Local Explorers Partners With New Hampshire Winery Association To Launch Wine Trail App

BOCA RATON, FLA—Local Explorers, a leading creator of customized mobile loyalty apps for the tourism and hospitality industries, has expanded its impact once again with its New Hampshire Wine Trail app, created for the New Hampshire Winery Association (NHWA). A digital upgrade to the association’s popular paper-based Wine Passport, the app allows users to find participating wineries near them, learn about individual wineries and their offerings, and map out their own tours of wineries of their choice.  In addition, the app incentivizes exploration and discovery by offering badges and prizes for visits to multiple wineries.

The NHWA envisioned the app as a way not only to modernize its passport program, but to expand its online reach, said Mark LaClair of the NHWA. With the app, wine lovers traveling through New Hampshire can conveniently access time-sensitive, relevant information not available on the NHWA’s website, such as updates on special deals at specific wineries. “Each member winery can update its own information, such as things like tasting room hours or deals that they have for today or for this weekend,” he explained.

LaClair added that the NHWA chose Local Explorers to build the app because of its successful track record with similar products. “We were looking around at different apps, and we tried the Connecticut Wine App, another Local Explorers product, which launched recently,” he said. “So I reached out to them. We’re happy with Local Explorers’ process; it’s worked well for us.”

He added that he and his members especially appreciated their attention to customer service. “Everyone has been terrific and very responsive, and clearly they know what they’re doing, and we can appreciate that,” he said.

The NHWA isn’t the only group that sees the app’s potential for growing the state’s winery and tourism industry. To promote the app, the association applied for and won a Champions of New Hampshire Farms, Agricultural Natural Resources Promotion Grant from the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture. “We specifically applied for the money to promote this new app, which drives people to our tasting rooms, which drives them to buy wines that are made from agriculture that we grow,” LaClair explained.

The NHWA will use its grant funds to subsidize its launch campaign, which includes posters and postcards with information about the app and download links that participating wineries can display in their tasting rooms.

LaClair is excited about the opportunity to share New Hampshire’s unique wine culture with a wider audience of locals and visitors. “New Hampshire is the Live Free State, and we really embody that,” he said. “We make our wines freely the way that we want it to be made. They really span the whole gamut from high-end, very classy tasting rooms and really new production facilities to farm garage-style wineries that are tasting rooms that are in the back room of a house. And that’s one of the lovely things about visiting New Hampshire wineries—the difference in experiences that you’re going to get.”

“New Hampshire’s winery industry may be small, but it’s vibrant and well worth celebrating,” said Susan Erickson, co-founder of Local Explorers. “We were honored that they entrusted us to build their app, and we’re excited to help them leverage its full potential to bring more visitors into New Hampshire’s tasting rooms.”

Local Explorers apps by software designers Daruma Tech are designed to help communities better connect with visitors and local consumers by making it easy for them to discover and patronize local businesses and attractions. Each app is custom branded for the community it serves, and the Local Explorers team offers ongoing, proactive support, from development to training to regular maintenance and updates.

To learn more, visit https://www.localexplorers.com/

For more information, contact Rick Griswold at 561-990-1625.