Recently, Shannon Morton from commotion and I gave a presentation to the Canadian Vintners Association talking about the role of influencers in the Wine business.
The presentation starts with a small 101 on social media, but gets to the point that social media stands to have a profound impact on the wine business. Influence has always played a huge role in the wine business as industry experts ranging from famous wine writers like Robert Parker to your restaurants resident sommelier or waitstaff give you direction on what wine to choose.
Social media stands to officially democratize the wine business – eliminating any notion of pretense and making the category more approachable and accessible to all. Witness the popularity of people like Gary Vaynerchuck – who hosts a wildly popular wine channel and has almost 1 million followers. I don’t think he’s catering to the Wine Spectator crowd. Social media allows the more mainstream wines to receive the kind of critical coverage usually reserved for the fine wine category.
Social media also uncorks a tremendous opportunity for wine makers and distributors. There are so many great stories that contribute to the making of wines – the grapes, the harvest – and now wine makers have an opportunity to share those tales, all of which contribute to enriching a great brand.
Tags: influencers, spirits, wine
