Winery ‘destination marketecture’ gains traction

<p>HEALDSBURG – Building relationships directly with consumers is especially key for vintners these days amid fierce competition, sales channel bottlenecks, fickle tastes and economic worries.</p><p>In response, a locally based team of consultants has developed what it calls a more comprehensive approach to designing destination venues where consumers can experience the wines in a way that convinces them to come back for more.</p><p>Healdsburg-based destination retail, architecture and project-management consultant Gary Finnan and longtime wine direct-sales expert Elizabeth “E” Slater of Windsor have assembled a network of about 30 similar experts, some from outside the industry, to help wineries combine the consumer experience with marketing and architecture in a blend they call “Destination Marketecture.”</p><p>“Fantastic wine is a given now,” Mr. Finnan said. “The difference is how a brand differentiates itself in the marketplace.”</p><p>The goal is to help the vintner develop the unique story about the brand then create a corresponding physical environment that persuades a visitor not to rush off to the next winery on the itinerary.</p><p>Instead, the vintner wants the prospective customer to spend more time on the property to get to know the brand better and build an emotional bond that translates into a wine club subscription, tasting room sales and recommendations to friends.</p><p>That evaluation also works for long-established wineries looking to rekindle or spark interest in their brands as well as for winery owners wanting to reposition a winery for sale or after an acquisition, according to Mr. Finnan.</p><p>“When you come down to it, it is all about connection, and too often there is a disconnect between architecture and what the winery wants to accomplish,” Ms. Slater said. “Training of the staff is important in creating a perception, because even if you have the architecture and marketing right but the staff isn’t on board, it won’t be as effective.”</p><p>The Destination Marketecture concept gelled as Mr. Finnan and Ms. Slater, who have collaborated on winery projects over the years, brainstormed about how to attract more visitors to a rapidly growing South Dakota winery. </p><p>The ten-year-old Prairie Berry Winery has grown to 25,000 cases of grape and fruit wines produced a year that it sells exclusively from the tasting room. The Vojta family that runs the winery asked for help in attracting more of the 12 million motorists who pass the site annually to visit nearby Mt. Rushmore as the winery doubles production.</p><p>Yet Mr. Finnan said he’s been mixing marketing and architecture since his days designing fun, interactive offices for a cable television company in South Africa more than a decade ago.</p><p>When he was a partner of Kyoob Design Group of Santa Rosa, he helped Benziger, La Crema, Seghesio and Rodney Strong wineries in Sonoma County update their visitor experiences. Later, he helped Michael Powell create the look of Powell’s Sweet Shoppe in Healdsburg and he’s managed the establishment of 17 franchises in four states.</p><p>This year, his firm, Gary Finnan Creative, helped Chris Don-atiello convert the 125,000-case-a-year Belvedere Winery to a 6,600-case venue. The transformation includes the live-music tradition but with big-name acts plus a sensory garden for consumers to develop their scent palettes.</p><p>In fact, Mr. Donatiello picked project architect Kenneth Munson, a winery specialist based in Healdsburg, over a handful of others because Mr. Finnan, who worked with Mr. Munson on other projects, brought a deep understanding of marketing to the discussion of architecture.</p><p>Other North Coast wine companies exploring Destination Marketecture include Hartwell Vineyards, Icon Estates and Domaine Carneros. Also considering the method are the planned VinoForia tasting room in Healdsburg and the proposed ultra-environmentally sensitive Skipstone Ranch Winery project.</p><p>For more information, call Gary Finnan Creative at 707-385-0112 or visit www</p><p>.garyfinnan.com. To reach Ms. Slater’s In Short Direct Marketing, call 707-836-8730.</p>