Plonk Wine Merchants: An Innovative Online Wine Retailer
Plonk Wine Merchants is bringing the wine purchasing experience into the digital world with a bang. Founded by native Los
Angelista Etty Lewensztain, Plonk Wine Merchants brings wine lovers artisanal and rare wines from around the globe, including biodynamic wines, organic wines, and wines made from sustainably grown grapes. Each wine is hand-picked by Lewensztain herself and is priced at just $30 per bottle or less!
Lewensztain is certified by the esteemed Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and the American Sommelier Association and an ambitious online entrepreneur, but at 28, she isn’t exactly opening up $100 bottles of wine every time she has dinner with friends. One of Lewensztain’s goals in founding Plonk Wine Merchants was to create high value by “turning cheap on its head” – providing her customers with high-quality wines at cheap prices from small production wineries, rare varietals, and off-the-beaten path growing regions. “For everyday drinking, you don’t need to spend a lot to buy great wines if you know where to look,” she explains.
Plonk’s Innovative Online Experience
Lewensztain makes innovative use of the online platform by providing Plonk Wine Club members with an interactive experience – online wine tastings with winemakers from all over the world. Included in Club members’ monthly delivery are three wines featured in the online tasting and Club members can join in on the tasting. In addition, each wine on the Plonk website is accompanied tasting and pairing notes, as well as video review, with interesting facts, such as information about the growing region, for those interested in a little extra wine education.
The Plonk Wine Merchant site also includes Lewensztain’s Plonk Blog, aimed at making wine digestible for everyone by explaining the basics and demystifying it. Her blog also includes wine pairings with recipes from Los Angeles chefs, as well as tips on buying good, inexpensive wines.
Online: The Future in Wine Sales
Lewensztain chose to open as an online retailer because “it’s the future in wine in terms of sales.” More and more, people are buying online and even brick and mortar stores are selling an increasing amount of wine to online customers. In addition, as an online retailer, Plonk can focus on a larger, national customer base.
Being in the online space, however, also presents new challenges for Lewensztain, who has extensive experience in traditional wine marketing. “Focusing on SEO, getting people to notice you, and getting return customers in the online space requires patience,” she explains. As part of her online and social media marketing efforts, Lewensztain guest blogs for various websites in addition to creating value-added content for her own blog. She has written blogs for eatdrinkbetter.com on topics such as biodynamic and organic wines and wine allergies, as well for menuism.com’s blog, including a three-part series about “wine geek lingo.”
To learn more about Plonk Wine Merchants, its unique offerings, and its ambitious female founder, visit Plonk on Facebook and follow Plonk on Twitter @PlonkOnline. And if you’re wondering what in the world “Plonk” means, take a look at the top the page on the Plonk Wine Merchants’ website…
Meredith Davis Williams can be reached at 213-426-2144, mwilliams@millerwillamslaw.com, or @MerEsqLA.
