Marketing Monterey

Wines & Vines, July, 2005 by Tina Caputo

"My wines are not heavily (distributed) in Texas--I have a small distributor there--and, quite frankly, I was overwhelmed at the interest in Monterey County wines," Meador says. "I felt like everybody thought that Monterey was the best-kept secret around. Consumers were very excited to explore a new region and have the opportunity to taste the wines from Monterey. A lot of the consumers were carrying around the newspaper article (about the direct shipping battle) and were excited at the prospect of having Monterey wines shipped directly to them. They're very anxious to have access to more Monterey wines."

Trade attendees also showed a lot of interest. "I personally left with two other distributors that were really wanting our brand," Meador says, "which really shows the marketability of our products in Texas."

Bringing The Message Home

Now that the U.S. tour has been completed, Motil says MCVGA members are working to keep the promotional momentum going.

"We had a Monterey panel at the prestigious Biltmore Wine Festival in Coral Gables (Florida) at the end of April, and 15 Monterey brands were represented in Bordeaux at Vinexpo in June," she says. "We're rounding out the summer with a representation of 15 Monterey brands at tastings in Santa Barbara and Atlanta."

While bringing Monterey wines, vintners and growers to key markets is crucial, Motil points out that it's equally important to give consumers a reason to visit Monterey wine country.

"We recently produced a 10-minute video on Monterey wine country, and we also just launched a new tasting room map and guide that provides an overview of which wineries, restaurants, hotels and other attractions are great picks when guests visit Monterey."

Monterey's Cannery Row features several boutique-style tasting rooms that make it easy for visitors to stroll and taste, and Carmel Valley Village is home to six tasting rooms located within walking distance of each other.

Collective wine events--such as the annual Monterey Wine Festival, the Winemakers' Celebration and the Great Wine Escape Weekend--also do their part to bring visitors to Monterey's wine country.

"The charm of Monterey is that it is under-developed from a tourism standpoint, so our visitors get greater contact with winery personnel and get closer to actual operations," says San Saba's Marlin. "Monterey has more wineries than most people realize, and there's the added benefit of the area's other attractions like golf, whales, Carmel, Big Sur, surfing, etc."

With everything that Monterey has going for it--including the MCGVA--Meador says the region will continue to make great strides. "I definitely think this is long overdue," she says. "We're 35 years young, but our region has grown so much in the last 15 years, and the quality of the wines coming out of Monterey County has increased tri-fold. Just in the last five years, our association has really helped to promote our region, and to move it forward."