The Direct Line to Napa’s Best Wine
For most wine lovers, a visit to Napa Valley comes with the sad inevitability of the return trip home.
In other words, enjoy it to the fullest before having to kiss goodbye the uninhibited views of pristine vineyards running up against towering mountains, access to unlimited wine tasting opportunities, and the nightly deluge of utterly delicious food and wine. For many locals, believe it or not, the same reality is true—despite the over- bragging of friends who live in the Bay Area.
“We want wine lovers to feel like they are here, with us, every single day on the wine trail in and around Napa, and also with us as we travel to the world’s best wineries in search of great wines,” says Vanessa Conlin, Head of Wine.
But Wine Access, an online retailer based in downtown Napa, is on a mission to keep the party going. Through original, creative content, backed by in-depth reporting and interviews, the stories published daily on Wine Access are exciting, wonderful, educational, and possess the power to transport readers to just about any wine destination the world around.
Conlin oversees a small team of experts with deep connections to Napa and global wine regions—connections they leverage to source wines typically not available elsewhere, especially from some of Napa’s most iconic and off-the- beaten-path wineries.
“We want people to feel like they can continue to experience everything they love about Napa Valley,” says Conlin, “from the generosity of locals to the wonderful wines and world- class dining to be enjoyed here.”
Conlin isn’t alone in her thinking, and many brands who offer their wines through Wine Access do so because of how well Conlin and her team tell their story. “In the next era of digital retail, we anticipate those companies that invest in original creative and editorial, while emphasizing long-term relationships with brands, are the ones best positioned to pull ahead,” says Matt Duncan, Silver Oak California Off-Premise Manager.
Duncan, and many others like him, know that if their story is told in a way that really trans- ports the reader, it’s a win-win for everyone. He goes on to say “So, imagine you’ve been to Napa, had the time of your life, tasted wine while taking in views from 1,300 feet up Spring Mountain, returned home—and gone back to work. It’s 9:05 a.m. on day one of your return from vacation, and you’re checking emails. A voice from another cubicle or some passerby shouts out the customary: ‘Looks like someone got some sun!’ You slump into your chair and begin to dig out of the emails that have piled up like the Himalayas.” If they signed up for emails from Wine Access there’s a story sitting in their inbox- a great story about wine, which ends up with the opportunity to buy that wine. And like most bottles offered through the platform, it’s a real rarity.
“The entrance to Dana takes you down a winding road, up a gradual incline, past vines wholly coveted and precious, to a bright perch in the foothills of the Mayacamas,” reads one of the lines in the email, in an instant, they are transported back to Napa. Suddenly it is easy to ignore Slack messages and reminders not to be late for a meeting in some gray, overly-lit conference room.
More vivid and detailed descriptions further the journey along: “The winery hides behind an unmarked wooden gate. Built around the ruins of an old stone winery that dates back to the 1880s. Proprietor Hi-Sang Lee hired Howard Backen—the architect who designed Meadowood, Harlan, Ovid, Ram’s Gate, and Futo—to fully restore the old winery and construct a new state-of-the-art winery around the ruins.”
Already the story is reading more like a Travel & Leisure article than a sales pitch, and it goes on. “Walking past the quiet solitude of centuries- old stone walls, you can feel the respect and reverence Dana harbors for the past generations. Once inside, a tour of the Rotunda—Hi-Sang Lee’s personal cellar—reveals a circular room,” and what’s on display in that room are bottles that would make owners of NYC penthouse apartments swoon, cause Silicon Valley millionaires to salivate, and turn heads of world-leaders.
But for the reader sitting at work, or on a bus, train, in a plane, or at home, all those head-turning bottles, invitation-only experiences, and treks through vineyards are just an email away.
With so many avenues available to buyers to purchase wine today, Wine Access is one company setting itself apart by telling compelling narratives that not only transport but that also teach readers about wine. Great wine and great stories that entertain and educate—what more could a wine lover ask for?
