Building brand ambassadors through hospitality w/ Meaghan Frank, Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery

As the pioneer of Vitis Vinifera in the Eastern US, Dr. Konstantin Frank is one of the key leaders of the Fingers Lakes region in New York. Meaghan Frank, a fourth-generation vintner, has been leading the charge to evolve its hospitality program to create brand ambassadors for the winery and the region. Its 1886 Wine Experience has won Best Wine Tour by USA Today in the last two years. Meaghan breaks down their hospitality program and its impact on their business.

Detailed Show Notes:

Finger Lakes region, NY - 150 wineries (of 400 in NY), NW NY State - 5 hrs from NYC

Skinny, deep lakes that moderate weather
Glaciers left diverse soils
Tourism-driven, seasonal visitors (spring to fall) for lakes, hiking, close to Niagara Falls, Corning Museum of Glass

Dr. Konstantin Frank - PhD in Viticulture from Odesa, Ukraine; a grape scientist; fled to NY during WWII

35 years of cold climate grape growing experience when moved to NY
1st to plant vinifera in Eastern US
Planted experiment station in the 1950s - 68 varieties, including Furmit, Pedro Ximenez, and Touriga Nacional) to research what would work best

Dr. K Frank Winery

17 vinifera varieties → 40 wines
60% wholesale, 40% DTC
40 states, 9 export markets (5%, incl Japan, Aruba (lots of NY visitors), UK)
DTC 60% e-commerce (driven by wine club), 40% hospitality

Hospitality program

The goal is to create brand ambassadors and loyalty, get the word out about the Finger Lakes
Inspired by Australian hospitality programs - private, educational
~40k visitors/year (#1 PA - 1 hour away, NJ, OH, NY core markets) - all seated, paid
Pre-pandemic - ~80k visitors/year for free bar tastings
Moved to an experience-driven program with wine educators, take advantage of lake view

Three experiences:

Eugenia’s Garden - modeled after great grandmother’s garden, most casual, can do a la carte glasses/bottles/flights; enables people to enjoy the day; targets a younger demographic
Signature Seated ($15pp) - most popular, educational, 1 hr, 6 wines, 5 different themes that are part of the winery’s story (e.g., traditional sparkling, Riesling pioneer, groundbreaking grapes, red wines)
The 1886 Wine Experience ($75pp) - only May-Oct, 2-2.5 hrs, led by wine educator, a tour of the vineyard, sparkling and still wine cellars, seated tasting of 4 wines with bites, followed by additional tastings; won best wine tour by USA Today last 2 years; lots of 1st-time visitors book 1886 due to unique nature
Lessons learned - used to do 6 wine flight w/ bites, which was too many; did themed months (e.g., sparkling) - did not work with mostly tourists
Differentiators - spend lots of time, has a separate private space for 1886

Wine club evolution

Used to have people pay upfront for the year - bigger barrier to signing up, always feel like “playing catchup” to ensure value delivered, concentrated work during shipment periods
Moved to more subscription model - quarterly, 3 wines w/ default package, fully customizable, no upfront fee, 20% discount on wines, and get free tastings (no limit)
8% club conversion - the only way to get free tastings now, used to waive w/ 4 bottle purchase
Locals small portion of the club - pickup option only 10%, PA #1
Avg tenure 1.5 years, seeing it extend with the new club model

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