🔒Amid summer tourism season, CT wineries use passport program to boost visitors, sales

Wine enthusiasts are hopping on board with Connecticut’s passport program, aimed at boosting visits to local farm wineries and educating residents on their proximity and importance.

The Connecticut Farm Wine Development Council in mid-May launched the 2023 CT Farm Wineries’ passport program, which runs through Dec. 31.

Now in its second year, the app-based program helps summer tourists plan trips where they collect “stamps” from participating wineries, and while there, they can “check in” their locations, share reviews and earn chances to win prizes.

The app was first launched in 2022, when more than 22,700 visits were logged by 8,500 users. Each visit earns one point toward a reward level, and participants are then entered into prize drawings — 100 total, with rewards valued at more than $10,000.

The $48,000 in funding for the prizes, app and other wine industry promotions and marketing come from the state budget.

It’s an investment in supporting and promoting a unique part of the state’s agritourism industry, said Bryan P. Hurlburt, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture.

Connecticut has more than 45 farm wineries that use at least 25% Connecticut-grown products in their wines.

Thirty-eight farm wineries participate in the passport program, including two new businesses this year — Worthington Vineyards in Somers and Kingdom of the Hawk Vineyard in North Stonington.

Jonathan Edwards, owner of Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington, said “without question the farm winery passport app drives visitors to wineries.”

It plays a vital role, especially for new wineries that are just opening their doors, he said.

According to council data, Connecticut wineries and vineyards produce $85.8 million in direct sales annually and create 1,000 jobs. (The state hosts both vineyards, which grow grapes, and wineries, which are licensed to actually make wine.)

Direct employment at Connecticut wineries has grown from just a few dozen employees at the start of the century to over 300 today, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced that a recent study showed Connecticut tourism in 2022 yielded an estimated $17 billion in sales — with roughly $10 billion of that from direct visitor spending at Connecticut businesses.

Those figures mark an 11.2% increase from 2021, and a slightly higher number than pre-pandemic levels of $16.4 billion in 2019.

Raising awareness

Tourism promotion and support for wineries is a collaborative effort between the state Department of Agriculture, Department of Economic and Community Development, and Farm Wine Development Council.

The council consists of winery owners, research institutions, and representatives of both state agencies who promote Connecticut-made wines and related products, offer educational programs, recommend research projects, and advise groups on farm wine development.

The council also operates the wine booth at the Big E and coordinates responses to legislative issues that may impact farm wineries.

The passport is geared toward oenophiles who support local agriculture and small businesses, and are looking for fun and unique events nearby, Hurlburt said.

The council used Orange-based marketing firm Miranda Creative last year for the first iteration of the digital passport program, then hired Bloomfield-based Dornenburg Kallenbach Advertising this year.

The marketing teams’ job “is to take this great resource that we have and just amplify their voice, their message, to educate consumers about where farm wineries are and what your experience should be like,” Hurlburt said. “It’s an easy product, because it’s such a great product and such a great experience,” at wineries.

The bigger picture, he said, is to raise awareness that there are farm wineries throughout the state, and to combine agritourism sites with other state destinations.

Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Alexandra Daum has made tourism and promoting Connecticut one of her top priorities.

DECD has been a solid partner in tourism collaboration efforts, Hurlburt said, with more of a willingness to try new approaches, amp up existing programs and get more creative.

The state recently named its first chief marketing officer, Anthony Anthony, who is launching a new Connecticut branding campaign this summer.

Wineries are also heavily featured on the state’s official tourism website.

“We want to promote what else there is to do when touring Hartford or New Haven, shopping around West Hartford or when planning a trip to Hammonasset, Mystic or the Litchfield Hills,” Hurlburt said. “There may be a winery about 10 minutes away, so how do we build on some of our anchor events across the state.”

Wineries are leaning toward a more inclusive tourism experience, with food trucks, summer concerts, yoga or sit-down dinners.

“These campaigns are a significant boost and farm wineries recognize that the app drives a significant amount of business through their doors,” Hurlburt said.

Digital passport

The wineries app is nearly identical to one used for local craft breweries, which have had “tremendous response and engagement with their app,” Hurlburt said.

Craft breweries far outnumber farm wineries in Connecticut due to the more strict parameters that distinguish wineries from breweries.

Farm wineries have to grow a portion of their own crops for production, whereas brewers can buy hops.

Further, farm wineries used to be limited to only selling wine they make, but 2019 legislation loosened those rules, creating a craft cafe permit that allows local producers to showcase other Connecticut-made products at their facilities.

Edwards, of the Jonathan Edwards Winery, said the passport program is appreciated by all wineries and is one of the most popular programs like this in the state.

The wine council has moved away from the printed passport to modernize the experience and reduce costs and paper usage by eliminating tens of thousands of printed booklets per season.

Prior to the mobile app, the paper passport cost $18,000 annually to print.

By switching to a digital passport, “20% of our budget we freed up, and now we have $10,000 more a year for promotion and engagement,” Hurlburt said.

Weathering the storm

Agritourism businesses like wineries, breweries and farms, especially those with outdoor gathering spaces, fared generally better than many other smaller or indoor food and entertainment venues during the pandemic, Hurlburt said.

Wineries that had indoor tasting rooms got creative during the pandemic, bringing in food trucks, pre-packaged foods, picnic tables and tents, many features that will continue post-pandemic.

“These farm operations have to be innovative in order to survive,” Hurlburt said.

Farm winery owners seem optimistic for the 2023 summer tourism season, Edwards said, as “we are all looking forward to moving … into the post-COVID landscape.”