Simple Hedonisms

Where’s (Sonoma) William?

I am extending my apologies to readers for a brief absence. Those that follow me on Facebook know its been an incredibly trying 1st month of the year, with 12-16 hour office days, and cross country travel. (For now) Wine Country and Social Media are side projects, something I plan to change over time. Until then, I am doing one final push in my career as an Executive in the technology industry, focused on sales and marketing. (Partially to fund some land.)  Last October,  I joined a 3 year old software start-up, to expand the field sales teams, double revenues, and engage in field marketing strategies to rapidly increase brand awareness.

Although it’s a different industry, the experience isn’t unrelated to my beloved wine industry; with a finite amount of resources and budget, some initial success has to be quickly leveraged to grow revenues, awareness, a customer base. Creating buzz is paramount, as well as the presence of appearing everywhere. This is  achieved through a series of integrated, multi-touch and messaging campaigns to prospects, and leveraging happy customers. The brand buzz is achieved both direct , through eco-system partners, sales channel partners, and integrated sales and marketing messages. Throw in some pressure from the Board and the Venture Capitalists, stir well with blood, sweat and tears, and a dash of karma, luck, and faith.

The skills and lessons learned have translated directly into my side ‘work’ here in the wine industry, initially focused on social media, but much will equally translate into Sales and/or Marketing efforts, when I finally decide, or get recruited, to make a full time jump.

So these writings are in the spirit of networking, and to help the amazing food and wine related businesses and entrepreneurs connect with consumers, with my special focus (but not limited to) my beloved Sonoma County and her peoples. (Don’t be fooled by the ads – the blog won’t break close to even with the budget I have for it this year.)

Ok, So Get on to the Free Tickets Already

So the above isn’t totally unrelated. Besides sharing a bit of insight to the author, its a preamble to my ongoing work with the Wine Road. I have written numerous times lauding the organization of this cross-appellation (wine region) entity of Northern Sonoma, as well as their interest in embracing new ideas. In my opinion, their support of Social Media played a huge part in the last month’s Winter Wineland record success. Attendance was up significantly, but more importantly many wineries reported a substantial increase in sales, several I spoke to had Saturday sales numbers almost DOUBLE last years.

We are on the heels of the Wine Road’s next great annual event, the 32nd Annual Barrel Tasting. Contrary to some beliefs, this isn’t meant to be a drunkfest (in my opinion ticket prices are too low) but rather a chance to visit with wineries and sample wines before completed, and purchase futures, at a substantial discount. This is a great win-win, as it provides wineries with cash flow, and it allows passionate consumers to get a jump on their favorite releases, at a substantial discount.

Ok, NOW the Free Stuff

Simple Hedonisms wine blog and the Wine Road will be co-operating on a series of events, one of which is a weekly wine education topic, picked by you, the readers.

To Participate: Post your question on the Wine Road’s Facebook site. The lovely and talented Wine Road ladies (and I) will select a question, which will be answered in a blog article, published, and the selected person will receive a pair of tickets for the  Barrel Tasting event, as well as recognition in the article. (Hey its 8000 (mostly local) hits, you can be a mini celebrity for a day.)

Sign-up Now for Email Updates for More Ticket Events, and Blog Updates

I frequently hear ‘I check your site regularly for new postings, sometimes I catch them,  sometime I miss them.’ Life is busy, as much as I appreciate you trying to remember to check in – there is an easier way. Simply sign up for (secure, no spam) email subscription where it says “Get Simple Hedonisms via Email” in the top right.

When a new article is published, you get a short email, with the title, and link to click to read the article – that’s it. I will also be drawing 2 free Barrel Tasting tickets in February, from email subscribers, so  – SIGN UP!