The Attraction of a WineClub
Posted by mitch.schwartz on December 10th, 2007I recently had dinner with a thirty something couple that lives in Oakland. During our conversation they asked if Inertia had a certain winery from Mendocino on our platform. I said no, but why the interest? They belong to the wineries club, and raved about the experience. For five minutes they talked about how friendly the people were, the great events they have twice a year, and so on. They never once said anything about the quality of the wine.
That got me thinking about wine clubs in general, and specifically why do people join. My net opinion, it’s not about the wine, it’s about the inclusiveness. I know of two different couples that belong to a club from a popular Sonoma winery, that does not sell their wine in the general market. One couple lives in So. Cal, the other in Upstate N.Y. Both couples drink good wine, and have pretty good pallets. Both are effusive about this winery. The truth is the wines are average to mediocre, and definitely over priced. However, the winery experience is outstanding, as is the job done by the club manager in staying connected with their members.
So the moral of the story? Love your club members. Let them know they are special. Give them unique insights into life at the winery. Get them to feel invested in your success. They will not only stay on your club list, they will be your best ambassadors for future growth.
December 10th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Starting a wine club is one of my resolutions for the new year.
December 11th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Very good observation, having done 100’s of wine tours I have observed the same! In fact I think many buy wine on that very basis, their experience at the tasting room. I have often said and recommend that clients do blind tastings at home to see if their opinions are the same without the influence of the memories associated with the winery. The warm and fuzzy feelings they got influence their objectivity.