District365 Wine Launches

If you have more than one friend in the DC area you have probably heard about District365. It is a website dedicated to finding interesting things to do in DC and in the last year it has amassed quite a following.

The site has decided to expand beyond listing events and is moving into the world of wine with their sister site District365 Wine. The site hopes to capitalize on Marlyand's recent decision to allow direct wine shipment by offering flash sales only from wineries who can ship to Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

I spoke with site owner Rohan Gilkes about his plans for the site, what is coming up and their contest:

1. What was impetus behind the jump from activities in the DC area to wine, and when did you launch?

We have created a strong following of folks from DC/MD/VA with our activities site District365. We fancy ourself as foodies as well and within the foodie community in DC we started seeing the buzz about the new wine legislation that allows shipment to Maryland from select wineries. Along with that buzz we recognized a problem that people were having as well: Finding the wineries that were able to ship (and were actually ready to do so). It just seemed like a problem that was begging for a solution and we thought it would be a fun thing to do: Create a site where every single wine featured is available to be shipped to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. We could introduce new wineries to our readers, give them exclusive deals on wines, and they wouldn't have to hop from site to site looking for wines to try. It was pretty much a no-brainer.

2. Can you explain how the process works? District365 Wine does not sell the wine directly, are you a distributor or more of a pass-through, similar to Wines Til Sold Out?

This is how it works. Each week we'll feature wines from a new winery. We'll give detailed info on the wines, introduce you to the winery, and offer an exclusive pre-negotiated discount on the wines. Folks can order right away, and the order is instantly (less than a 3 seconds) transferred to the winery. The winery completes the order and ships. We're more of a pass-through. We're not a retailer. We're the only site out there that allows folks from Maryland, Virginia, and D.C to stop by knowing that every single wine they see is available to be shipped to their doorstep.

3. Do you think the market for wine flash sales in the Metro region is large enough to sustain the business?

I do think the market is large enough to sustain a wine flash sales business. In Maryland, DC, Virginia, the total population is 14 million with 5 million of those being in the immediate DC Metro area. With this smaller, more focused market, we can do some fun things that the national wine sites are unable to do. First, there's no need for folks to check a long list of states to see if they can get the wines we offer (we guarantee that they can), but in addition we can do fun monthly wine events in the DC Metro, pair up with art galleries, match up our events with wine tastings, and really get great penetration in the area by getting out there and meeting folks like we already do. Everything we do, we focus on DC/MD/VA, that's where our passion lies, and we think we're uniquely positioned to do the same thing for fine wines.

4. Virginia and Maryland are both emerging wine regions, do you have any plans to work with local wineries to offer their wines to your customers?

Yes. Most definitely. We're already in talks with several local wineries to feature their wines and have some fun online and offline events planned. Stay tuned. We think our model is great for the wineries. Since we focus on one winery per week, folks will get a great look at the wineries, learn about their approach to wines, and of course get to order their wines at great prices.

5. Can you give us a preview of some of the deals that are on the horizon?

Well we'd rather not list specific wineries before hand (our featured winery changes every week at Midnight on Monday), and the surprise is a part of the fun. We'll say though that we have a huge wine event planned right outside of DC that will feature more than 30 local wineries. I'll stop back to share some invites to your readers.

In addition, we currently have a massive wine giveaway going that your readers may enjoy.