Sonoma theme park opens in Vegas

Having just spoke at Sheanna Davis’ La Muse: Vins et Fromage shindig, where I rallied participants to leverage the inherent brand equity of “Sonoma” in their social media marketing efforts before everyone else does (Sonoma-themed ventures and products, with nothing to do with our valley, dot the continental U.S.), I was shocked to receive a press release this morning from Sonoma World of Wine, Ltd. – in Las Vegas.

Apparently, we should have been more vigilant about protecting Sonoma’s brand identity as pertains to tourist attractions. Sonoma World of Wine, a theme park replete with its own three-quarter-size replica of the Historic Sonoma Plaza, is slated to open this Fall.

The theme park is currently corralling celebs to participate in a grand opening that will feature decorative fountains flowing with actual wine in which visitors are encouraged to dip their goblets – yes, goblets.

“Insuring the use of glassware proved cost-prohibitive, so we devised our own BPA-free plastic drinking goblets emblazoned with the ‘Sonoma World of Wine’ logo and our slogan ‘Have a crush on Vegas,’” said Tim Davies, the company’s communications officer. He added that there are plenty of attractions and memorabilia for children and those under 21, known on the Sonoma World of Wine campus as “pre-vintage,” including a wine barrel water ride (afloat burgundy-hued water) and a t-shirts that read “My parents went to Sonoma World of Wine and all I got was this dumb hangover.”

Surrounding the Sonoma World of Wine plaza replica are local-sounding businesses such as “The Boy and the Dog,” a polish sausage stand, as tasting room dubbed “Winotecha,” and a movie theater, the marquee of which reads “Sonomastiani.” There’s also a nightclub, “XTC,” where EDK would be, a tavern called “Blinders” and a “Larry’s Calzone Hovel” is under construction.

“Sonoma World of Wine was a concept that was just waiting to be plucked. The fact is, the town of Sonoma was sitting on a wonderful opportunity to extend their collective brand equity beyond the valley,” said Davies. “Thankfully, small town operators are notorious for their inability to organize resources around a single premise. That’s what corporations such as ours do exceedingly well and that’s what we did.”

Davies’ employers apparently opted for Sonoma over other notable wine regions, including our neighbors Napa and Mendocino for its inherent beauty and small town charm as well as the apparent inability of its various business and tourism associations to create a unified marketing program.

“Opportunity comes from chaos,” observed Davies. “Our investors and board recognized there was tremendous awareness of Sonoma, but they had little in terms of cohesive outreach. The brand was built but moving in million directions, so we simply harnessed that energy and focused it onto the Strip. It was a cinch compared to ‘Paris Las Vegas.’”

Davies emphasized that a visit to Sonoma World of Wine is actually cheaper than visiting the real deal, not least of which because the wine served at the resort and theme park is sourced in bulk from a single, undisclosed vendor in Napa.

“Internally, we like to call our venture ‘Sonoma 2.0,’ but we never use numbers in our marketing – they’re likely to confuse our end-user,” explained Davies. “The only number anyone needs to know is Sonoma’s – and that number’s up.”

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