How winemakers are selling it to you…?

You may think that it starts with a fancy paper tag on the bottle, a high-end name or an ad where a beautiful blonde is pouring wine into the glass, but it’s not always the case. It’s way deeper.

Culture, storytelling are what make it special to you.

In today’s market people mainly go after a story they are ready to indulge in. The marketing plays upon our deepest beliefs, tastes and memories, and more..

Let’s get into details…

And discuss how do we consume wines and how far does marketing go in order to influence our tastes & choices.

Of course the topic is too broad - to unveil it extensively you will need to read a book...

But in this Blog Post we will make sure to touch upon some hot points that matter.

Our choices rely on culture, the culture?!

1st of all - wine culture that already exists is way broader than “just the drinking culture”.

Wine drinkers (the audience) range from those who are rather on the side of “it tastes good enough”- so I'll go for it (no need to understand what they are drinking), to those who just converted to "the club" (wine critic society) and are ready to learn to those who are deeply involved (the sophisticated ones).

The stats say (T2026 BMO Wine Market Report), currently the more affordable options are sold much more effectively compared to the premium products, although the market is experiencing a shift, as the item quality becomes a bigger priority for customers. The new patterns will definitely emerge soon and the audience may switch their preferences, and the wine market will have to reflect on it with the new sensations we are about to see.

This trend shows that we’ll definitely see a new wave of wine marketing/ ads that will surprise us.

Are we romanticising it all?

Eventually, the media/ the mass culture reflect on it too.

Movies, ads, social media campaigns are catching up with the market trends to earn their dough - to sell more effectively (based on your tastes, at the end we are sharing the same audience). 

They try to reinforce the powerful image of the beauty of wine consumption (creating scenes such as: dining al fresco in the mediterranean…etc). In fact, how many of you would love to pour their glass, after watching a movie where some characters are enjoying their beverages in a calm and beautiful environment? (pre-set ideal moment of relaxation). Or should we go after consumption in the moments/scenarios predisposed to it (dinner in a candle light, beach time). It’s as if we are already given the condition to follow. It's as if they know us better than we do.

Besides wine-drinking is seen as a hobby of elites and there are a lot of social constructs around it, with some of them even rooted in history.

The media is intended to make wine-drinking look more romantic, revealing the socially acceptable situations. Date = a bottle of wine on a table, social event is unimaginable without a glass and even a family dinner gets cosier when a Magnum bottle appears on a table.

The other (less positive examples) showcase you people drinking while their going through challenges life and so the romance created around wine actually exists in different variations.

You can keep resembling situations when media kind of made wine seem more attached to a particular social concept and in a lot ways it is the way we apply this chain our own lives.

And there is nothing wrong about it... as long as you understand the concept of marketing behind the product and how it actually works.

The product is a big deal, but is storytelling bigger?

The product quality keeps gaining bigger attention, together with the “healthy lifestyle” trend, a lot of people "convert" into wine drinkers and get into learning.

So, yes, in a lot of ways everything really start with a product anyway.

In the era, when information is everything people want to truly know what they are drinking and learn the story behind that glass, the product need to give them real answers.

A lot of characteristics have be taken into account (from the very primary qualifications of wine, such as sugar, terrier etc) to the scene behind it’s creation - what is this winery about? Who is their boss? How techy is their equipment? Who do they partner with? Who drinking that wine (celebs, famous people).

The wine story is solid & very detailed. You are not drinking a "drink" you are immersing into heritage & cultural capital.

Here is where the power of storytelling comes into play. Winemakers play around it as much as they wish and can.

They create lasting gossip stories (that are even fake sometimes), give you famous names that add to the image of the winery and the wine. They use culture and traits too.

And some go even further to bring out the legends that may or may not be true (and so on people discuss it...).

But dig deeper and you'll realise - it's much smarter...

...than just telling a story.

When it comes to some famous (wine) houses, branding is huge.

The product is shown as an absolutely exclusive one, making it a TOP notch item for anyone craving to touch THE LEGENDARY. It is shown as if it is an experience.But it’s not just this but the visibility & the availability. You may not know the story (behind the brand) but seeing it being consumed by the fancy crowd and being available to a higher class of society already makes you believe that there is something bigger behind that brand.

The niche wine products that are mainly targeted at connoisseurs, try to reduce the ability of branding, their wine bottles will not look fancy and are not going to SCREAM: BUY ME!

But...they will rather tell you: I am unique (I'm good), so... I don't need (much) branding! Instead - their branding is quality, yet very simplistic, revealing only essential details to give you enough knowledge about the quality of product. It's targeting those seeking to explore the specials...

Mass market (affordable segment) bottles are normally speaking the language of the mass, they tell you: why pay for a product when you can claim Buzz with 50% off or even 90%? They will tell you as much as you need to know about them: elegant? zesty? sweet? - drink with meats/ goes well with cheeses, notes of oak/ valnilla/ floral aromas. You will read this GUIDE right on the bottle.

Want a fancier one for the table? Go for a white wrapped bottle of (ICED) something somthing sparkly.

The truth is - they are not lying to you, they are just selling their products. Sometimes even a good description is good enough already to impact our tastes, it says.. notes of plum and you really can feel it. Honestly, this way of starting to understand wines is good before you go for products of different segment. And I, personally, like the fact that the labeled bottles can easily help you pick one for the occasion if you are a newbee. A bottle of this segment that does not say anything will raise more questions...

It's not always how they sell/ or what they sell, but how we buy it & when we buy it.

Here is where the track our...

Consumption patterns

The real sales come when they manage to fit into your routine...

Their channels of distribution are almost entirely based on how we consume wine.

Here is where they introduce their products, here is where they find a place in our lives -.

Pairing that has recently gained more attention plays a significant role in wine perception. The whole phenomena of wine gets bigger than just a beverage, it becomes a friendly companion of a delightful even helping match the taste of a particular dish.

Wine marketing is an exciting journey...

that starts from the scene on TV/ smartphone & ends in your glass at your table on a weekend night.

The biggest lies are hard to prove, as some customers will not tell the difference between the original “THE GREATEST WINE” and JUST a pretentious great bottle. Sometimes even a professional is unable to recognise one.

For your attention - this info is shared for analytical/ entertaining reasons only. Alcohol consumption may put your health at risk and we are not calling anyone to consume it :)