The wine back label – going all social?
The first in a deluge of discoveries from the 2010 European Wine Bloggers Conference.
Just home from Vienna and what a trip it was! I took in lots of ideas, gadgets and apfelstrudel; I learned all about the delights of Austrian wine (Blaufränkisch? Gemischter Satz??); and most importantly mingled and networked with the 200 fellow wine heads present from 30 different countries. We even voted on the first Austrian wine to be imported by UK online retailer Naked Wines!
I met Oscar Quevedo at the Saturday morning tasting. Oscar is a 27-year old economics graduate from Portugal, who swapped the investment banks of Geneva and Madrid in 2009 for the vineyards of the Douro Valley so he could pursue his passion. He returned to his roots of the family wine business to take up the position of Export Manager. You could say he’s CRUSHING IT!
The back label of his ‘Oscar’s Wine’ really grabbed my attention.
Oscar has opted out of the generic ‘good match for pasta‘ or ‘unique terroir‘ nonsense that you usually find, and instead encourages you to get in touch if you want to know more about his wine. Imagine you’re planning a dinner and want to know if it’s a good match for the dish you’re preparing. Tweet him. Or you simply want to thank him for the great wine you just had. Tell him on Facebook. You can even use your iPhone to scan the special AVIN code to find out more information and see how others rate the wine.
This label is great in my opinion because Oscar is creating a direct link between producer and consumer.
This is essentially the holy grail of social media marketing. It’s allowing the winemaker to connect and interact with the wine drinker. No need for glossy ad agencies or massive marketing budgets. It is a simple and effective use of both social media and valuable label space. And what’s the ROI? 90% of his wines are exported to foreign lands like the UK, the US and Hong Kong - Oscar points this success to his social media policy.
This is social media strategy for wine that really works.
Many wine businesses are either ignoring social media channels or failing to create engaging, interesting content in order to attract customers. Creating a Facebook or Twitter page and occasionally putting out generic, one-way messages is a bigger waste of time than marc de Bourgogne and nobody will pay attention to it. Many of the world’s biggest corporations are also guilty of this.
Wine bloggers are hailed by many as providing the crucial link between producers and consumers, in educating and demystifying such a complex subject for them. In this case, Oscar is bypassing the middleman by doing it himself.
Which potentially throws the role of wine bloggers into question…
Oscar’s Wine, Douro, Portugal, 2009 – Pure black fruits and lavender on the nose balanced by funky-funky minerality which reminded me of poking my head into my dad’s rock-filled trailer. Really pleasant blueberry action on the palate with a hint of vanilla and even dairy. Possibly vanilla ice-cream then. Smooth tannins, good acidity, long finish. 17+/20.
