Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/89494
MANAGEMENT UNCORKING PR another. The mere nature of being a business and putting images on your website makes it a commer- cial purpose and a benefit to you. on alcoholic beverages is not legal, plain and simple. This goes back to what I discussed above – that win- eries cannot give to a consumer anything valuing more than $1. I don't know about you, but I have never seen shipments of wine cost $1 or less. There are ways to get around this issue, if you desire to give your consumers a special perk. Work with an attorney to craft the offer so that nothing is being given away for free. Do not put on your website that you are giving free shipping with a purchase of wine. SOCIAL MEDIA "Social media is developing an Before posting images from winery events, obtain permission from both the photog- rapher and the people in the photos. Photo: Jupiterimages/Thinkstock "To limit your liability, it is pru- dent to get a release and consent from everyone at your events in case an image they are in is made public. And while we're on the sub- ject of photographs and images, beware of having images of people under the legal drinking age on your website. I was looking at photo- graphs of a recent winery barbecue and the person behind the grill did not look over 21 years of age. Since he was not consuming alcohol in the photograph, it might not be a problem, but to be safe, try to only use models who are not only older than 21, but also look older than 21. "A couple more things to avoid: Images, like cartoon characters, that would attract children, and photos that lead the viewer to believe consuming the alcoholic beverage will make them more ath- letic or better in bed. Sigh. FREE SHIPPING "I thought the concept of "free shipping" on wine was one that had been hammered down and long passed, but I stumbled across a winery advertising just that, so it is worth revisiting. Free shipping 18 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT NOV - DEC 2012 WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM increasingly important role in com- municating with consumers. But beware – the rules don't change because the medium does. All the issues discussed above still apply to Facebook, including content posted on your page by your fans and followers. I saw a recent exam- ple: A winery posted on Facebook announcing its wines had just been placed in a prestigious restaurant in