7/23/2009 4:14:00 PM Verde Valley Wine Trail will put wineries on the map The Road to Success
The Verde Valley wine industry continues to make a larger presence on the valley's economic landscape. The Wine Trail, a new marketing program will give the wineries, associated businesses and the valley in general nationwide exposure.
COTTONWOOD - The Verde Valley Wine Trail may not be a real trail in the sense that you can grab your dog and your daypack and hike it on a Saturday morning.
But it is a real trail in the sense that it will lead you to a destination -- provided your destination is one of the growing number of wineries, vineyards and tasting rooms sprouting about the valley.
The Verde Valley Wine Consortium, a group formed specifically to support, promote and grow the Verde Valley's wine industry, proposed the idea of a cooperative advertising program when it formed just over a year ago.
This week, the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce, the group that has been working to bring the idea to fruition, announced it had received a $15,360 grant from the Arizona Office of Tourism to make it happen.
According to Lana Tolleson, director of the Cottonwood Chamber, the Verde Valley Wine Trail is a marketing concept that will use the Internet, print media and other means to promote the local wineries to a larger audience.
"The grant will pay for a Web site and for outreach to the national media," Tolleson says. "We want to start emphasizing local restaurants that serve local wines, tour companies that feature wine tours and of course the wineries themselves."
Casey Rooney, Cottonwood's economic development director, says he see the Wine Trail as the catalyst to move the valley's wine industry into the national spotlight.
"Right now our marketing is flying by the seat of our pants. But in the future, people are going to find us because of the wine trail," Rooney says. "It's not just about a map. It's not just about a Web site. It's about aggressively marketing Verde Valley wine."
With an additional $15,360 in matching funds from the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce and the Cottonwood Economic Development Council, the Chamber will enlist the help of Arizona Communications Group, a tourism marketing company from Tempe.
The Arizona Office of Tourism presented Arizona Communications Group with its 2008 Innovative Marketing award for the development of the Salsa Trail, a similar marketing concept that has drawn hundreds of visitors to some 15 Mexican food restaurants spread around Graham County.
"There is a tremendous mix of resources in place in the Verde Valley," says Finney, "Tourism through the wine experience is a proven vehicle.
"We will borrow some ideas from others that are already marketing their wine industry and apply those ideas to the Verde. You could say it's like we are putting old wine in a new bottle."
