Diaz Communications

Diaz Communications Wine Marketing | Public Relations | Internet Marketing | Web Design At Diaz Communications, we believe it’s all about relationships.

We value and respect the relationships we have fostered with our clients, the media, and wine trade. It’s these relationships, along with creative, powerful ideas, that yield success for our clients. Our philosophy is to offer integrated services, where publicity gained is converted to marketing materials, and ultimately sales generation.

We have a renewed passion for Petite Sirah I Love You. A bit of a segue happened on the way to giving away 450 Automated...
02/24/2026

We have a renewed passion for Petite Sirah I Love You. A bit of a segue happened on the way to giving away 450 Automated External Defibrillators. It took much longer than imagined and I'm now personally thrilled, as it's finalized. All AEDs have homes.

Today I came up something for the PSILY members, to use in their own marketing. I like reducing things to a really easy form. It reminds me of teaching anatomy and physiology oh-so-many-years ago.

Over the 30+ years of being dedicated to wine, this story is with a grateful heart. A beginning, a middle, and a "See yo...
01/08/2026

Over the 30+ years of being dedicated to wine, this story is with a grateful heart. A beginning, a middle, and a "See you later, Helen."

In October 2002, I created the first Petite Sirah Symposium, which continued for the next eight years. Foppiano Vineyards was my client at the time and Louis Foppiano wanted to sit around a table in his lab and talk about how to grow it, make it, and sell it.

The last event I had orchestrated was directing a Girl Scout Day Camp in Sabattus, Maine. I started with 40 people, and grew it in three years to 250 people. (All aspects: staffing it, calling in the Army Corp of Engineers, getting kids to attend, having programs, overnights, meals, etc.

So, I found 36 people to attend Louis's symposium, and we had to take it outside, of course. The lab table could only host 8-10 people. Matriarch Helen Bacigalupi of Bacigalupi Vineyards was in attendance, each years.

At the end of the first symposium, I asked "If there was to be a group for Petite, would you join?" Before she left that day, Helen came to me and said, "Just do it, dear."

So I did, and as long as she was the active head of her family, she continued to support our efforts, making fabulous Petite Sirahs. Here's to you, Helen, I raise my glass in Petite love. I'm honored to have known this side of you.

