11 Email Marketing Ideas for Wineries

By Amanda Gagnon June 10, 2010

Idyllic days in the sunshine. Ruby liquid in sparkling glasses. Merry picnickers and live music.

It’s these moments – drinking your wines and visiting your vineyards – that your customers remember. But even the best memories can fade.

Email marketing can remind your customers what they’re missing. It can invite your visitors back. It can inspire your fans to go buy that favorite bottle again.

Once you build up a solid list of subscribers, you’ll need some creative ideas to spark your customers’ memories and bring them back for more.

If your chardonnay sparkles with scallops, let your customers know. Pair your wines with complementary dishes and share the recipes.

If your Burgundy is excellent in beef stew, share that, too. Original recipes for dishes cooked with your wines are even more valuable. If you have an online store, make sure to link up the wines.

People are always searching for unique gifts. Show them what you have to offer, whether it’s festively wrapped wines for the holidays, wine and chocolate sets for Valentine’s Day or picnic baskets for Mothers’ Day.

Identify wine myths vs. facts. Quote some trivia your readers will want to quote themselves. Feature a rotating glossary of wine-making terms.

Your customers may not know why racking wine does not mean putting bottles into wine racks. Tell them why. Give them more than just discounts – give them an education. With insider information, they’ll feel good about themselves and grateful to you.

Giddy tasters and frequent visitors alike bring home the winery experience with glass charms, drunken olives and other goodies. If you add a new must-have item, email your list – they’ll be sure to keep an eye out for it next time they visit.

Videos show off your winery even when your doors are closed. They also let you share more content than the typical email can hold.

Use video for educational demonstrations, “meet our team” introductions and sweeping panoramas of your estate that call visitors back. Post them to YouTube and link to them with a clickable screenshots in your emails.)

Stir up some excitement! Introduce new vintages with fanfare. Tell your subscribers where they can find the new wine, and let them know that you can’t wait for their reaction!

As faithful readers of your content and proclaimed fans of your winery, your subscribers might deserve a little extra once in awhile. Reward subscribers (and keep them coming in) with email-exclusive discounts and offers.

Live music performances, tastings, tours of your production area, grape stomping festivals, wine education classes with guest speakers – if you host these, get the word out!

Send an invitation to your subscribers early enough for them to plan ahead, but not so early that they forget!

Your wines may win regional awards, but aside from recognizing this as a mark of quality, customers may not have much reaction. Instead of telling them someone else’s opinion, ask theirs.

Have visitors to your tasting room rate your wines. Periodically invite your readers to send ratings to your “from” address. Announce the winners in an email that subscribers will check to see – Did their favorite win?

If you offer wine education classes on-site, make sure to invite your local subscribers (try segmenting by location). Summarize the best points from the class afterward so the rest of your list can benefit as well.

Don’t forget pictures! Ambiance is an important part of the wine lifestyle, so extend yours to your newsletter.

Show the grapes being crushed, the wine being bottled. Feature your winemakers, bartenders and grape pickers – give your readers faces to recognize when they visit.

Don’t forget to watch out for minors! Make age a required field on your sign-up form. Marketing to those under-age could result in fines.

For more information on email marketing for wineries, view our complete Email Marketing for Wineries Guide.

Your Award Winning Ideas

As a winery, what content do you send your subscribers? Do they respond? Do they mention your messages when they visit?

These ideas can easily translate to other businesses. Hotels and restaurants can use images for ambiance. Fitness bloggers can highlight fun facts. Galleries can announce new shows.

What kinds of content can you create from these ideas?