Papé Material Handling will be participating in an online only networking event hosted especially for you! We are actively seeking skilled technicians AND those who have the drive to train for the position.  We have opportunities available in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii. If you'd like to learn more, register for this casual virtual meet up and find out if we're a good fit for you! We'll see you online Thursday, February 6 12:00 - 1:40 PM RSVP Here: https://bit.ly/40kzQfu Thanks to 50strong for allowing us to get together! 

In this episode, George sits down with Karissa Kruse, President & CEO of Sonoma County Winegrowers, to explore her visionary leadership in the wine industry. Karissa shares the inspiration behind crafting a groundbreaking 100-year business plan and what sets Sonoma County grape growers apart from the rest. Karissa also reflects on her critical role during the pandemic, ensuring farm workers had access to vaccines—personally scheduling an incredible 6,000 appointments in just three months. She highlights her work founding the Vineyard Employee Recognition Program in 2018, which paved the way for the Leadership Academy. Recently, graduates of the program took their skills to Washington, D.C., thanks to a partnership with Alaska Airlines. A leader driven by action, Karissa lives by the mantra: “Pilot anything and everything, and if it doesn’t work, let’s learn, and if it does work, great, let’s scale it.” Tune in to be inspired by her innovative a

RNDC Seeks to Hire an Estates Group Wine Specialist Sales Representative This full-time position is based out of Anchorage, Alaska. Click Here to Learn More

The Alaska Alcohol & Marijuana Office (AMCO) has determined that DTC shippers do not need to comply with one of the troublesome requirements for shipping to Alaska customers: Manufacturer Direct Shipper Licensees do not need to consult the “prohibited person” list before fulfilling an order. Direct Shipment Licensees may not ship to areas where a “local option” law restricts sales of alcohol, so wineries and distilleries must make sure to avoid shipments to customers in those areas. AMCO provides a list of zip codes of the communities with local option restrictions on sales of alcohol. That list is publicly available on the AMCO website. More good news: The Alaska Department of Revenue has ruled that holders of a Manufacturer Direct Shipment License are exempt from the $25,000 bond requirement. No bond is needed for a Manufacturer Direct Shipment License. In addition, AMCO is moving forward with rulemaking to adopt simplified requirements for the verificati

Are compliance checks done in real time? Compliance checks must happen in real time to ensure a smooth transaction for the customer, and to provide a safety net for yourself. This begins with precise age verification. It's essential to confirm that only adults of legal drinking age (LDA) can make purchases online. Subsequently, compliance extends to accurately calculating and applying the appropriate tax rates, taking into account the location of the sale and the destination of the order.  Are the compliance rules automatically setup?  Producers should not have to worry about managing their own set of tax rates, shipping limits, and pre-purchase age verification as this easily leads to mistakes. Compliance solutions should have a built-in tax rate table, working on 9-digit zip codes, so you feel confident all taxes are correct.  Can states rules be manually bypassed? This should be a no brainer, if states rules can be bypassed, you should question how compliant you

Alaska’s new Manufacturer Direct Shipment license goes into effect January 1, 2024. The AMCO plans to start accepting online applications later this month. Even though the new license may be possible to obtain soon, new regulations governing the license impose a number of requirements that make the fulfillment of orders very difficult. The regulations as currently written require direct shipment licensees to do the following: Obtain and retain a copy of ID documents that show the photograph and signature of the purchaser and any other individual authorized to receive the shipment and deliver it to the purchaser; Determine whether the purchaser’s name is on the list of prohibited persons provided by AMCO to all package store and DTC licensees, and if so, reject the order; Ensure that the written or electronic order is signed and dated by the purchaser and refers by number to the purchaser’s ID document; If your company meets the sales threshold for sales tax nexus i

Many alcoholic beverage manufacturers have been looking forward to getting Alaska’s new DTC license, which goes into effect January 1, 2024. Due to both regulatory and technical issues, we are anticipating significant delays in obtaining that license, causing out-of-state producers to lose the ability to ship direct to Alaska consumers for the foreseeable future. Currently, anyone can ship “a reasonable amount” of alcoholic beverages to Alaska residents—no license or reporting required. That privilege ends January 1, when it is replaced by the new AK Manufacturer Direct Shipping License. We have been closely tracking the availability of the AK DTC license. We have learned that the state’s online licensing system does not yet accept applications from out-of-state companies, and it is not clear when the system will take an application for this license. In addition, the state has adopted regulations governing DTC shipping that impose requirements that are

September 21, 2023 — The 2023 International Eastern Wine Competition and West Coast Wine Competition match-up has announced Eberle Winery’s 2021 Cotes-du-Robles Rouge, a Rhone-style blend, as the Best of the Best…of the Best. A blend of 54% Grenache; 38% Mourvedre and 8% Syrah, Eberle’s red blend wowed judges, who described the wine as “Very well balanced,” “Black currant,” “Shows Grenache really nicely,” with a “really nice mouthfeel.” Located in California’s Paso Robles AVA, Eberle Winery (www.eberlewinery.com) was established in 1979 and now produces up to 15 wines annually. In addition to this year’s top winner, five other Eberle entries earned gold awards or better. This two-pronged East vs. West contest first chooses winners in the separate International Eastern Wine Competition and West Coast Wine Competition (see parameters below), before the top wines from each are pitted against each other in

It’s always important to make the most of every single guest walking through our tasting room door. While most wineries are hiring friendly staff with strong service hearts, sales skills continue to be an area of opportunity for our industry. Many people worry that selling wine is too pushy, but the reality is, it’s an extension of great hospitality. Here are some key ideas to increase AOV.  1. WISE Triple Score  The goal for successful Direct-to-Consumer wineries is to have both high customer satisfaction as well as 3 out of 3 on the WISE Triple Score on every visit. The Triple Score measures if the server: (1) Asked for the sale (Industry Average*: 73%), (2) Effectively presented the wine club (Industry Average*: 38%) and (3) Attempted to capture the contact data (Industry Average*: 18%). (*Based on 2022 averages across 500+ mystery shops.)  Helpful sales shouldn’t feel pushy. It helps to remember that our guests are int