The family has asked for us to share stories, and so... It is with my devoted heart, from the Bacigalupi winery's page, I share:

~~~ In Loving Memory of Helen Bacigalupi (1925–2025) ~~~

Today we honor the life of Helen Bacigalupi, matriarch of Bacigalupi Vineyards and a true pioneer of Sonoma County winegrowing.
Helen’s strength, grit, and vision helped shape our vineyard, our family, and a historic chapter in California wine.

Her legacy lives on through the land she loved and the generations who continue her work.

In accordance with her wishes, there will be no memorial service.

We invite you to honor Helen by raising a glass, sharing a story, and enjoying time with those you love.

With gratitude,
The Bacigalupi Family

Right now I'm listening to my partner Jose Diaz, in Diaz Communications. Since 2002, when I (Jo) started Diaz Communicat...
12/19/2025

Right now I'm listening to my partner Jose Diaz, in Diaz Communications. Since 2002, when I (Jo) started Diaz Communications, after my gig at Mondavi Winery and then Ironstone Vineyards. Jose joined me a few years later and we've had over 70 clients in these 23 years.

I never dreamed we'd get to know so many people in wine, at this PR/marketing capacity. And there's a whole lot more that we know not as clients, but as connections.

My Point: while my bailiwick is relationships; Jose's strength is engineering, and this segues into the internet.

He was at Bowdoin College, in the early 1970s, where their computer was one ENTIRE room. Now it seems to be a pin prick, with Dick Tracey watches. He's seen it all; not just on the front end, but in the background on the technical side.

Yes, he builds sites, too; however, he also teaches clients to help themselves at whatever capacity they're capable. And, this is with their own sites. Still, he spends hour on the phone with other IT people, helping where it gets into needing site help.

Clients come to me for wine PR, but I can only take them so far. Jose takes them to the heart of it. He combines the marketing, while teaching others to go behind the curtain through education, creation, and problem solving.

It's been a great ride, starting with Foppiano Vineyards, which led to Petite Sirah I Love You, the initiation of Association of African American Vintners ~ and having Mac McDonald as its founder. And then, everything else has happened in between and over time.

Still, you can think of it as Jose building the home, while I've filled it with doodads and fooferettes.

Have great holidays, as we continue to serve the business of wine, well into 2026.

Petite Sirah I Love You is a group that Diaz Communications started in 2002. It's now 23 years old. When we started it,...
12/16/2025

Petite Sirah I Love You is a group that Diaz Communications started in 2002. It's now 23 years old. When we started it, there were only about 30 growers and producers combined. Louis Foppiano of Foppiano Vineyards was our contact. He told Jo that he wanted to have a Petite Sirah Symposium. He wanted to recreate a meeting he had had earlier in his job at the family's winery. This meant sitting around the small lab table and discussing with a few fiends.

He didn't know that when living in Maine, Jo was the director of a Girl Scout Day Camp, and took a little over 40 people sitting around a pond, with tents for two weeks, and in two more years grew it to 250 adults and children. She managed all of it, including involving staffing it with 50 volunteers, the US Army reserve bringing in tents, building out-houses and a military water buffalo,a nd arranging transportation for everyone to get to the camp. Jo was more than capable for a small symposium.

First she researched every grower and producer in California, and came up with a little over 60 companies. She invited every one of them to a symposium, and 37 responded by signing up. It was held outside at Foppiano and it was amazing.

That grew into Concannon Vineyard taking it over, when setting up and taking down at Foppiano was left to only Jo. Foppiano felt it had lived its life long enough at their location. Concannon gave it another strong run, but it eventually also had spread enough education about Petite Sirah. It had 13 good years.

And, lots of other varieties began to develop their own symposiums. It became a "good leadership and research idea."

There were also many Dark & Delicious events that Kent Rosenblum had helped Diaz Communications host at his locations. That one ran it's course after nine years.

Petite Sirah I Love You has returned to its original roots as a resource for Petite Sirah education thought social media outlets. And, it is still a client and a passion for Diaz Communications.

Image by Jo Diaz, taken at Foppiano Vineyards

OPEN LETTER to WINERY PRINCIPALS: Do you know that a Cardiac Arrest renders the person who had it, as being gone? There...
10/28/2024

OPEN LETTER to WINERY PRINCIPALS: Do you know that a Cardiac Arrest renders the person who had it, as being gone? There are only 8-minutes to bring the person back... Longer than it takes for an ambulance to arrive. But still can be saved with an AED
.. THAT TALKS YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS ...

Ron Rubin's TRAINED FOR SAVING LIVES program has only 37 FREE AEDs remaining from the 450 he has been GIVING AWAY. When they're gone, the program is OVER.

Do you want yours? Just let me know here and I'll connect you. The street value? $2,000 - and FREE to you!

The man is a saint!

Have you seen my blog lately? I can thank Jose Diaz for everything but the text. He designed it for me, he edits for me,...
10/25/2024

Have you seen my blog lately? I can thank Jose Diaz for everything but the text. He designed it for me, he edits for me, he teaches me.

Behind every successful woman, there's a good man. What he does for me professionally he actually does for all of our clients, so there's no surprise there, because he's really devoted to life's labors.

Still, I really don't know where this blog would be, and I love all of it.

www.wine-blog.org

Have you ever been on a horse that has only one goal, of heading straight back to or the barn? That happened to me year ...
10/17/2024

Have you ever been on a horse that has only one goal, of heading straight back to or the barn? That happened to me year ago, and it was the ride I shall never forget!

