A strong marketing strategy is imperative for any business, especially in the wine industry. The good news is there are many effective wine marketing strategies out there. And the best part is you don’t have to convince people they want to drink wine, because they already do–Forbes reported the wine industry increased 16.8% last year and shows signs of growing even further. The market is thriving, but you need to make sure your brand is at the forefront in order to drive sales. These proven wine marketing strategies will ensure you reach your target audiences, increase brand awareness, and create loyal customers for your wine brand.

1. Wine Clubs & Subscription Boxes

Wine clubs are one of the most popular marketing strategies for wine brands. In fact, wine club sales surpassed tasting room sales in 2020, accounting for 36% of direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine sales compared to 28% attributed to tasting room sales. With a wine club, customers can pay a yearly or monthly fee in order to receive a certain number of bottles on a monthly or quarterly basis. These wines are usually selected for customers based on a certain theme, like red or white wines, or are special edition wines with limited availability. The wines are also available to purchase at a discount for wine club members, making it both enticing and convenient to join.

Independent wine subscription boxes are also growing in popularity. Many e-commerce brands offer a monthly subscription box for their wines, but there are just as many wholesalers who purchase different wines to include in their subscription boxes. Getting your wine included in one of these boxes is convenient, as you don’t have to manage the subscription service itself, making it an easy and fantastic way to reach new audiences.

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2. Winery Events

If you have a brick-and-mortar tasting room, hosting events at your winery is a brilliant marketing strategy. Whether it’s a private event organized by someone outside of your organization or an event your company puts together, it’s a chance to welcome people into your space and introduce your brand. The events don’t have to be fancy, either. Trivia and bingo are fun, popular events that are easy to organize and prepare for. You can even operate business-as-usual while these events are going on so the guests can purchase glasses of wine while enjoying themselves.

Wineries are also incredibly popular places to have weddings. If you haven’t already, consider creating an outdoor event space in or near your vineyard that happy couples can rent out for their nuptials. Weddings not only bring in additional revenue but also hundreds of potential new customers. 

Learn more: How to Create a Successful Wine Tasting Room

3. Pop-Up Tasting Events

If your brand doesn’t have a dedicated tasting room, and even if it does, holding pop-up wine tasting events is a great way to get in front of new audiences. If you live in an area that has regular farmers' markets and festivals, why not set up a wine-tasting booth? Potential customers can stop by to sample your product and learn more about your winery. 

Note that these events should be primarily focused on simply getting your customers to try your wine. Why? Studies have shown that free samples can boost sales up to 2000 percent. Essentially, the samples speak for themselves. Of course, you should have your products on hand in case visitors to your booth show interest in purchasing a bottle or two. With these events, you can also promote your wine club, upcoming winery events, and more.

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4. Sponsorships

Sponsoring events and other businesses is a fantastic way to reach your target audiences. If you have a brick-and-mortar tasting room, sponsoring local events is also a great way to invest in your community and build prestige as a business.

Many community theaters are always in need of sponsorships for their shows. Reach out to your local theater to see if they serve alcohol during performances. Offer to sponsor an upcoming show and provide wine they can serve to audience members. You can also do this for art shows, galas, charity dinners, award events, and more. 

You don’t have to sponsor only local, in-person events. Many independent media groups are in need of sponsors for their podcasts and other projects. Likewise, many remote-first organizations hold virtual trade shows, webinars, and online happy hours for their employees that are certainly in need of sponsorships; the happy hours, of course, are perfect opportunities to get your products in the hands of potential customers. 

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5. Social Media Marketing 

Marketing via social media can bring a wellspring of traffic to your business if done correctly. A strong social media marketing strategy increases brand awareness and converts leads to loyal customers, who in turn become brand advocates by liking and sharing your content. Marketing on social media can be tricky, but there are tried-and-true methods to making the most out of all the social platforms.

When marketing for your wine business on social media, you first need to determine the ideal audience you want to reach. This audience will be the people most likely to buy your wine. The more specific you can get, the better. For example, if your brand is focused on creating affordable and sustainable wine, then you likely want to target millennials in their thirties that tend to have environmentally-conscious buying habits. You’ll also need to consider which platforms work best for this audience (for this example, Instagram would be best). As for your content, you’ll want to center it around how your business promotes sustainability and your involvement in your community using fun, down-to-earth language. 

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6. Influencer Marketing

Partnering with influencers is another great way to punch up social media marketing and brand awareness in general. Social media influencers have revolutionized the way products are presented to consumers. It’s estimated that social commerce sales will reach $958 billion in 2022, which is no measly sum. By partnering with an influencer, you are immediately putting your product in front of their large, engaged audience, who are likely to try your product once recommended by their favorite content creator. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram have many “foodie” content creators that would be perfect for promoting your wine brand.

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Bonus Wine Marketing Tools

Many tools exist that can help you market your wine business and make the aforementioned strategies that much more effective. Here are some of our favorite tools.

1. Grappos (that’s us!) - A store locator is an excellent tool to add to your site because it helps customers find your products close to them. If you are utilizing subscription boxes to promote your wine, you can direct customers to your website and show them where they can find more of your products. Store locators help boost engagement with your brand and make you more accessible to your customers. Best of all, Grappos is supported by a fantastic team who handles all your data management and locator customization, making it one of the easiest store locators to implement and maintain.