Wine Isn't Dead. Its Marketing Is.

Wine is relevant. The way it’s marketed isn’t.

Build an Audience, Not an Ad

The industry keeps treating social media like a checkout lane when it should be a place to build desire, identity, and momentum. Brands are so focused on selling bottles and pushing wine club memberships that they forget what actually drives loyalty: engagement.

Social platforms should be used to create an audience that wants to stick around. Content should reflect your brand and the consumer you’re going after, with clear CTAs that invite participation.

News Flash: Going viral doesn’t actually matter. Provoking action does.

Create clear CTAs in your content that encourage consumers to engage with you through DMs, like, share, etc. This can light and fun content like “tag a friend who...” or something more involved like, “DM us what (existing) varietal you want to see in next month’s wine club offerings, and the best pitch will win and be shouted out on our socials.”

These are just examples, but the point is to engage and talk to your audience directly, rather than treating social media like a walking commercial that everyone is just trying to scroll past because they know they’re being sold something.

It’s not all about views and virality— if you are getting your audience to take an action (like, share, comment, tag, etc), you are winning on social.

The Wine Club Needs a Wake-Up Call

For anyone under 35, the traditional wine club feels tired. Predictable. Easy to ignore.

That doesn’t mean the concept is useless. It means the experience needs to evolve. Social media should be the feedback loop. Ask followers what they want in next month’s shipment (see example above). Reward good ideas with shoutouts and swag (and yes, no free bottles — LDA compliance is real).

Make the club feel responsive and alive, and not like another Apple subscription.

Rethinking the Wine Dinner

Ah the wine dinner… Every brand’s default answer when thinking about engaging trade, press, and even consumers. And more often than not, it feels safe, scripted, and frankly…forgettable. The wine dinner needs a major glow-up, or it needs to be laid to rest altogether.

If you’re going to do it, make it memorable. Blind tasting dinners. Fully sensory experiences. “Dinner in the Dark.” Collaborations with chefs that break the expected format.

Should you decide to move away from the dinner altogether, figure out what pillars work best for your brand (Art, Travel, Fashion, Food, etc) and create micro EXPERIENCES that are consumer-focused, but that trade and press would be blown away by as well. The key to all of this is putting the CONSUMER first, not the wine critics and media who you think want the absolute most perfect version of your brand.

Anchor your experiences to your pillars and create smaller, consumer-first moments. When consumers are excited, trade and press pay attention. That order matters.

Story Over Education

This is where many brands lose people.

I’ve made this point in a previous dedicated article, but I’ll scream it again: stop trying to educate your consumers through content. If they wanted that, they would take a LinkedIn learning course or attend a guided tasting.

Educational content has its place, but most consumers aren’t looking to be taught. They want to feel something. They want a story they recognize themselves in. No one is tasting your wine through a screen, so stop overexplaining how it’s made.

Focus on the lifestyle you embody. Build community around those shared values. Partner with nonprofits and small businesses that align with your brand. Run one-day-only drops where a portion of sales supports a cause… you get where I’m going with this.

Emotional connection drives action far more effectively than technical detail ever will, so drop the heavy wine jargon and focus on the story.

The Creative Ceiling

Ad creative is another huge missed opportunity.

My god, please get more creative with the ad copies... If i see another ad for a wine with a vineyard in the background and someone holding a glass mid-laugh with some stupid line about connection, I may pull my hair out-- and it’s taken a long time to get it to this length so you know I’m serious. It all blends together and your brand disappears in the automated system. Wine deserves better storytelling than stock imagery and empty sentiment.

Experiment with AI— I often think of the Jacquemus ad where they had huge Le Bambino bags driving through Paris. THAT is brilliant and extremely product-focused.

Think outside of the box when it comes to creative— I promise no one is going to slap your hand for trying something new. (And take inspo from cool brands, even though they don’t share the same woes of LDA compliance, I know…)

In-Store Still Matters

Point scores work. No argument there.

But your 93pt from The Tasting Panel doesn’t have to be the only story on the shelf. Displays can spark curiosity, not just validation. A little creativity goes a long way, especially when consumers are already overwhelmed with choice.

If you’re going to use QR codes, give people a reason to care. No one is scanning a bottle to read a tech sheet. Use QR codes to unlock micro-stories, sweepstakes, punchy one-liners, or quick notes that show how the wine actually fits into real life. Pair that with real people, not generic brand language.

This one really depends on the sales rep’s relationship with the store or chain, but whenever possible, let store staff lead the story. This will not only add credibility, but it will strengthen relationships with key accounts by giving them more ownership and autonomy over what you are offering.

• In-Store staff testimony example:

  • “Maya’s pick. She buys this every Friday and opens it before the takeout arrives.”

• In-house example, so that you’re not depending on the account to validate your product:

  • “Made by a winemaker who left a corporate job and never looked back.”

    (you get the idea— cheeky, fun, and meeting the consumer where they are, which is likely an overwhelming wine aisle after a long day of work).

Turn the shelf into a conversation instead of a test. Consumers get context, personality, and permission… all in a few seconds. It builds trust without lecturing and keeps the experience human, even at scale.

FINAL SIPS

Wine isn’t dead. It’s just being marketed like it is.

If this resonated, follow along for more! And if you’re navigating how to market wine or retail to the modern audience, I’d love to connect and discuss more.