Despite an eighty-two year old law that prevents cross-provincial shipping of wine in Canada, Gray Monk Estate Winery in Okanagan Centre, British Columbia is focusing more marketing dollars to Twitter, Facebook and on-line publications and cutting back on traditional marketing like magazines and newspapers.
Steven Heiss of
Gray Monk Estate Winery says, “We are changing our focus. It’s instant, you don’t have to wait to get the information on line. Plus there is the green side of it too, saving some paper and ink.”
A prohibition law from 1928 called
“The Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act” means that it is illegal to cross-province ship wine (and other liquor) unless it is authorized by the receiving province’s liquor board. “If you look it up, you’ll have a good laugh.” says Heiss. The law didn’t used to be a problem until recently when the Alberta Liquor Board started making threats against BC Wineries. So Heiss is watching
WineLaw.ca for updates on a solution, which doesn’t seem to be in sight.
“It’s a pain for tourists” he says. Tourists usually visit the winery, purchase wine and then, in the past, Gray Monk would ship it home to them so they didn’t have to crate it around on their trip.

Although shipping is up in the air, and this does effect on-line marketing, Heiss is working with a Kamloops marketing company to develop a new website, brochure and marketing plan. One topic that came up during strategizing was social media.
Now, they have a
Gray Monk Estate Winery Facebook fan page and have jumped onto Twitter (
@GrayMonkWinery). Heiss jokes, “Even our Sales Rep Rainer Wilkins was asking about Twitter." Heiss has given Rainer access to the account to make updates also.
“The hardest part is what to put on there. I always think to myself, nobody wants to know about that. I already know it, so I don’t think it will be interesting.” Heiss is watching what notable wine and food writers are tweeting like:
@NatalieMaClean, Jim Martin (
@MetroLiquor) and
Tony Gismondi (
@TheSpitter). “I’m finding it interesting.” he says.
Gray Monk Estate Winery plans to participate in local on-line tourism marketing through
Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (
@totamedia) and
Tourism Kelowna.

Many traditional marketing initiatives will continue. Chef Willi Franz (above) of the on-site
Grapevine Restaurant is preparing a list of events for Gray Monk Estate Winery’s participation in the
Okanagan Spring Wine Festival Apr 30-May 9, 2010. Those events will be announced in the upcoming weeks. Plus they will attend the
Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival (delayed this year due to the Olympics) on April 23, 2010.
When I asked Steven Heiss for his official title, he said, “That’s a good question. Janitor to President as my dad would say. Or you could say Sales and Distribution.”
That’s a very humble statement from a third generation member of a very successful and respected wine-making family. His parents Trudy and George Heiss established the Gray Monk Estate Winery in 1972 and his grandparents started a vineyard, first, up the road. The family produces some of the world's finest wines from a breath-taking fifty acre vineyard overlooking Okanagan Lake. The Grapevine Restaurant has a seating capacity of 50 patrons. There is an on-site gift shop and wine tours. It seems to me, they have plenty interesting stuff to tweet about.
Thanks for reading!
Courtenay Pitcher, lover of anything Gray Monk and wine writer wannabe
Follow me on Twitter @vernongirl