Ep. 2790 Italian Wine in the US: Building a Narrative and Reaching Asian American Consumers with Susan R. Lin MW | Masterclass US Wine Market

Welcome to Episode 2790 of the Italian Wine Podcast. In this episode of the Masterclass US Wine Market, Barbara Fitzgerald is joined by Susan R. Lin MW to explore how Italian wine producers can build stronger narratives in the US market and connect with one of the industry's fastest-growing audiences: Asian-American consumers.

Susan also shares five key elements of a strong wine narrative and insights from her work combining storytelling, music and wine, including the examples of wineries from the US and Italy.

Key Takeaways:

Price matters, but your narrative matters more.

Memorable experiences are the key to building presence.

Asian-American wine consumers represent a fast-growing, high-value market segment in the US.

More about the guest:

Susan R. Lin, MW, is Head of Wine Expertise for San Francisco-based boutique retailer Belmont Wine Exchange and President & Co-Founder of the Asian Wine Association of America. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Classical Piano and Musicology, and in her independent consultancy she specializes in music and wine pairings and experiences grounded in academic research and brand strategy. Susan previously worked in tech as a program manager for Google Search and Maps quality and has lived and traveled extensively in East Asia. She was named a Master of Wine in 2021 after her research paper on the influence of classical music on the perception of Champagne.

Connect:

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/susanrlin/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanrlin/

Website: https://linsusanr.wixsite.com/susan

More about the host:

With a career of nearly two decades in the wine industry, Barbara Fitzgerald specializes in D2C marketing and business development. She's led roles from entry level to senior management, combining her extensive experience with data analysis, critical thinking and storytelling while driving revenue growth and brand recognition for California wineries. As a part of the 4th generation of an Italian-American family among the California wine industry pioneers, Barbara has spent her life around wine growing, production, marketing, distribution and hospitality. A Syracuse University graduate, she returned to California to gain diverse industry perspectives from a range of wineries.

As an Italian Wine Ambassador, she brings her expertise to the Italian wine market, known for its authenticity and consumer demand. Barbara now runs Apri La Creative Consulting, coaching wineries in Italy and the US to strategically develop their D2C channels in line with their brand values. Together with her husband, Barbara also owns and operates a boutique wine production company, and a small import company specializing in Italian wines to the US.

Connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbarajeanfitz/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-fitzgerald-iwa/

Website: https://www.aprilacreative.com/

More interviews on US Wine Market: https://www.italianwinepodcast.com/episodes_category/masterclass-us-wine-market/

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