Art, comedy, food, movies, performance art, outdoor cabanas, food and wine pairings...are some of the draws that bring people to Charles Krug winery in Napa Valley.  President & CEO of C Mondavi & Family (parent company of Charles Krug) Judd Wallenbrock tells us about the history of innovation at Charles Krug and the Mondavi family.  As the first winery and first tasting room in Napa Valley, Charles Krug has spearheaded many different elements of hospitality and now drives them virtual.  Hear all about their programs and what has worked in the virtual space on this episode of XChateau!Detailed Show Notes: Judd’s background - 41 years in the wine industryHe visited Napa as a 16-year-old in 1974 (Charles Krug, Mondavi, BV)Did stints in retail, restaurants, a winery rep, and has his own backyard winery4 years ago - became President and CEO of C MondaviThe original Mondavi family businessFounders - Cesare & Rosa, who settled in VirginiaDid hospitality for miners in 1908Got into wine in 1928 - their saloon closed due to prohibition, and they bought and sold grapes and yeast for home wine kitsSons - Peter and Robert Mondavi5th generation of Mondavi’s was just bornCharles Krug WineryFounded in 1861, oldest winery in Napa1965 - Peter & Robert split, Robert founded Robert Mondavi Winery; both were running winery before, then just Peter1882 - 1st tasting room in NapaCharles Krug - created a legacy of innovationIntroduced wine press to Napa, taking the idea from apple cider1st to bring Cabernet to NapaStarted the 1st wine club, took wine into San Francisco to sell wineMondavi innovations - brought in French oak barrels, did cold stabilizationHospitality at Charles KrugWedding - grandfathered in, limited to ~20 per yearThe aim is to create the cultural hub of Napa Valley - present wine as part of the artsCulinary, art, comedy, host the Napa Valley film festival, “SIP” - series of interesting people, like TED talks, music, performing artsWine is food, but not in the restaurant businessProvide a “teaser” for guestsPartnership with Pete Seghesio - makes world-class salumi with C Krug winePizzas - hand made in the outdoor pizza kitchenHas the same sourdough starter from the 1940s from the Mondavi familySee 40,000 guests per year, 10,000 delivered from Napa Valley Wine TrainSmall relative to ~300,000 visitors/year at Robert Mondavi wineryEvent-based marketingUse events as a discovery vehicle for the brandIt gives a reason to come, confident that wines will speak for themselvesEvents ticket-based, sometimes include wineSome events curated but not put on by the wineryEvents targeted to break even, then winery’s job to convert people to sales and club membersHelp generate word of mouth and 3rd party endorsementsBuild customer database - for follow up marketingEvents themselves not always a good selling opportunity, but do post-event marketing (e.g., free tasting for event attendees that come back)The GAME plan - a method for measuring and evaluating programsGoal, Activities, Metrics, Enhancements (after post-mortem)Key metrics for Charles KrugConversion rate to saleConversion to wine clubClub retention rateReferrals (from all categories - events, hotel, restaurants, social media, etc.…)Found more intimate and focused events do better for conversion, e.g., outdoor cabanas doubled wine club conversionVirtual hospitalitypre-Covid started in-home tasting groupsRevolved around club members in their homes, up to 20 peopleBlew away goals for sales and club membershipAlso did recruiting for next tastingsMoved to virtual during the pandemicDoing virtual for consumer, distributors, and country clubsBuilding comedy and trivia night virtuallyThe entertainment part is still evolvingCorporate tasting packs for customers been a big virtual business Have a 360-degree virtual tourMarketing virtualStarted with the wine clubLeveraged social mediaWord of mouth and referralsNot a lot of advertising, just limited digital (Facebook and Instagram)Digital best practices