Italian winemakers look to boost sales with social media

VERONA, Italy - Italian winemakers, usually wedded to centuries-old traditions, are slowly embracing Twitter, blogging and Facebook to boost sales that have been hit by the global economic crisis.

Italy, the world's second-biggest wine producer after France, saw export sales drop 6 percent to 3.5 billion euros in 2009, as the industry was hit by the global economic downturn and advancing competition from "New World" wines, according to industry data.

"In times of crisis it is important to experiment with new ways of making yourself known," Susanna Crociani of family owned Crociani, a producer of the Tuscan wine Nobile di Montepulciano, told Reuters.

Crociani, who says she was the first Italian winemaker to start a blog in 2004, said she has gained many new clients after launching a Facebook page, including "individual wine lovers, restaurant owners and professional buyers". She also started to use Twitter just a few months ago.

"An advantage of social media is that you don't have to pay (for making yourself known). You have to invest your time. But it pays off," Crociani said at the Vinitaly wine trade fair.

Contacts through social media have boosted Crociani's online sales with the number of orders increasing to 50-60 a month, a considerable help for the small company which makes 60,000-70,000 bottles of wine a year, she said.

Social media such as Facebook and Twitter, which are popular among the youth, are especially important in winning back young consumers who tend to favor beer or other drinks over wine, Crociani said.

Keeping with the new trend, a consortium uniting makers of the famous Tuscan red, Brunello di Montalcino, opened a Facebook page at the end of last year, which now lists more than 10,000 fans.

Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, which also activated the ConsBrunello profile on Twitter in March, said it was too early to evaluate the economic impact of such innovations.

Crociani said Italian winemakers lagged far behind their US rivals in understanding the growing importance of social media as new communication and marketing tools, but at least the industry was beginning to make the first steps.

Crociani helped to set up a Twitter group "Tweet your wine" a month ago that unites a dozen Italian winemakers. The social media community has created a kind of safety network for winemakers as they can exchange useful information and even pass on clients to each other, she said.

However, some conservative producers prefer to stick to more traditional ways of promoting their business. Hardcore traditionalists still reject such innovative communication in favor of personal contact with clients.

"We are part of history, part of a long tradition ... We prefer to have people visiting our winery," said Vincenzo Protti of Il Borgo di Vescine winery, whose history dates back about 1,000 years and which now makes some 60,000 bottles of Chianti Classico red wine a year.