I have lived in New Jersey my entire life. New Jersey is known as the Garden State. And although our state is not portr

I have lived in New Jersey my entire life. New Jersey is known as the Garden State. And although our state is not portrayed that way on tv or in movies, we truly are known for our produce. During the 2000's, a boom began in our state, when farmers began to grow grapes and bottle their own wines. They moved away from the tomatoes and corn, and went into wineries.

I find the industry so interesting. The wineries turned people into enthusiast, where they want to visit each NJ wine and pick their favorite bottle. The wineries host events, tastings, live music, outdoor seating during the warmer weather. And many times the wineries collaborate together and host a festival, giving the NJ wine fans a chance to sample from numerous wineries.

People enjoy the NJ wines so much, the local liquor stores began selling the wines. This gives people more of a chance to enjoy the wine without having to drive all over New Jersey to purchase their favorites. And wineries realizing this, decided to create wine clubs. The clubs will provide you several bottles of wine each month, for pick up or delivery within the state.

But even with the convenience of buying at your local liquor store or having wine delivered to your doorstep, people enjoy going to the wineries. They are known to provide a relaxing atmosphere. A step up from sitting in a dark bar with music blasting on a Saturday night. And many enjoy the warmer days at the wineries.

As CEO of a local winery, I would be sure to keep up with the number of visitors to our location. Having a following is important for business. And frequent returning visitors would give the winery the opportunity to introduce people to new flavors that get created. Creating a reservation system online, where guests can pick a day and time to visit the winery, would help to track the visitors.

I would plan to participate in the group events such as the festivals. Besides the exposure with the crowds of people that attend, it also enables the wineries to receive free advertising. The events are advertised on social media and through local papers. Running ads on social media is very cost effective, since ads can be charged based on likes or interaction. The ad platforms provide data to help make decisions on that current ad and for future ads.

I would also host member events. Enticing people to become members and offering them perks if they do, could lead to more visits from people throughout the year. Promoting an event and requiring tickets to attend is a way to gauge on how many people are going to attend. The online ticket software providers offer data for the event. I can view how many tickets were sold, how many attended the day of the event and it also shows how many people visited the event page where the tickets were being sold. That is a great way to gauge interest.

History of NJ Wine

NJ Dept of Agriculture