Interview with Julien Miquel, of Social Vignerons.

WS: You recently started doing drone videos out in the vineyards.  How are you using them and how does this help your audience?

Julien Miquel: It’s a little early on to answer completely and much interestingly here!

I’ve flown my drone four times in total so far! Flying these things in France is quite restricted so it’s not that I can fly it every day, and my schedule is busy!

I’m still feeling my way through learning the hows and dos. But it’s already producing some interesting results, such as J Miquel WineEssentially, I think it’s a great way to give the sense of a place, which is one of the most important aspect in a good wine: where it comes from, the vines, the surrounding landscapes, the soil, a winery.

WS:  Most memorable bottle you have had as late?

Julien Miquel:I was recently given the opportunity to do a vertical tasting of the last 20 vintages of Chateau du Tertre in Margaux. The 2010 vintage was exceptional, one of the higher-scoring wines I’ve reviewed on Social Vignerons. I just love Margaux wines in general, certainly some of the finest Cabernet wines in the world are produced there.

WS: What is your favorite travel destination and why?

Julien Miquel:I’ve been traveling almost exclusively for work over the past 15 years. Tourism and holidays aren’t in my vocabulary, really. Tuscany, however, has a special place in my heart and experience. Going there, even for work is simply a magical experience. The landscapes, the culture, the food, and the people make me feel like I am in a dream at every sight, every minute. I made a short movie about it, at a special winery: Waking Up in a Tuscan Dream… at Caiarossa Winery.

WS: If you had to do it again, what would you do differently?

Julien Miquel:  I’m not sure I would do anything differently! There’s been a lot of twists and turns. I’d certainly be much further career-wise had I taken more of a straight line. Working successively in many different countries like I’ve done mean that you pretty much have to start from scratch every time you start in a new place, at least in the physical world. New friends, new colleagues, new culture, new language, new career path in my case as well. It’s hard, and I sometimes feel that I haven’t built anything apart from incredible memories and experiences. But I’m ‘only’ 37 and I don’t think I would swap these 15 years of living the world of wine for a more settled youth. I’ve enjoyed the ride and I’m thankful to have been given such opportunities to share life with so many great people.

WS:  The greatest lesson you’ve learned in this business is…

Julien Miquel: It’s not all made of givers. At the beginning of my career, I thought the ‘concentration’ of generous people in the wine industry was higher than in the rest of the world. It might be truer on the production side of it!?But there’s a lot of takers in this business too, like in any other.

WS: For the wineries out there clamoring to get more visibility, how can they better embrace the wine influencer community?

Julien Miquel: Well, quite simply, in general terms, by providing value to the wine community in its entirety, through the influencers perhaps. Find straightforward, as well as creative ways to allow influencers to live positive experiences around your wines. Practically, that’s assigning small parts of the traditional marketing channels’ budget to building relationships with the people that create interesting content about wine. Having your wines reviewed, bringing in creators to events and the wineries, and build from there.Many wineries and marketing departments don’t realize that for a fraction of the money they spend on an ad on traditional media (like a page in a wine magazine), they can actually build genuine relationships with ‘influencers’ and their audience, in the real world even though it’s through digital media. Normal people now engage much more with a product through attractive content on social media that from seeing an ad in a paper magazine.

WS:  On a personal note, what are some of the most important things in your life?

Julien Miquel:  My family, and wine (my job). Raising my 3 daughters, and reconnecting with the family members I have not seen much after so many years traveling. I just relocated back to France after 6 years in New Zealand (literally on the other side of Earth), only a year ago. It’s also important for me to try and ‘do the right thing’ for other people I come across, and try to give someone a smile every day in my life. I wish I had more time to dedicate to that. There’s too much negativity in the world. Wine is often that smile or ray of sunshine in many people’s day. That’s what I try to echo in my content.