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Marketing wine on the Internet

by: Darby Higgs

The Australian Wine industry is experiencing a tough time as oversupply of product is creating downward pressure on prices. Large producers have had their well publicised problems, leading to merger and takeover activity. Small and medium producers are feeling the pinch.
Over the past twelve months I have discussed internet marketing with quite a number of smaller winery operators. The overwhelming experience seems to be "We have a web site but it doesn't generate any sales."
This experience mirrors that of other small business where the overwhelming majority fail to get significant benefit from their Internet presence. During the research I conducted as background to developing my own website I have visited several hundred wine related sites. It is not hard to see why they are not succeeding in generating sales.
Despite this gloomy record I feel that the Internet has lots to offer small to medium wineries in their marketing efforts. Some people are making sales through the internet: the challenge for the others is to get their sites going.
Small and medium wineries have several advantages that they can exploit to enhance their sales. Many are growing alternative varieties, and thus have a natural point of difference to build their marketing around.
Tourism is a booming industry and wine is an integral part of the tourist experience in most regions. An intelligent and integrated approach can exploit powerful marketing synergies.
For several reasons the Australian wine industry stands to reap great benefits from the internet, at least for those who are able to use it effectively.
My optimism is based on several emerging trends
1. There is obviously a much greater volume of wine being produced, both by the big wineries and the plethora of small and medium producers, new and old. The success the export trade has thus far kept problems of oversupply to a minimum, but the environment for marketing Australian wine is certainly becoming much more competitive.
2. There is increased diversity in the wine produced in Australia. New varieties have been introduced into emerging regions, the Rhone varieties into the Nagambie Lakes region and the Italian varieties into the King Valley, to name just the more prominent.
3. A growing number of consumers are looking for something new. There is a limit to how many marginally different chardonnays or shirazes they can drink and still remain interested.
4. Wine consumers are faced with more choice which is driving a thirst for knowledge about new wine experiences.
5. The Internet is primarily an information distributing medium, and consumers seek information about wine more than most other products
6. E-commerce is growing as more consumers are becoming comfortable with the internet. Warning! There is much more to e-commerce than having a website with attractive graphics. Too many businesses are overspending and underacheiving on the internet.
7. There is still a wide gap between those are producing something new and those who want to find something new.

Like any transforming technology the effects of the internet will take many years to unfold. There are hundreds of lessons still to be learnt. But with persistence, some Australian wineries will gain great benefits from marketing their wine on the web.

About the author:
Darby Higgs is an expert on alternative grape varieties and the wines made from them in Australia. He is webmaster of Vinodiversity at

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Choosing Wine on a First Date
by: Neil Best

First dates are nerve wracking enough without having to worry about what wine to choose to impress your new friend!

One of the great things about wine on a date is that one bottle is a defined amount, normally about five glasses. If shared equally it is unlikely that you will fall off your chair drunk after half a bottle of wine!

However, there are some other social sins that can be committed whilst choosing wine on a date.

Getting Started

First, you need to decide whether you want white, red, ros� or sparkling wine. This is perhaps the most important decision. As a general rule, red wine is more of an acquired taste and it can be harder to select a good red. Therefore, when you do not know your companion's tastes it may be wise to steer clear of the red wine section.

Sparkling wine can make you appear a little pretentious or if you go for a cheaper version, a tightwad; so this is usually best avoided. If you are not sure whether your companion likes wine at all, ros� wine is often a safe option as it often lacks the sharpness that people commonly dislike in wines.

How Much to Spend?

Remember more money doesn't always mean more quality. If you are very new to wine, go for a house white. A house white is unlikely to be extremely imaginative or unusual, but is almost always perfectly drinkable. For this reason it is a safe, middle of the road option.

If you want to impress, look for something other than the house white. Keep away from extremes until you know your companion a little better, so don't go for bone dry whites. Instead, opt for a fruity dry wine that appeals to those who like both dry and medium whites.

Whilst neutral wines may seem like a bit of a cop-out, bear in mind that you simply want a drinkable wine that does not offend.

If you are really not sure what to choose, why not offer your companion a choice of glasses as an aperitif while you have a beer or spirit. This way you can judge your companion's taste. Even if they select a spirit, you can still get a measure of whether they prefer sweet or dry wines.

Of course, you could always give your companion the choice�

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