I had the opportunity to present at Fresno State Winery last week and thought it would be fun to share some insights from my experience. I was asked to prepare an Introduction to Direct-To-Consumer Wine Sales for 45 students that included necessary technologies and processes based on latest DTC buying trends. Many of the students grew up on farms and come from families who have been in the agriculture business for several generations. Other students are new to winemaking and are taking business management courses with a focus on the wine space. The students were enthusiastic, enjoyed learning best practices and had great questions about shipping laws, wine club trends & events as well as e-commerce tips and social media management. Since most of the students shared that they use their smart phones and mobile devices to make purchases, it made it easy for them to understand the importance of using an e-commerce platform that can support one-click check out processes. The students and staff at Fresno State Winery take great pride in all aspects of winemaking, production and sales. Fresno State operates the first commercially bonded winery on any U.S. university campus, where student-produced wines have won hundreds of awards in tasting competitions against some of the world’s best-known vintages.
Some interesting facts about this wine region:
- Grape growers in the Southern San Joaquin Valley (Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern counties) are able to grow grapes for raisin, table, wine and juice concentrate. The lack of summer precipitation and warm days is perfect for growing grapes. The area is home to 95% of the states raisin and table grape vineyards and 70% of the states wine grapes.
- The San Joaquin Valley has been called “the food basket of the world.”
- At 61,000 vineyard hectares (151,000 acres), this is by far the largest wine region in the state.
I had a great time connecting with students and staff, touring the vineyards and production facility and meeting this group of up and coming winemakers and winery professionals. It was great to see how hands-on the students are in every aspect of the winemaking, production and sales process. “Tailgate Red” is their best seller and I am enjoying the bottles I was given as a Thank You. If you are interested in viewing the presentation, contact: [email protected].
Check out pics from my visit: