wine + twitter
Now that I’m cutting down the number of internet venues for my episodes of compulsive self-disclosure I’m spending even more time on Twitter, for better or worse1.
Twitter is actually really good for some things. One of those is creating a low commitment channel for busy people to keep in touch with each other and their clients. Along these lines, one group that really seems to have taken to Twitter in a big way is the local (New Zealand) wine industry.
I think there’s a few things working to push this along – there’s a couple of social media gurus that have encouraged participation by a few key figures; there’s several handfuls of forward-thinking vintners and owners using the medium to talk to their clients directly… and the general “OMG! I need a Twitter presence!” effect that’s emerged in the last year.
But what’s really nice is when they start talking about what’s happening down on the vineyard; interacting with each other, and with us, the winedrinkers. I’m way more interested in the stories and people behind the wine I drink than being the passive recipient of the branding & marketing of it.
So I found out how one of my favourite Rieslings was getting on this vintage in this tweet from Martinborough winemaking legend Larry McKenna:
LarryMcPinot – Finally rained! delayed our 2nd to last day but meant to be great tom so will be back into the last bit of 777 PN then Escarpment Riesling – 4:15 PM May 1st via web
I replied to Larry with in a fairly inconsequential “Mmmmmm, riesling…” to which he replied:
LarryMcPinot – @dubh yes looking good but decided to leave it for a few more days some sunny days coming and its only 21 brix – 4:47 PM May 2nd via web in reply to dubh
I love this sort of interaction, and I think the winemakers get a lot out of it as well. So over the last few months I’ve been busy creating Twitter lists with all the New Zealand wine people I can find, and so far I have found:
- NZ Wine – 195 wine industry people: the wineries, personalities, shops, and reviewers across New Zealand; and
- NZ Wineries – a subset of the above list containing just the 104 wineries (and some brands) for following the actual winemakers themselves; and
- Central Otago Wineries – 23 wineries from my favourite region, Central Otago.
Follow! And you never know – you may even score yourself a bottle or two of wine along the way.
1 And yes, Twitter is what kills blogs, 140 characters at a time. Every small thought that could be lovingly crafted with time and thought into a towering edifice of logic; or a scintillating entertainment; or even just a seriously impressive read, simply gets blurted out prematurely and half-made with about as much impact as a fart in a hurricane. But I digress.
Giovanni
10 June 2010, 22:19 #
You know, I dislike Twitter quite intensely but I have to disagree with your footnote there. I don’t think Twitter is killing blogs at all. If it’s something you could say in 140 characters, then say it in 140 characters. And tweets tend to be lovingly crafted, or at least not any less than blog posts.
Alan
10 June 2010, 23:25 #
That’s true.
But I feel the convenience of Twitter is at least partially responsible for the very infrequent postings here. I often have ideas I’d like to blog about but instead just spit them out on Twitter instead – 140 characters and gone.
Of course, one can also argue that:
And that is also true.
Giovanni
10 June 2010, 23:52 #
That’s what I mean – it’s entirely anecdotal, but it seems to me that the bloggers I follow who have taken to Twitter post less often but also more substantively. And in my capacity of Approver of Things, I approve of that.
Megan
11 June 2010, 06:51 #
In the beginning (of time, I am very very old) Twitter kind of killed my blogging mojo.
But these days, I tend to just tweet the ephemera, so my blog isn’t lots of little short posts, and when I do post, it’s more substantial, and better thought out.
And the discussion on Twitter stimulates my ideas, too. As do the links my very smart friends provide.
Which was my very long-winded way of saying – you’re both right.
Frances
11 June 2010, 14:49 #
Great post Alan – and your lists are really useful for all of us!
It’s exciting to see that people think the NZ Wine industry is one to watch in this space, hopefully the coming months will see the presence of NZ Wineries online continue to grow. You’re right, there are some amazing stories out there and Twitter is the perfect medium for sharing them (not to mention learning and expanding the dialogue!)
Katy
16 June 2010, 15:47 #
I love using twitter – and getting direct feedback from customers, consumers, journos and other winemakers! I also read a lot more blogs since I started using twitter, when I see links posted to interesting articles. So maybe twitter is not the death knell of blogs after all!