Decanter Italian Fine Wine Encounter

Decanter's Italian Fine Wine Encounter last weekend was a huge success judging by the number of smiling attendees and producers. I was there as a guest of Decanter having been approached by them because of my social media activity in and around London.  They knew how important social media is these days and were keen to get bloggers on board talking about the event, particularly if our followers were passionate about wine.

As preparation for the day - it always helps to have a plan when there are so many wines that could be tasted - I decided to check out how many of the producers had a social media presence through either Twitter or Facebook. I also only considered regions other than Piedmont and Tuscany considering that producers from those regions don't lack visibility. Many of the attendees at the event would have naturally gravitated towards these stands as everyone knows Chianti and Barolo but what about the producers from the relatively unknown regions of Le Marche or Campania?

I was not surprised with the results of my searches finding very few producers either on Facebook or Twitter. I tweeted on that as @grapefan which then generated two further tweets. One was from Hallgarten Druitt (@HD_FineWines) who tweeted the names of four of their portfolio who were at the event. The other tweet came from Loredan Gasparini Venegazzu along the lines of " and don't forget about me". Venegazzu became the first table I visited. Lorenzo Palla was very clear about the benefits of social media to him. If it hadn't been for Twitter he wouldn't be exporting wines to the US as he "met" his US importer electronically , so there has been no travel expense involved in getting into this new market.

The second producer with a slightly different take on social media was Franz Haas. Andi Punter of the producer makes a point of responding to every comment he sees on Twitter seeing as a good but indirect way of marketing his wines and generating name awareness for his brand.


The third chat I had was with Jose Rallo of Donnafugata in Sicily. We talked about the recent visit of a group from the Institute of Masters of Wine and how this had generated a large number of tweets.

So why did this basic research show? That for a little bit of effort there can be quite a lot of return either in new contacts or generating awareness of your wines. When you are a small producer with no budget for a marketing department it's a great way of getting your name out there alongside the the big boys. However it's more than just marketing as it generates an interaction with the end customer which generates loyalty

As another part of my experiment I posted on the Facebook pages of a couple of the producers at the event and got nothing back in response. As a result I am now much more liable to seek out the wines of the producers who have taken the time to interact with me rather than just market themselves to everyone. 


Maybe there's a learning point here for wineries?

Naked Wine's new US winemakers

Macario Montoya

Christina Pallmann

Jessica Tomei

Jason Moore

Robin Langton

William Henry

Naked in Napa

The idea of flying 10 of your customers to the US to help them choose wines you want to sell is just the kind of innovative idea to be expected from Rowan Gormley at Naked Wines. When you are in the middle of setting up a US operation and one in Australia at the same time, it's certainly one to keep your staff busy.

Napa however may seem an odd place to send this group as its associated with expensive wines often made in small quantities which could be seen as being at odds with Naked's business model. However Rowan is in the process of turning the usual 3 tier business model in the US of grower, distributor and retailer in its head. As a result the selling price of the selected price of the wines is amazingly low and will make a lot of people in the UK sit up and take notice.

All the winemakers we met were enthusiastic and experienced. They loved the idea of being funded up front to go and find some grapes and make good wine without worrying about bottling, distribution and sales. It gives them the opportunity to do what they do best - make wine. With Naked renting their own winery also this will help drive down costs.

Some of the names of those producing wines for Naked  will also turn heads for those in the know in the wine world such as Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon who came and presented two wines to us.

Although the name of Christina Pallmann may not mean much in the UK this is some who has worked with Michel Rolland and Merry Edwards who is considered the "queen of Pinot" in California.  Ken Deis has many many years of experience in making wine in the region so is no lightweight.

We were given the opportunity to taste over 60 wines from 8 winemakers and then asked to select our top 6 to put into a launch case. There was a fair degree of agreement amongst us but Naked reassured us that many of those that didn't make the top 6 will also be shipped over.

The first wines have now arrived and here's to the whole idea being the enormous success it deserves to be.

Spar World Wine Festival 2012

People choose wine in a number of different ways. Many, or maybe that is most, choose on price. This was perfectly illustrated in my local supermarket when I heard a wife to say to her husband "buy that one there - it's cheaper". People buy brands such as Blossom Hill or Jacobs Creek. Some buy on the basis of name recognition such as a NZ Sauvignon or an Italian Pinot Grigio or a French Chateauneuf du Pape.

Supermarket Chateauneuf du Papes I tend to avoid as they are usually too young and not worth the £15-16 they often tend to be. However having  been sent a bottle of Spar's "Les Trois Couronnes" from the 2010 vintage I'll have to change my preconceptions.

This was a lovely fruity and approachable wine and very much one that could be drunk now or maybe even in a year or two if you can keep it that long. And at £11.99 during Spar's Festival of Wine it is very good value for money. Even at the full price of £15.99 this is a wine to buy and enjoy now.

Spar is not a place I have ever bought wine from before but it shows that even the retailers that may often get overlooked for wine purchases can come up with good wines at keen prices and not just at the around £5 price bracket.

You need to get in quick however if you want to buy "Les Trois Couronnes" at £11.99 as the "World Wine Festival" which has discounted 70 of their wines by 25% ends on 16th May.