Longshadow Ranch Winery and Developing Brand Evangelists

Every once in a while a company shows that common sense and doing the right thing results in the emergence of evangelists for the brand.

My dad lives a couple of towns away from Temecula, CA and all of the wineries there. The wine region in Temecula has blossomed to over 30 wineries. Some of the wineries are average, some above average, and others can compete head to head with their top name counterparts in more popular CA wine regions such as Sonoma and Napa. Longshadow Rannch Winery is one of those that knocks my socks off every time, and for multiple reasons.

First, it’s beautiful there. Particular attention has been paid to the landscaping and setting the stage for a pleasant wine tasting experience. In addition to the landscaping, there are amazing Belgian horses as well as goats. I love animals, so this adds to the experience. In August, I took my 4 year old son to CA to visit family, and we went to the winery so I could show him the horses and goats. Whenever we talk about going back to CA for another visit, he asks if we can go to the winery to see the horses.  The experience offers something for all ages as well as non-drinkers.

Second, everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Even when the wine tasting room is crowded, the people pouring the wine welcome me, shake my hand, and generally make me feel like a VIP. Whenever I go back and someone recognizes me from my previous visits, they make me feel like family. It makes me want to go back whenever possible.

Third, they treat their customers like family members. As an example, I opened a couple of bottles of their wine over the weekend that I brought back from CA on my last visit. Unfortunately, the wine had spoiled. It happens sometimes with corked wine. Not a big deal. The other bottles I opened from Longshadow Ranch were in great shape and tasted amazing! I called over to the winery today and one of the owners picked up the phone. Keep in mind that this is a smaller batch vineyard as opposed to Mondavi or Kendall Jackson. She was very nice to me over the phone and we chatted for a few minutes about non wine related stuff as well as the problem I had with the wine. Without even having to ask, she offered to send me two new replacement bottles, which I’ll have shipped and at my door in around a week. No big deal, no need for a long drawn out inquisition, and a friendly common sense solution to something that ultimately was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Yes… simple common sense delivered from a friendly voice combined with a spectacular product develops brand evangelists.

UPDATE 1/7/10: Just received my wine today. I’m already thinking about the food I’m going to cook to go with it!