Marketing is Just Paying to Advertise, Right? WRONG! 11 points to Understand Marketing

Wineries: Having your tasting room manager do your marketing is not going to result in selling the most wine! You have a professional winemaker, why wouldn't you have a professional marketer?

Dear Wineries, Marketing is not just advertising. It’s everything. It’s the story, the strategy, the experience. It’s making sure the right people fall in love with your wine—and then stay in love. Because these days, great wine isn’t enough. You need to stand out, show up, and connect. Sincerely, Christine Fife, Selling Wine Strategies

Marketing isn’t just slapping your logo on a bottle and posting a photo of grapes on Instagram. If you want people to care about your wine—and keep coming back for more—you have to have someone who actually understands what marketing encompasses and how to achieve your goals.

Whether you've got Pinot in Sonoma or Syrah from Paso, here’s what marketing really includes.

🧭 1. Strategy = Sanity: Know Where You’re Going (and How to Get There)

Marketing without a strategy is like planting a vineyard without a plan—random, chaotic, and probably a waste of time and money.

Having a marketing strategy means you:

• Know your goals (More DTC sales? Bigger wine club? More weekday tastings?)

• Understand your audience (Locals? Tourists? Collectors? Millennials on wine-cations?)

• Choose your channels wisely (Email? Instagram? Events? All three?)

• Budget smartly and measure results (So you’re not just throwing money into the wine barrel and hoping for the best)

A clear strategy keeps you focused, aligned, and ready to pivot when needed. It’s not about doing everything—it’s about doing the right things. Professional marketing strategists know that great wine deserves more than a wing-it marketing plan.

🍇 2. Market Research: Know Your Potential Customers (FYI: It's more than people who like wine!)

Are you talking to Millennials chasing natural wines? Collectors hunting library vintages? Brides booking vineyard weddings? You can't market to everyone—and you shouldn't.

Good marketing starts with knowing:

• Who's drinking your wine?

• What else are they into?

• What do they really care about?

This isn’t guesswork. Professional marketers conduct surveys, read industry news every-damn-day, watch reviews, monitor trends and a ton more. They do all the things you will never have time to do yourself.

🍷 3. Your Brand Is More Than the Label (But the Label Matters, Too)

Your brand isn’t just your logo. It’s the vibe. It’s how people feel when they visit your winery, scroll your website, or pop a cork with friends.

Branding includes:

• Your story (family-owned? sustainability-driven? cool AF?)

• Your look (rustic and earthy? clean and modern?)

• Your voice (poetic? cheeky? science-nerdy?)

Consistency is key. If your tasting notes say “elegant restraint” but your Instagram screams “rosé all day,” people get confused—and confused customers don’t buy. Professional marketers know what makes consumers interested in a brand and can help you play to that!

📸 4. Content Is King, Queen, and the Whole Damn Court

People don’t just want wine—they want a reason to care about your wine. That’s where content comes in:

• Behind-the-scenes vineyard videos

• Harvest updates

• Food pairings

• Winemaker hot takes

Share the stories that make your winery special. Education is great—but don’t make it a lecture. Show, don’t tell. Entertain, inspire, teach (but keep it real). Professional marketers can help you create all this without breaking your bank or taking up all of your time.

💸 5. Ads Aren’t Evil—They’re Essential

Yes, organic reach is great. But if you want new eyeballs on your bottles, paid ads help:

• Promote wine club signups

• Drive traffic to your tasting room

• Boost online wine shop sales

Instagram, Google, YouTube—pick your platforms, set a budget, and test what works. Just don’t “set it and forget it.” Ads are like vines: they need pruning and attention. Professional marketing strategists will know if paying for ads will result in enough new revenue to pay for themselves. This marketing tactic may not be worth it for every winery.

📰 6. PR: Get Your Story in Front of the Right People

Wine writers, influencers, event planners—getting buzz from the right folks can change the game, but PR is a specialized form of marketing.

Press isn’t just for Napa big shots. Small wineries can reach media influencers:

• Killer photos

• A newsworthy hook (award wins, rebrands, collabs)

• A unique angle (family drama? wild fermentation? vineyard goats?)

Give people a reason to talk about you—and make it easy to share. Professional marketing strategists will be able to tell you if paying a PR agency or consultant is worth the spend. Some professional marketers can help you get covered by the media without needing a specialized PR pro.

🌐 7. Digital Is Your Tasting Room’s BFF

Your website is your virtual front door. If it’s slow, clunky, or boring, people leave.

You need:

• A mobile-friendly site

• SEO that helps you show up on Google

• Clear wine shop links

• Easy-to-find tasting room info

Email marketing, wine club portals, online ordering—they’re all part of a seamless digital experience. If it’s confusing, you're losing sales. Professional marketers can help you sell more to your current customers, get those people to refer friends to you and attract new customers that have been waiting to find you all along!

📱 8. Social Media: It's Not Just a Highlight Reel

Wine is social by nature—your marketing should be too. That means:

• Reels of bottling day chaos

• Q&As with your winemaker

• Stories from vineyard walks

• UGC (aka: customers posting your wine in the wild)

Don’t just post pretty pictures. Connect. Respond. Be human. Your followers want to feel like part of the story—not like they’re stuck in a sales pitch. Professional marketers can help you get this right whether they help you do it or they take over the camera and keyboard for you.

📊 9. Data Isn’t Boring—It’s Your Secret Weapon

Your wine club email had a 10% open rate? Only three people clicked that harvest blog? That’s not failure—it’s feedback.

Use analytics to:

• See what content hits (and what flops)

• Track sales from your ads

• Understand how people find and use your site

The more you know, the better you grow. Professional marketers know that ideas are a dime a dozen, but if you can't measure it to utilize the data you might as well be dancing alone.

🥂 10. Keep the Love Alive: Marketing After the Sale

Don’t ghost your customers once they buy a bottle. Keep them in the loop:

• Thank-you emails

• Member-only perks

• Seasonal wine picks

• Invitations to exclusive events

Word of mouth is still gold in the wine world. Treat your fans like VIPs, and they’ll bring their friends.

🍷 11. Your Tasting Experience Is Marketing—Treat It That Way

Think your tasting room is separate from your marketing? Think again.

What you pour, what you say, how you host—that’s your brand in action. It’s live, in-person marketing that shapes how people feel about your wine and whether they ever come back.

That means:

• Your tasting script shouldn’t sound like a textbook. Tell the juicy stories—like the time a rainstorm almost ruined harvest or why you started making a late harvest zin.

• Your staff should be hosts, not robots. Are they warm? Knowledgeable? Excited about the wine? That energy is contagious.

• The vibe matters. Is your space cozy and conversational? Stylish and sleek? A little weird (in the best way)? Own it.

People might forget the tasting notes—but they’ll remember how you made them feel. So give them a moment worth sharing—and worth coming back for. Professional marketers should be part of creating your tasting programs and experiences because they know how to fit those into your brand identity and leave visitors wanting more.

What to keep in mind:

If your foot hurts you go to a podiatrist if your throat has a weird lump when you swallow, you go to an ear, nose and throat specialist. Marketers can also specialize in specific types of marketing. If you aren't sure what you need, find a marketing strategist, like Selling Wine Strategies. We'll look at your whole winery picture to help you set and achieve sales goals, rein in costs and find the most productive marketing activities that fit your time and budget. Book a free consultation with us.