French wineries.

According to wine communicator Robert McIntosh, medium-sized wineries set to gain the most from social media. “For a medium-sized winey seeking a sales boost, social media can be a great way of getting noticed by an agent or distributor and securing a listing,” he said. But despite their popularity, McIntosh believes new sites will eventually replace Facebook and Twitter. “In the next year or two we’ll see a shift in the way people use social media – the obsession with the number of followers you have on Twitter and “likes” you accrue on Facebook will be replaced by sites focusing on small but meaningful networks of no more than 100 people,” he said.

Rather damningly, Robert Joseph, founder of international consumer research site DoILikeIt?.com, believes winery websites are “some of the worst on the internet”. The majority, he feels, show no understanding of what consumers want. “Most people want to buy a benefit and are asking themselves: ‘Is this wine going to make me look savvy in front of my friends?’ They want reassurance,” he said.

While wineries and merchants may not be getting the design of their websites right, online wine sales are set for considerable growth in the following year. Simon McMurtrie, ceo of Direct Wines, recently revealed that 50% of the company’s UK sales, and 75% of its Hong Kong sales are now online – figures predicted to rise in 2013. 

London International Wine Fair

The London International Wine Fair, an unmissable fixture in the wine calendar, always proves eventful. You can spot the fair goers as you squeeze onto the ExCel bound DLR in the morning. Enthusiastic Aussies and Italians in immaculate suits chatter, coffees in hand, as the tram swings into action.  

I made it my mission this year to turn up with some sort of game plan. It's chaos if you don't. With hundreds of producers, importers and generics showing thousands of wines, you need to be selective. Yellow speed guide in hand, I scribbled all over my floor plan, mapping out who I wanted to see.

First stop, Romania, where I tried some exciting reds made from the native Feteasca Neagra grape. One tasted like blackcurrant Fruit Pastels and the other like a buttery baked potato. The winemaker took the latter description surprisingly well, and even agreed with me. His wife went on to show me a copy of an Orient Express wine list from the '30s offering a number of their wines. It reminded me that even upcoming wine regions have rich histories.

Next stop: the Access Zone, where I said a quick hello to a very busy (and shattered) Ryan Opaz, founder of Spanish wine blog Catavino. I'd interviewed him in Decanter the week before and wanted to check out his stand. Cameras were rolling, bloggers were blogging, and there was a real buzz about the place.

Portuguese blogger Andre Ribeirinho of Adegga grabbed a bottle of wine and told me to pull up a chair. Whipping out his i-phone he scanned the barcode at the back and it immediately loaded a web page full of information about the wine - reviews, scores, the price, stockists. My eyes were wide, like I'd been given a sneak preview into the future. These guys are at the forefront of change, and are taking the wine world in a very exciting direction.

Before lunch I found time to squeeze in a masterclass on Southern Spain hosted by Peter McCombie, who took us on a tour of the beautiful south, taking in wines from La Mancha, Castilla, Valdepeñas, Jumilla and Jerez. Huge plates of jamón did the rounds during the class, giving me the chance to refuel before heading to the Penfolds stand, where Chris Stroud gave me superstar treatment, taking me out the back, magicking a pair of Riedels and tutoring me through a Penfolds vertical, which ended with the stunning 2005 Grange.

On a Penfolds high, I whizzed round the Gonzales Byass stand and tasted their limited edition new release: Tio Pepe En Rama. Cloudy as apple juice, it had an intense, yeasty nose. Nipping round Spain, I fitted in a quick Chivite vertical, then went to Russia to try Abrau-Durso's much-hyped sparkers. I was quite taken with the Russian script on the labels – Rodchenko and Popova would have loved them.

The white sparkler, that has a splash of Riesling in the blend, had a Sherry-like nose, and the red distinct blue cheese aromas. The young guy manning the stand said it had been described as everything from 'Sangría with an Oxford education' to 'the sweet blood of the revolution'. After Russia I made a quick detour to Lebanon via Château Musar to try Serge Hochar's legendary aged whites. The 1991 was unlike any white I've ever tried. Complex, oxidized (in a good way), waxy and honeyed, it's a wine that lingers hauntingly in the memory.

