Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/101495
SALES & MARKETING ���Consistency is rule No. 1... in the (Chinese) wine business.��� Beatriz Gil, marketing manager, Isabella Winery Choose VinPerfect Screwcaps for your next bottling and taste the di���erence with precise post-bottling oxygen control. ORDER TODAY sales@vinperfect.com 707-252-2155 purchase bottles, consumers in Asia cannot be expected to know specific viticultural regions, and overly broad geographic terms can misfire as well. ���If you say ���American wines��� or ���wines from the United States,��� that may conjure politics or things people don���t agree with,��� Parr says. ���If you say ���California,��� people think of sunshine and beautiful people.��� Kuss says that the nascent market for U.S. wine in Hong Kong can work to the advantage of non-mainstream winegrowers. ���Given that it���s still a young market, they���re not going to have a negative opinion��� about atypical viticulture regions, Kuss says. ���If I tell people I have a great wine from Tennessee, people aren���t going to know��� that���s not a conventional winegrowing area. ��� Precise Post-Bottling Oxygen Control ��� Enhanced Aromatics ��� Chlorine & TCA Free ��� 100% Recyclable ��� Short Lead Times ��� No Minimums ��� Complete Customization ��� Laser-Etched Cap-Tops ��� Embossed Cap-Tops ��� Top and Side Printing ��� Custom Color Matching Call our sales team or request a quote online. Make the switch to VinPerfect Screwcaps and gain a closure partner for life. www.vinperfect.com/order WINE���S FIRST PERFECT CLOSURE 831 Latour Court, Suite B1 Napa, CA 94558 p 707.252.2155 f 707.252.2166 vinperfect.com facebook.com/vinperfect SEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #2314 132 W in e s & V i ne s JANUARY 20 13 Mike and Diana Wlodarczyk pour the wines of Benton City, Wash.based Goose Ridge Vineyards, which also produces StoneCap Wines. What���s to gain? Even the most entrepreneurial wine salesperson can���t decide to start selling wine in Asia and have it happen immediately. The process takes at least a few months, especially when done correctly. ���It���s going to take a real commitment and a lot of research,��� Kuss said. ���Especially for small wineries, it���s a big business decision.��� Michael Parr from Wente Vineyards adds, ���It���s amazing to me how many wineries I meet in China who have no idea why they���re there.���Be clear of your objectives in entering the Chinese market.��� He says that trying to sell Chinese consumers (including those in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) on a great everyday wine is not the way to earn their business. Rather, market your product as something for special occasions. And forget about trying to start a by-the-glass program, Parr says: It won���t work. For wineries just starting out in the Asian market, Parr recommends trying to engage the corporate consumer, who is ordering wine at high-end restaurants and bars. Treating potential clients as VIPs goes a long way, he says, and once you get an account, be true to your word. ���Consistency is rule No. 1 to succeed in the (Chinese) wine business,��� says Beatriz Gil of Isabella Winery. ���Take things slowly. Listen. Learn where possible, and be patient.���