This one is also impossible to forget, but it has been very slow and deliberate, and now we are headed to the barn.

Don't have your FREE AED yet ($2,000 retail). Don't be that someone who wished you had emailed Ron Rubin. Just message me, I'm connect you. (Sadly, that has already happened...)

This is NOT too good to be true. It's true, true, true. Own a winery and it's yours. There were 450, and now there are only 43.

My wine blog has more info.

https://www.wine-blog.org/index.php/2024/10/16/the-juxtaposition-being-angel-of-death-and-angle-of-life-in-a-yin-yang-world/

To everyone who says that VP Kamala Harris hasn't done anything in this administration. I do understand that it appears ...
10/01/2024

To everyone who says that VP Kamala Harris hasn't done anything in this administration. I do understand that it appears that way, so please read the following. It will help you to understand. It's important to know, because a VP is behind the scenes, just like Mike Pence was also not the Front Man. It's a supporting actor, not the star of the show.

PI: The Vice President of the United States has a multifaceted role, serving as the second-highest ranking official in the federal government. Their constitutional duties include acting as the President of the Senate, breaking tie votes in the Senate, and presiding over the receiving and counting of electoral ballots in presidential elections. However, the Vice President's responsibilities also extend to informal and political duties, which can vary depending on the administration and the relationship between the President and the Vice President. It's a role that requires a unique blend of leadership, diplomacy, and adaptability, as the Vice President must be prepared to assume the presidency at a moment's notice.

The role of the Vice President is often less visible and more nuanced than that of the President, which can lead to misconceptions about their contributions. Kamala Harris, as the first female, African-American, and Asian-American Vice President, has been breaking barriers and making history since taking office. While much of her work may happen behind the scenes, it's important to acknowledge and appreciate the crucial role she plays in supporting the President and advancing the administration's goals.

Sometimes, people's expectations or lack of understanding about the role can overshadow the significant contributions of the Vice President.

Paul Harvey: "And now you know the rest of the story."

It's like in movies, it's a supporting role, not the "star."

Occasionally, some days just make you beam with happiness. Today is one of them. I attended an event at Robert Biale Vin...
09/24/2024

Occasionally, some days just make you beam with happiness. Today is one of them. I attended an event at Robert Biale Vineyards, and met wine writer Roger Morris. He just sent me a digital copy of Drinks magazine. His story is about Petite Sirah, the grape that I advocate, via Petite Sirah I Love You.

Quoting Jo Diaz: "While Petite Sirah has not yet climbed to that level of popularity, it was spotlighted this past February at the Premiere Napa Valley trade auction when it was given its own preauction event. Dozens of people in the wine trade arose early to have breakfast and drink Petite Sirah at Robert Biale Vineyard in Napa city. One of the attendees was Jo Diaz, head of a group called “P.S., I Love You.”

“In 2002, I was working [in public relations] for Louis Foppiano, who had me put together a symposium on Petite Sirah,” Diaz says. “I invited 62 producers and 30 came.” After the event, Diaz came up with the idea of a Petite Sirah advocacy group. Someone suggested a name—P.S., I Love You.

“I was afraid it would get lost if we became a part of the Rhone Rangers organization, even though it’s a Rhône grape.” Diaz says that she has calculated there are now more than 1,000 combined growers and producers who grow or make Petite Sirah, although she says the organization has not been as active recently as it once was."

When I was on the cover with Heidi Barrett... It was 1995, the magazine was The Wine News. I had submitted some slides, ...
09/18/2024

When I was on the cover with Heidi Barrett... It was 1995, the magazine was The Wine News. I had submitted some slides, to be on their back/final page.

I lost out to Freixenet (Cava Sparkling). Their balloon, which was an ice bucket with a bottle of sparkling wine., all larger than life.

I got something much more valuable, though, a feature story. The story was about winery cats and their role in sustainability at wineries. My first wine job had a cat, then I was seeing them all over the place at wineries. I started photographing. I submitted to Kathy Ferguson Sinnes, at The Wine News. She asked for an accompanying story, and Voila! Heidi and I were center stage together (except, I was behind the curtain). If you're not into wine and you don't know, Heidi is a super star.

Here I am, all these later, still having a focus on sustainability... This time it's for Automated External Defibrillators (AED).

FREE: Street Value $2,000 - Hey, vintners, it will be great with your First Aid Kit, right? More than a band aid, it can bring people back to life! A $2,000 AED, someone just needs to have AED certification, and that's FREE, TOO, from you CA Fire Station.

Ron Rubin had a cardiac arrest. He got his life back, and now he's working on paying it forward. He bought 450 AED, and only has 56 left. They are now going around the country, too, if someone outside of California wants one. Just let me know and I'll connect you to Ron.

He,y Heidi, we've both come a long way, from 1995!

Address

23126 Vineyard Road
Geyserville, CA
95441

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17072390176

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Our Story

At Diaz Communications, we believe it’s all about relationships. We value and respect the partnerships we’ve fostered with our clients, the media, and wine trade. It’s these unions, along with creative, powerful ideas that yield success for our clients. Our philosophy is to offer integrated services, where publicity gained is converted into marketing materials, and ultimately sales generation.