Still, the conversation has changed. And so has the job of an influencer.
“Five years ago, it was enough to pose in a beautiful landscape with a glass of wine and write a long, aspirational caption,” said Nicole Muscari of @grapechic, a New York-based wine educator, DipWSET and French wine scholar, in an email to me. “Now, with video and reels, you actually have to show up. You have to speak, explain, and bring people into the experience. There’s a lot less room to hide behind a pretty photo.”
Muscari’s observation captures what has happened not just in wine, but across the broader creator economy. The job is far more visible now, and it’s widely accepted that, for many, it is indeed a job, not merely a hobby. “A wine influencer now is part educator, part storyteller, part personality, and in many ways, a creative partner to Brands,” said Brooke Martin of @thebrookeblend, a Utah-based wine broker, educator and content creator, in an email. “Reels have changed everything. There’s a stronger emphasis on relatability, humor, and lifestyle integration, showing not just what’s in the glass, but how it fits into real life.”
Samantha Capaldi of @samanthasommelier, a Taco Bell-loving, larger than life wine personality who brands herself as “your no-snob somm,” notes that the emphasis on wine content today is to make it feel more immediate and human. “A lot of influencers are adapting to keep it a lot more relatable,” she told me in a voice memo. “They’re talking to the consumer more as a friend, rather than trying to act like they’re the expert to the point where it’s intimidating.”
A one-person full-service agency
Wine influencer partnerships started out fairly casual. A winery might send some bottles, someone posted about them. Over the years, that arrangement has gotten more formal, and, in many ways, more intense.
Paige Comrie of @winewithpaige, a Napa-based photographer, digital storyteller and wine content creator with WSET Level 3 and Certified American Wine Expert credentials, captures the full scope of what today’s influencers actually represent. “It’s not just showing up and taking a photo,” she said in an email. “It’s concepting, production, editing, distribution, and building trust with an audience. When you hire an influencer, you’re not just hiring a person—you’re hiring a full creative and marketing team in one.”
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