Located in Rock Stream, NY, Barnstormer Winery produces wine, grows grapes, and offers customers the opportunity to visit their tasting room to sample wines. When Barnstormer Winery opened their doors for business in Fall 2013, they employed just one full-time employee and produced only 700 cases of wine. Since then, this Finger Lakes winery has grown to produce approximately 3,000 cases of wine per year, employ three (3) full-time staff members and five (5) seasonal staff members, maintain three acres of vineyard, and has developed a quality reputation in the wine community. Although Barnstormer Winery was on the path for continuous growth, the COVID-19 pandemic required them to temporarily stop wine tastings and service.
Like other wineries, Barnstormer Winery’s sales rely on showcasing their product through experiences like tasting rooms, winery tours, winery events, and social interactions at their place of business. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 85% of Barnstormer Winery’s sales were “in-person” sales. To make matters worse, the wine industry is very reliant on seasonal tourism during the warm months, and the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit New York State just as the winter weather started to subside. Barnstormer ownership realized that if they did not find a way to adapt, they may find themselves in a very precarious situation.
A solution? Diversification of sales techniques. To that end, WDI is helping Barnstormer Winery redesign their website to reach customers across the country. The website redesign will present Barnstormer Winery in a highly visual way that will engage customers through interactive virtual online tastings, educational experiences, access to private bookings and tours, wine club interaction and a streamlined e-commerce experience. This virtual tasting room and recorded tasting episodes are expected to not only help Barnstormer Winery survive as a small business during these challenging times, but will ultimately move the "seasonal" wine industry into an all year-long sustainable business model. People will be able to access and view these episodes at any time from the comfort of their homes and will allow customers to engage directly with Barnstormer, year round, even during the slower winter months. By transitioning to more online sales, Barnstormer Winery will be in a position to retain their employees and will also help them develop the e-commerce skills necessary to succeed during this transition. Barnstormer Winery is hopeful that over time, they will be able to hire even more part-time or full-time employees to maintain their e-commerce business beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
WDI staff believes that we will continue to see an increasing number of companies, particularly in areas that rely heavily on seasonal tourism, looking to diversify their customer base by expanding their business online.
