As wineries across the country face softening tasting room conversion rates and increasing pressure on direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, a new episode of Expert Talks: Wine Industry Insights highlights practical strategies from one of the industry’s leading DTC educators.

InnoVint recently sat down with Liz Mercer, Partner and Winery Coach at WISE Academy, to examine what the top 10% of tasting rooms are doing differently to consistently convert guests into wine club members and drive higher-margin sales.

Drawing on more than 25 years of wine industry experience, Mercer outlines the operational disciplines, team training strategies, and guest experience enhancements that set apart high-performing tasting rooms from the rest. Rather than relying on aggressive sales tactics, the discussion focuses on intentional hospitality, empowered front-of-house (FOH) teams, and structured yet authentic club conversations.

The episode offers actionable guidance for wineries looking to:

• Grow their DTC and wine club membership base
• Increase sales of higher-margin wines
• Strengthen and support tasting room teams
• Elevate the overall guest experience

For wineries seeking practical insights to improve tasting room performance, the episode is now available to watch or listen on your preferred platforms.

Check out the video below, and read the top 7 takeaways in the blog post here.