Wine Influencer: @clayfu.wine - Charlie Fu

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments so you always know what goes into your bottle.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Charlie Fu (Instagram: @clayfu.wine and Wine Berserkers moderator: c fu) about wine collecting and the impact of social media. Robert and Peter discuss how Charlie got into wine, his engagement in Wine Berserkers, and how he uses Instagram and Cellar Tracker to discuss and engage with other serious wine lovers about wine. 

Other topics covered in this episode include:

• Charlie’s background - “Attorney by day, wine drinker at all other times”
• The “epiphany wine” - 2003 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
• Favorite wines - Burgundy, Northern Rhone
• Instagram
  • Started with photos of his dog, food, then went into wine
  • Split out a wine-focused IG page
  • Interested in talking to people who are serious about wine
• The importance of honesty and candidness of wine opinions
• Puts wine notes into IG, migrates to Cellar Tracker, and posts some to Wine Berserkers for discussion
• Wine Charity Auction
  • During the protests around police brutality
  • Sold raffle tickets for donations and auctioned off wines donated from collectors’ cellars
  • Raised $60k in 42 hours, plus other contributions
  • Money donated to NAACP Legal Defense Fund
  • Leveraged Wine Berserkers (largest contributor), Instagram, Reddit, Facebook 
• Wine Berserkers
  • Founding - an offshoot from the Robert Parker web forum
  • User base - >27,500 users, ~3 million posts, upwards of ~2,400 online at a single time
    • Mostly male
    • Med age - ~late 40s/early 50s
    • Serious wine collectors
    • Well educated, high income
  • Berserkers Day
    • An annual event where producers sell their wine
    • Can offer anything, but usually interesting wines at a special price
    • Some wines balance their budget on that day
  • Berserkers business accounts
    • Annual service
    • Businesses can advertise and promote their wines
    • Helps with server costs
  • Grand Cru Cru
    • Annual subscription
    • No ads
    • Priority access to Berserker Day
    • Blurbs on avatar
    • Variable payment (min $25/year)
  • Tips for wineries -> join the community
• Being a “wine influencer”
  • Doesn’t accept wine for free
  • Doesn’t want taking wine to tarnish his opinion
  • Willing to buy wine and review it

If you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers!

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