Archive for October, 2014

Food & Wine Pairings for Fa

October 17th, 2014

It’s fall right? Has hardly seemed so in some parts of the country where these beautifully colored leaves SHOULD mean lower temps. Let’s just hope we do get a real autumn and don’t go straight from Indian Summer right to freezing winter winds. Whatever weather we get, here are a few suggestions for the fall […]

What Your Wine Shop Customers Are Reading: Organic Wines, Screwcaps, Funny Twee

October 16th, 2014

A few things your wine-loving audience may be reading this week – or that you might turn them onto as their source for all news wine-related. A more measured look at organic winemaking A less dispassionate look at the cork/screwcap debate. (From India!) And a collection of drinks-related tweets of the week [level-members] A more […]

Wine Shop Marketing: Mastering Local Sear

October 15th, 2014

Except for those wine shops seeking a customer base spread across a wide geographic range, general SEO is not nearly as important as local search. Here’s a nice summary of what’s important. [level-members] First, it’s important to understand that local search is more important than broader SEO for most wine shops because most wine shops are […]

Wine Shop Customer Experience – The Importance of Follow

October 14th, 2014

Our weekly Tuesday business tips over the past month have focused on customer experience. It is as important an ingredient to your shop’s success as anything else you can do. To wrap this series up, we’ll focus on follow up and how staying in touch with your customers impacts your relationship with them and how […]

Wine Industry News: Tenn. Supermarket Vote, Taste NY Campai

October 13th, 2014

Voters in Tennessee will get to choose this fall whether to allow wine sales in grocery stores. And New York rolls out a new Taste NY campaign to promote wine and spirits produced in the state. [level-members] The change won’t take place until mid-2016, but will allow wine to be sold in grocery stores across […]

Mushroom and Emmental Sandwich: Worth the Effo

October 10th, 2014

Here’s a delicious recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich that’s a cut above.  [level-members] It comes from the Food & Style website of Viviane Bauquet Farre. It’s well worth a visit. You’ll find the recipe here. Our choice for this would be either a Zinfandel, so great with grilled foods, or a cabernet franc to amplify […]

What Your Wine Shop Customers Are Reading: Is Expensive Wine Worth I

October 9th, 2014

Here’s an interesting article from Wired Magazine in 2011 that recently resurfaced for us. “Should We Buy Expensive Wine?” It depends who you’re asking. [level-members] The article cites a study in which consumers were unable to tell which of two bottles of wine was more expensive. 600 people essentially failed to pick the more expensive […]

Wine Shop Marketing Tips: You’re Drinking it Wrong, Or How to Help Your Customers Enjoy Wine Mo

October 8th, 2014

We recently came across an interview with Jeff Siegel in Bottom Line Personal (the August 1, 2014 issue) with some great tips on enjoying wine more. Helping your clients is a great way to increase your engagement with them, increase the pleasure they derive from their purchases, and, with luck, encourage more spending in your […]

Wine Shop Customer Experience – Merchandisi

October 7th, 2014

For the past two Tuesdays, we’ve been talking about the importance of customer experience and how to really nail it. We’ve covered staff and training as well as the shop environment. This week, let’s talk about merchandising. [level-members] Having a great physical shop is more than just the environment you create with decor, good maintenance, […]

Wine Industry News – How Much We Drink, Whole Foods Wine Cl

October 6th, 2014

Whole Foods has launched a wine club in partnership with Wine.com and, while fully one-third of Americans don’t drink at all, the top 10% of drinkers over-consume. More on both inside. [level-members] First, Whole Foods pledges to source interesting wines from around the world and work with Wine.com to delivery them to your home. The […]