Weekly Member Memo - Oct. 15, 2024

We had our first Wine Road team meeting, on the road at The Highlands. I darn near booked a room, it was hard to leave. Please check out this property - maybe you too could use a little stay-cation. Thanks Cath, it was a great way for us to kick off this new work plan.

We met at The Highlands for a couple of hours, surrounded by Redwoods, then did a quick pop into boon hotel + spa, then Dawn Ranch. Guerneville is a great place to spend the day! I picked up a box lunch, then ate at Armstrong Woods. Then back to reality.

This "work from home, meet on the road" is a GREAT plan for us. We can connect with members, get some photos and share on social.

A recent social post we did for The Highlands

This week we will be at David Coffaro Vineyard & Winery in Dry Creek.

Sign-Up ENDS Tomorrow

WINTER WINELAND

40 signed up, hoping for another 20...

Event Date: January 18-19, 2025

Anticipated ticket sales 1800

Reimbursement, up to $250 for food, music, decor (food is not required). We DO want to see selfie stations...something cute guests can share on social #winterwineland2025

This event takes place on a 3-day weekend. We would love to see some wineries extend their event special through MONDAY. We would promote those offers on the printed program and online.

Lets entice visitors to STAY LONGER.

Tickets on sale ~ Nov. 7th

We have sold 1450 tickets.

We are a bit behind in ticket sales, from this time last year.

Goal is to sell 2000. Last year we sold 1874.

If you are a participating winery, we need you to put on a full court press. Share in your newsletters and wine club inserts.

One post on social media does not move the needle.

We added some additional bay area digital and radio spots

as well as local radio. We have now added radio in San Jose as well. Two radio interviews are booked (Oct. 16th & 23rd).

Wine Road's First Holiday Wine Trail & Market

We're making plans for our first

Holiday Wine Trail & Market,

December 7 - 11:00-4:00

The idea will be for each participating winery to have some local product that can be featured, such as jam, jelly, honey etc. A winery may want to showcase an artist creating, while selling their artwork - maybe hand painted holiday cards. Is there a jewelry maker, knitter, DIYer... you know that would love the opportunity to sell their product?

We will be sending out details this week, so be thinking...Holiday Market.

We are wrapping up the edits for the next Wine Road printed map.

We expect to have new maps in about two months.

Locals Only

We are going to create an online list of winery members that are interested in offering a

2 for 1 Tasting - for LOCALS - On Thursdays… every week, every month, all year :-)

The guest would simply need to show you their ID with a local, Sonoma County address.

Wine Road will:

Create a page on our website - Locals Only Tasting
This will be a simple list of wineries that offer this special
We will provide you with a PDF file of a sign you can download post - “Ask about our Locals offer’
We will create some videos for social to promote it, and we will mention it on some local radio interviews.

The webpage will explain - the guest must be a local resident - not a visitor, not a second home, not staying with a local... Wine Road member wineries want to connect with their local community.

We will launch this as soon as we have a minimum of 30 wineries on board.

There are no variations on the offer - it’s just:

2 for 1 tasting, Thursdays Only, Local ID required.

If YOU want to be listed, please send me this information, in this format:

My Vineyard & Winery Name

1234 Street Name, City

Phone

Website

SAVE THE DATE - Wine Road Member Holiday Bash

Thursday | December 5th | 4:00-6:30pm

Francis Ford Coppola Winery

Details to follow....

Tasty Appetizers, Plenty of Wine, Games, Prizes, Camaraderie, and some Wine Road News!

WIN EXPO - Dec. 5th - Register Now

Registration is open for the 12^th Annual North Coast Wine Industry Trade Show & Conference (WIN Expo), scheduled to take place at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, CA, on Thursday, December 5^th, 2024.

WIN Expo is the largest trade show and conference focused exclusively on the Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma wine regions. The event is set to include nearly 300 exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services as well as outdoor exhibits, trial tastings on the trade show floor and a robust educational conference.

Join us to celebrate the achievements of the past year, network with colleagues, foster new connections, and prepare for a thriving 2025.

Thank you to our partners along the Wine Road for their financial support.

Wine Road Northern Sonoma County | Wineroad.com