After clocking up serious amounts of air miles on my journey around the wine world, I hopped back on the DLR and popped into Harrods for their Women in Wine event, where I tried a delicious Pinot Bianco from Frescobaldi, juicy Brunellos from Pinino and 1996 Duval Leroy. My last port of call was the 5th Floor of Harvey Nicks for the launch of their pop-up Tanqueray terrace.

Taking a seat on the bright green astroturf, my friends and I were served classic martinis from the Tanqueray trolly, alongside adorable mini burgers and mini apple pies for pudding. Sipping my martini and looking out onto the London skyline in the Gastby-esque setting, it occurred to me what a charmed life I lead, and how golden these days of my fleeting youth are.

Fine Wine 2010, Ribera del Duero

The theme of storytelling continued with Ernie Loosen, who urged winemakers to stand for 'quality' and 'tradition' - the backbone of a brand.

He ended with the suggestion of 'marketing through the liver', and the importance for winemakers to tell a story. 'Get out there, tell the story and be the story', he passionately proclaimed.

Next up was Ryan Opaz, creator of Spanish wine blog Catavino, who warned winemakers would miss out if they weren't online. 'Consumers want to feel they matter - your biggest peril is invisibility. If you want to sell wine, you have to get online and connect'.

Backing up the importance of social media touched upon by Mark Beringer, the conference was fast becoming a technofest, with facebook, twitter and blogs all cited as the way forward for the wine world. The press even took to tweeting speakers' comments as they happened, creating up-to-the-second updates for their followers.

Michael Mondavi then took to the stage and optimistically declared that 'we are entering the platinum years of wine, full of opportunity'. Mondavi spoke of the importance of cooperation and family-run wineries. 'The future of the wine industry lies in private ownership and people with the desire to build things for the next generation, not just the first quarter’.

He also warned that restaurants will be in trouble if they carry on marking up their wines by 400%. ‘Consumers know what wine costs. Restaurants have to rethink their pricing policies. High marks ups won’t be able to survive for much longer.’

Speaking of the oversupply crisis in California, Mondavi, who imports fine wine into the US through his company Folio Fine Wine Partners, said foreign imports didn't pose a threat to the domestic market. ‘Fine wine imports are competition for California, but the only thing that will hurt California is bad winemaking in the region.’

Finally, Hunter Valley Semillon pioneer Bruce Tyrrell took to the stage and treated us to such gems as: 'The slightest bit of cork taint on a Semillon stands out like a dunny on a ridge'. Telling it like it is, Tyrrell was quick to admit that Australia is in trouble. ‘A lot of vineyards are being demolished and the coal miners are buying them up, but no great vineyards will be lost. On the one hand we’ve got the government pushing a sustainability initiative, and on the other we’ve got vineyards being turned into mining sites'.

Tyrrell spoke of Australia's need to re-engage with the fine wine market and develop consumer knowledge of regionality. Like Mondavi, Tyrrell stressed that fine wine will come increasingly from family-based wineries, or 'farmers with a face' as he dubbed them, and urged winemakers to make more use of the cellar door as a means of sharing a glass with consumers and telling your story. 'Direct communication with the consumer cuts out the middle man', he said.

Listening to all the speeches, it became clear that the future of fine wine lies in family-run wineries, not faceless corporations who only care about profit margins. For fine wine to survive, wineries have to be kept privately owned, and for them to thrive, they need to engage directly with their consumers through the cellar door and social media.

The world is getting smaller and the wine world can't afford to be left out of the online debate. The internet offers a direct route to consumers, and a chance to listen to what they have to say. Those who fail to take an interest will surely suffer. 2010 will see the democratization of wine, which can only be for the good.