Your Wine Story Is Killing Your Sales
Last weekend, I went to a Sacramento wine bar with friends who don't work in wine. It's always a lesson in how real people buy. I watched the sommelier wax poetic about vineyard blocks and French barrels. My friends politely nodded, then ordered the bottle of Chardonnay that "tastes like sunshine."
That wine wasn't better. Hell, it wasn't even close. I didn't say anything to my friends, but sitting there, something clicked that I'd known for years: People don't buy what's best. They buy what's easy to understand.
Overall, Everyone In The Wine Industry Has Been Guilty Of This
Look, I get it. We make wine because we're passionate about it. We know the difference between a hillside block and valley floor fruit. We can taste the difference between American and French oak. We live and breathe this stuff.
But customers don't.
They're not stupid. They're just busy. They want to buy a bottle of wine, not get a geology lesson. While we're explaining why our terroir is special, they're thinking about whether this wine will go with Thursday's takeout pizza.
…One of the wine industry’s most used stock photos of “Wine glasses with hands”
The Problem with Wine Descriptions
We write descriptions like this:
"Our estate Cabernet showcases the unique microclimate of our south-facing vineyard, with 18 months in French oak delivering complex notes of cassis, cedar, and graphite with structured tannins and a long mineral finish."
Meanwhile, our customers are thinking: "Will I like this with my burger?"
The disconnect is real. We're speaking fluent wine-nerd while our customers speak human. In a world where every wine claims to be "handcrafted" and "small-batch," being human becomes your biggest advantage.
The Framework That Actually Sells Wine
Watch someone scan a shelf, phone in hand, looking for a quick answer instead of a lecture. You know exactly why this matters. Why make it more complicated than it needs to be? Here's what works:
Start with the feeling, not the facts. Describe that Chardonnay in a way that matches how you want people to feel when they drink it. Comforted, refreshed, relaxed, or just happy to pour another glass. Instead of saying, "Our Chardonnay undergoes partial malolactic fermentation," try "Chardonnay that's smooth, gentle, and easy to love."
Use the "Will I like this?" test. Every description should answer the only question that matters: Will this person enjoy drinking this wine? Not whether they'll appreciate your winemaking skills.
Connect to real moments. Instead of: "Complex notes with a long finish," Try: "Perfect for Friday night Netflix binge."
The goal isn't to sound dumb. It's to sound human.
Why This Actually Works
When someone takes home a bottle and it lines up with what you promised, you've earned a little trust. Do it again, and now you're their go-to bottle. This is how real brand loyalty happens. Not from the slickest ad campaign, but from consistently delivering what you say you will.
There's a technical upside, too. Google loves the same plain language your customers do. People search for "smooth red wine for tacos" or "white wine that isn't too sweet."
Nobody's typing "medium-bodied wine with pronounced minerality." It still surprises me how many wineries write for their competitors or sales teams instead of their actual buyers.
Try This With Your Own Wine Descriptions
Right now, grab your current wine descriptions. Read them out loud. Would you say these words to a friend recommending a bottle?
If no, then rewrite them.
Another test: Hand your descriptions to someone who doesn't work in wine. Can they tell you what the wine tastes like and when they'd drink it?
The fix: For every technical term, write the human translation. For every winemaking process, write what it means for the person drinking it.
Your winemaker put their heart into that bottle. Now help people understand why they should put it in their cart.
The Bottom Line
Nobody's coming to your tasting notes for a master class in winemaking. They just want to know if they'll like what's in the glass. The job isn't to prove how much you know. It's to make picking a bottle feel easy, maybe even a little fun.
When your description helps someone picture when or why they'd drink your wine, you're already ahead. That's what actually moves bottles off the shelf.
