Lots of wineries pour good wine in a pretty room. That gets you in the game. It doesn't make anyone pick you. My take: what sells is the one story nobody else can copy. Your land, your family, your stubborn way of doing one thing. I'm based in Napa, so this is my back yard.
A visitor can taste at a lot of wineries in one weekend. My take: the one they remember has a specific story. The block replanted after the fire, the pruning method passed down three generations, the winemaker who answers questions at the bar. Put that story in plain text on your site, in your Google Business Profile description, and early in every video. “Award-winning wines in the heart of wine country” could describe almost any winery, so it sells none of them.
My take: tasting fees help pay the bills, but the wine club is what keeps a small winery steady. So every marketing choice should answer one question: does this bring the right visitor to the bar, and does the visit earn the signup? That means booking links that work, honest photos of what a visit really feels like, and follow-up emails written like a person, not an automated drip. A club member can buy from you for years, so treat the ask with that respect.
Start with a complete Google Business Profile: correct hours (harvest season too), a reservation link, lots of real photos, and reviews answered like a human. Then a site that says in plain text where you are, what a visit costs, and whether kids or dogs can come. Those are the questions people ask when they plan a trip, whether they ask a friend, Google or an AI assistant. My take on what to skip: paying for broad “wine country” ad keywords you can't win, and posting bottle-on-a-barrel photos every day. One honest video of your vineyard at 6 a.m. beats a month of stock shots.
Be easy to find and book at the moment someone plans the trip: a complete Google profile with a reservation link, real photos, current hours and reviews. Then give trip planners, people and AI tools alike, a specific reason to pick you over the winery next door: the story, the view, the kind of visit, in plain text they can read.
My take: the wine club, worked honestly. Tastings and events earn signups, email keeps members close, and the story keeps them proud to belong. Paid ads come last, and only point them at a booking page that already works.
Yes, but as a window, not a megaphone: harvest, bottling, the dog in the vineyard, the people. My take: two to four real posts a week beats daily promotion. The goal is that a future visitor feels they already know the place.
Yes. People plan trips online before they drive up the hill. My take: hours, fees, kinds of visits, directions and the reservation link, written in plain text, help search engines and AI assistants send visitors to you instead of past you.
Not sure if people planning a wine tasting trip can find your winery? Email alejandro@ojedaworks.com and I'll check for free.