Vineyard & Winery Management

May/June 2013

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Smart and Successful WINE WISE MARKETING ELIZABETH SLATER St. James Savvy marketing drives Missouri winery's growth here is nothing like a good old-fashioned success story to inspire others to start their own businesses. The ongoing explosion and success of new vineyards and wineries in the United States can be attributed in large part to an "If they can do it, so can we" attitude that growers and vintners have when they plant their first vines and crush their first load of grapes. They've seen how others have built healthy wine businesses, and they want in, too. Once the wine is made, it needs to sold, of course, and success stories from the sales and marketing side of the industry can also educate and motivate others. Ann Miller, marketing manager for St. James Winery, shared with me the many ways this Missouri producer has grown its business, using wide-ranging, consistent and creative marketing methods. But first a bit of Missouri wine history. Native Americans were already harvesting grapes when Europeans settled in the region in the 1800s. The majority of early arrivals were Germans and Italians, and they brought with them grapevines from their homelands. Commercial wine production began around 1850, and by 1900, Missouri's wine industry was second only to California's in volume. Prior to Prohibition (1920-1933), Missouri had more than 100 wineries. When Prohibition ended, the state's wine industry had been decimated. While there were a few wineries that reopened after Repeal – Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, for one – others were discouraged by high liquor taxes and license fees, and gave up. It wasn't until the 1960s that Missouri's wine industry truly came alive once again, fueled in good part by residents' interest in drinking local wines. Among the opportunists on this cultural w w w. v w m media.com swing was St. James Winery, in the city of St. James. Jim and Pat Hofherr opened their doors in 1970, producing approximately 3,400 cases of wine. By 1995, St. James had grown to 10,000 cases per year. In the next five years, production took a huge leap to 100,000 cases, and today the winery bottles 200,000 cases each year. The Hofherr family continues to own the winery, under the guidance of Pat (chairman of + To operate a successful winery, one the board – Jim died in must cover all the marketing bases. 1994), Andrew Hofherr (president) and Peter + Wineries should use a wide range of Hofherr (CEO). Execumethods to contact both consumer tive Winemaker Andrew and trade customers. Meggitt is a member of + Website, e-mail, snail mail, social the board. SHORT COURSE DEEP PORTFOLIO, WIDE DISTRIBUTION media, billboards and the telephone are all used by St. James Winery to stay in touch with its customers. M i l l e r, S t . J a m e s ' marketing manager, knows a lot about that growth. She started at the winery in 2000 and worked there until 2005, returning in 2010. She oversees marketing of St. James is well-known for its non-grape fruit wines. M a y - J u n e 2 0 13 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 21

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