Opening Minds with Wine & Yoga, Morgan Perry, Vino Vinyasa

During a career sabbatical from wine PR at a yoga teacher retreat, Morgan Perry tried combining wine education and yoga with great success. Her classmates practically forced her to found Vino Vinyasa, which has blossomed into six cities. With a focus on creating great experiences rather than selling wine, Morgan has created a platform where people learn about wine and end up seeking out the wines featured in classes. 

Detailed Show Notes: 

Morgan’s background - wine PR, been in wine for ~15 years, became a yoga teacher in 2017

Wine & Yoga synergies

• Both are about mindfulness - yoga and the wine tasting process
• Not for hard-core wellness or yoga people

Vino Vinyasa 

• For the yoga teacher exam, the teacher encouraged something different, tried yoga & wine, and got a fantastic reception
• 6 cities - NYC (2017), Austin (2018), Nashville, Chicago, LA, Houston

Vino Vinyasa programming

• 45 min Vinyasa yoga (all levels), followed by wine tasting of 2 wines
• Taste wine after yoga - people are relaxed and have “yoga brain” in a quiet, focused environment → people may be better tasters
• Embed wine facts during yoga
• A comparative tasting of 2 wines, usually themed (e.g., Rose, Sauvignon Blanc)
• All instructors have a wine background (min WSET 1)
• 2-3 classes/month, 20-25 people/class for intimacy (capped at 30)
• ~30 classes/themes developed to date
• Very intentional class structure, certain poses not suitable for teaching

Business model

• The core business is to get people to do more classes and events, not be overly salesy with wine
• Do private events (90% are bachelorette parties)
• Sell swag (t-shirts), co-branded bottles
• Look to be good value (avg class price $30) vs. regular yoga classes (avg ~$20-25, range from $10-35 for drop in class)

Students often seek out wines after classes

Wine selection for classes

• Venue dependant, venues carry liquor licenses
• City Winery (NYC) - chooses the wines based on their selection
• Other venues - can get wines donated for classes
• Private events - Customers can select wines/themes
• Have worked with PR clients for wines
• Some wineries sponsored virtual classes during Covid

Marketing

• PR background has helped and got early press (e.g., digital Good Morning America), mostly wine market
• Email newsletter
• IG is the best channel, does some boosting, and is focused on growth during Covid (~11k followers)
• Digital marketing has focused on both wellness and wine people
• ~15-20% of people have attended multiple classes

Private events

• Bachelorette parties, birthdays, corporate events (e.g., Binny’s in Chicago)
• The focus area for growth
• Same format as classes

Wellness & wine market

• Other wine + yoga classes are not educational; some are tied to multi-level marketing wine programs that have long sales pitches
• Sees more yoga at wineries
• They have been approached by a couple of spas for partnerships, but the economics were not favorable yet (i.e., yoga teachers often are not paid well, ~$30/class)

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