Author Archive for Chris Cook – Page 2

Italian Wines Show Beautifully at 2021 Wine Media Conference #WMC21

I know. Participating in a three-day wine media conference sounds like tough work—but somebody has to do it.… And fortunately for me, I got to do it last month with 150 other wine aficionados hailing from Canada to Italy.

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Capiche Conversations: Interview with “Recovering Attorney” Kevin Breck, Owner of North Bar Cellars

When Kevin Breck picked up a book called “The Game of Wine” in the 1990s, he had no idea it would change the course of his life—nor that he would have to wait a quarter-century to fulfill his dream of becoming a winemaker. After 25 years of working as an attorney, Kevin was ready to realize that vision. He completed the Southern Oregon Wine Institute (SOWI) viticulture and enology program and worked harvests in both Southern Oregon and Spain before founding North Bar Cellars in 2017.

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Hire Nice and Teach Wine—Case in Point

Last October, I wrote a blog post called “Hire Nice, and Teach Wine,” and last week, I saw this principle work beautifully in action. In a time when every single guest to your tasting room will either help make or break you, it’s even more important to hire nice, teach wine—AND teach hospitality!

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Here Comes OND … Pour Me Another—and Get Busy Marketing!

Are you suffering from bad news fatigue like I am? It’s one thing after another—COVID-19 hitting us in March. Now, the fires. And the constantly changing rules and regulations for restaurants, bars and tasting rooms.… With so many moving parts, how do we plan for OND—October, November, December—the biggest annual boon to all retailers?

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Business Not As Usual: The Most Important Thing to Do Now to Prepare for an Uncertain Future

Now’s the time to plan for the new normal when we’re back in business. Things are different now and will be different then. Expectations are different. And your modus operandi had better be different if you want to retain, recapture, and attract customers.

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How to Create Opportunity from Crisis: Top 10 Strategies to Come out Swinging

In just a matter of weeks, the nature of the wine business in the US—and the world in general—has drastically changed. Restaurants and bars have been shut down, wineries have closed their tasting rooms, and wine retailers have had to rethink the way they do business. Some have closed altogether, at least for now.

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Where There’s Smoke—or Coronavirus

Fires. Smoke. Accidents. Scandals. Deaths. Lawsuits. Layoffs. Pandemics. All of these events—and others you’ve never imagined—can impact your winery. Do you have a crisis communication plan?

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How to Keep Customers Coming Back: Why Hospitality is Job #1

Do you ever wonder why we spend so much money on getting new customers when retaining customers provides more value to our business? Think about the investment your winery is making in customer acquisition (advertising, PR, social media, email, and direct mail campaigns) vs. customer retention (providing an outstanding customer experience for guests in your tasting room, wine club members, and customers ordering wine online). Which direction are your scales tipping?

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Yes, It’s BiG—a BiG Fail! 5 Ways to Avoid a Colossal Campaign Clunker

At the end of each year, many publications “celebrate” the worst marketing campaigns of the year. Less than 40 days into the new year, and there is already a regrettable fail from the wine industry.

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Management and Intuition

Why intuition in the age of management science? Two reasons: First, intuition is a prerequisite for real insight, meaning a fresh understanding of the situation, seeing a reality that you hadn’t noticed before.

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