Brothers learn marketing lessons after first year selling wine
By Nick Hytrek, Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tim Nissen, left, and Dave Nissen prepare for a wine tasting at one of their Nissen Wine vineyards just south of the intersection of Nebraska highways 12 and 57 near Bow Valley. The brothers have been selling wine for a year and are preparing for production of the next vintage. (Photo by Nick Hytrek)
BOW VALLEY, Neb. -- Dave and Tim Nissen don't have shelves full of Marketing 101 textbooks or other advertising guides.
The brothers have spent the past year learning the challenges of selling their Nissen Wines on their own, with the real world as their classroom. What they've learned is that advertising only goes so far. To get consumers to buy their locally grown and produced wine, you have to get them to try it.
"Everybody's skeptical, but once we pour samples, the wine sells itself," Tim Nissen said.
But you can't get everyone to try it can you? The Nissens are doing their best, hosting wine tastings at their Bow Valley winery and traveling to other events, ready to give people a sample, Tim Nissen said.
"It's really been a learning experience. Marketing is such a tough field. We've really made a conscious effort to do more wine tastings," he said.
It was a year ago that the two brothers first began selling wine. Since 2003, they'd been growing grapes, expanding to 15 varieties and 12 acres at two sites near Bow Valley. They've developed seven wines in both red and white, ranging from sweet to dry.
Trying to break into the market is a challenging task, Dave Nissen said.
"At this point, we're still trying to do branding and brand recognition," he said.
They've done magazine and newspaper articles, recorded radio spots. The fundamental lesson they've learned is that it all matters little unless the consumer actually pours a glass and tries the wine for him or herself.
"When you put it on a store shelf, no one knows what it is. Word of mouth is still the best advertisement," Dave Nissen said.
With that first year of sales and marketing behind them, the Nissens are happy with their progress. A year ago their wines were sold in two retail locations. Now they're up to 15 sites, some as far away as Lincoln, Columbus and South Sioux City. They've done tastings throughout northeast Nebraska. Those tastings are often followed by the sale of a bottle, or more, of wine.
The 2007 vintage yielded 600 cases of wine. As the young grape vines mature and produce more fruit, Dave Nissen said production should double to 1,200 cases this year. Being so new to the business, he said it's hard to tell how sales are because there is no history to use for comparisons.
"We've been rather pleased with the way sales are going," he said.
The grade is incomplete, but the lessons are being learned. It's a marketing laboratory the Nissens are happy to work in, one glass at a time if they have to.
Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com.
Free wine tasting
Nissen Wine will feature free wine tastings during "Wine in the Vines" Friday through Monday.
Each day's tasting will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the vineyard, eight miles north of Hartington, Neb., on Nebraska Highway 57 or one-fourth of a mile south of the intersection of highways 12 and 57.
Samples of the 2007 vintage will be available.
For more information, call (402) 254-3426 or log onto www.nissenwine.com.
The brothers have spent the past year learning the challenges of selling their Nissen Wines on their own, with the real world as their classroom. What they've learned is that advertising only goes so far. To get consumers to buy their locally grown and produced wine, you have to get them to try it.
"Everybody's skeptical, but once we pour samples, the wine sells itself," Tim Nissen said.
But you can't get everyone to try it can you? The Nissens are doing their best, hosting wine tastings at their Bow Valley winery and traveling to other events, ready to give people a sample, Tim Nissen said.
"It's really been a learning experience. Marketing is such a tough field. We've really made a conscious effort to do more wine tastings," he said.
It was a year ago that the two brothers first began selling wine. Since 2003, they'd been growing grapes, expanding to 15 varieties and 12 acres at two sites near Bow Valley. They've developed seven wines in both red and white, ranging from sweet to dry.
Trying to break into the market is a challenging task, Dave Nissen said.
"At this point, we're still trying to do branding and brand recognition," he said.
They've done magazine and newspaper articles, recorded radio spots. The fundamental lesson they've learned is that it all matters little unless the consumer actually pours a glass and tries the wine for him or herself.
"When you put it on a store shelf, no one knows what it is. Word of mouth is still the best advertisement," Dave Nissen said.
With that first year of sales and marketing behind them, the Nissens are happy with their progress. A year ago their wines were sold in two retail locations. Now they're up to 15 sites, some as far away as Lincoln, Columbus and South Sioux City. They've done tastings throughout northeast Nebraska. Those tastings are often followed by the sale of a bottle, or more, of wine.
The 2007 vintage yielded 600 cases of wine. As the young grape vines mature and produce more fruit, Dave Nissen said production should double to 1,200 cases this year. Being so new to the business, he said it's hard to tell how sales are because there is no history to use for comparisons.
"We've been rather pleased with the way sales are going," he said.
The grade is incomplete, but the lessons are being learned. It's a marketing laboratory the Nissens are happy to work in, one glass at a time if they have to.
Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com.
Free wine tasting
Nissen Wine will feature free wine tastings during "Wine in the Vines" Friday through Monday.
Each day's tasting will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the vineyard, eight miles north of Hartington, Neb., on Nebraska Highway 57 or one-fourth of a mile south of the intersection of highways 12 and 57.
Samples of the 2007 vintage will be available.
For more information, call (402) 254-3426 or log onto www.nissenwine.com.
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