Amanda McCrossin is a certified sommelier, wine personality, and TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube creator. As the former Sommelier and Wine Director at PRESS Restaurant in Napa Valley, Amanda worked with the world’s largest, deepest restaurant collection of all Napa Valley wines in the world. During her time there, the wine program thrived, garnering nominations, accolades, and awards from nearly every major publication and outlet in food, wine, and hospitality. She has been featured by Food & Wine Magazine, Food Network, and the San Francisco Chronicle, appeared on the cover of The SOMM Journal, and was most recently named as a Wine Star nominee for “Sommelier of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast.

Today, Amanda is widely considered an expert in Napa Valley wine and is regularly sought after for media appearances and speaking engagements including the Aspen Food & Wine Classic and Premiere Napa Valley. A Napa Valley resident, Amanda can be found creating daily content for her popular TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube channels, SommVivant, as well as hosting the Wine Access Unfiltered podcast.

For many wineries, it’s easy to brush off TikTok as a platform solely for the younger generations. However, Amanda McCrossin says that the main demographics are not as young as people tend to think. With nearly 700 million users each month, it’s likely that many of your consumers are already on TikTok. So, how can you build your presence on the platform and engage new audiences? 

TikTok isn’t about a hard sell. According to Amanda, you have to add value to your audience if you want to win them over. Whether you’re answering top questions about the industry, going behind the scenes of winemaking, or showing audiences a day in the life of your winery, it’s crucial that you showcase the inspiration behind your brand, lead with core values, and create content with a purpose. 

In this episode of VINTed, Scout Driscoll sits down with certified sommelier, wine personality, and content creator, Amanda McCrossin. Together, they talk about the best practices for brands on TikTok, the different personas that strike a chord on social media, and how to dive into the TikTok space when you have little to no experience.