It’s particularly interesting for me to observe what Clos Pepe is doing on Twitter (@clospepe), because we’ve been to their amazing annual events at least twice. Wes Hagen and his wife Chanda are both charming and hospitable people, and they make a more than decent (some might call it cult) Pinot Noir, too. The folks at Clos Pepe are so nice, that even the 1997 web site design doesn’t dim my great feelings of their barbeque/tastings at their Sta. Rita Hills home and winery. In fact, I think their Twitter feed is more enjoyable to follow than going to the site which has, among other turn-of-the-century features, centered texts and multiple Quicktime videos on auto-play.

Take a look at what Clos Pepe is up to on Twitter:

If I were living in the area (or even in a location where they could ship me their wines), I’d prefer to be following this Twitter stream than to have the same events and announcement arrive in my mailbox. This seems to be an ideal way to get news of Clos Pepe.

• Subscribing and unsubscribing is a snap on a Twitter client or mobile or even using the Twitter web page.
• I can see who might also be interested in Clos Pepe, possibly follow them and compare notes, etc
• The news doesn’t come into my email stream, which I protectively reserve for high priority messages (like the vi@gra offers and Yale diplomas I deal with daily).
• The channel works both ways, so they can also get (and hopefully respond to) feedback

Using Twitter in this way goes against traditional wisdom of “engagement”, aka “Don’t Blurt!”. In the Clos Pepe example, I know Wes has his own Twitter account as well, and we can see plenty of personal engagement there. I know that the winery’s production is small enough to require you to be on an allocation list if you want to buy some. This is an enviable position for any winery to attain. I wonder how many people who are on the list are also on Twitter? I know at least one person. I wonder if he follows @ClosPepe?

Eve disagrees with me on this one, I think of Clos Pepe as a brand. What do you think and why?

You know how much I love Santa Barbara, California and the beautiful wines grown in the area. I raved often enough to bore everybody. But today I’m more skeptical than raving.  I just read a press release by the Santa Barbara Wine Company announcing the launch of their “Artisan Wines”. What a strange concept! What is artisan? In France, an “artisan” is a man who creates quality products in the tradition of his region. Bordeaux has some estates grouped under the name of “crus artisans”, “artisan wines”. To tell you the truth, they never met any success.

What are “artisan wines” in Santa Barbara? How do they fit themselves between the urban wineries like Jaffurs or the high quality wines of  SeaSmoke? I’m not sure the concept of “artisan” will help the branding of their Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Their label is non descript with a palm tree, the name of the winery and the grape.  Marketing such a wine is certainly difficult, even if the wine is of very good quality.

I make a deal with you, readers. I’ll taste their wines in Santa Barbara this summer and will let you know : 1) if they were easily found and 2) if I liked them.  See you then!