Loyalty, Deconstructed: Small Moments, Big Retention What actually makes members stick? In Session 4, Jason Curtis sits down with industry veteran Brian Baker to break down loyalty into practical, repeatable steps you can deploy without requiring bigger discounts or heavy lifting. In this replay, you’ll learn: Story by generation: Gen Z (values & moments), Millennials (experiences), Gen X (clarity), Boomers (legacy). Micro-exclusivity that scales: tiny lots, off-menu pours, member-only moments that feel special. Personalization beyond the name: preferences, simple “your year in wine” recaps, timely outreach. Surprise & delight: thoughtful unboxing layers, quick QR thank-you videos, occasional “upgrade” moments. Hospitality that converts: use the 80/20 guest-talk ratio and a 3-second pause to show you’re listening. Community & values: partner events, cause alignment, and easy member micro-communities. “Aim small, miss small. Start l

vinSUITE has announced the full agenda and speaker lineup for the 3rd Annual Wine Club Symposium, the leading virtual event for winery professionals focused on driving wine club growth, boosting member retention, and leveraging AI in direct-to-consumer (DTC) operations.  Taking place online on Tuesday, July 15, and Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the Symposium features six sessions, more than a dozen speakers, and data-backed content designed to give attendees clear, tactical steps for immediate application. The event is free to attend and begins each day at 9:00 AM PDT. Register at wineclubsymposium.com or directly via GoToWebinar. With wine clubs generating as much as 60% of DTC revenue for top-performing wineries, this year’s agenda focuses on increasing profitability through strategic customer targeting, member experience innovation, and operational efficiency. 2025 Wine Club Symposium Agenda Day 1 – Tuesday, July 15 9:00–9:50 AM PDT— State of the

Industry Leaders Gather at vinSUITE's Virtual Wine Club Symposium 2024 Two-day free event features industry insights and data-driven strategies for wine club growth. Napa, CA – July 8, 2024 vinSUITE announces its 2nd Annual Virtual Wine Club Symposium, scheduled for July 16-17, 2024. Building on last year's success, this free, virtual two-day event offers wine club professionals cutting-edge insights on industry trends, AI applications, and data-driven strategies to boost member engagement and retention. Last year's inaugural event attracted over 200 registrations and received overwhelmingly positive reviews. This year, the symposium has already surpassed that total, indicating growing interest and the value it provides to the wine industry. "In today's rapidly evolving wine industry, staying ahead of the curve is crucial," said Jason Curtis, President of vinSUITE. "Our symposium brings together top experts to provide actionable strategies that wi

Join us for the 2024 Virtual Wine Club Symposium, an expanded two-day event dedicated to exploring the latest trends and strategies in wine club management. This year's symposium features a dynamic lineup of sessions designed to provide actionable insights and innovative solutions for wine club professionals. Don't forget to complete our Wine Club Survey here: https://forms.gle/WPzZVFxBdcxiCUoV7.    Session Highlights: State of the Industry & Survey Results: Kick off the symposium with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the wine industry, featuring key findings from our latest survey. Enhancing Wine Club Experiences: Discover innovative ways to create unforgettable and engaging experiences for your members. Leveraging Wine Club Data: Learn how to harness the power of data to drive growth and optimize your wine club operations with insights from Enolytics and Bergstrom Wines. AI-Powered Marketing: Delve into practical applications of artificial int

Over the years we’ve made various predictions about where the wine industry was going, especially when it came to DTC wine shipping, tasting rooms, and wine sales and marketing generally. And while events of the past few years have definitely made things more interesting, we can say confidently that, no matter what events are in the news, the underlying fundamental forces are always at work. Think of it like a small boat caught in the Gulf Stream. A storm might come by and toss the boat to-and-fro, and could even move it several yards off course. But, ultimately, the flow of the Gulf Stream wins, and the boat is carried along that same course. The wine industry has been the same way. What looked like temporary waves now look like strong undercurrents that have been there for some time, and will continue to operate. Here are five such undercurrents that continue to define the wine space midway through 2022: Tastings “By-Appointment-Only” Are Forever Part of the Landsca

Novato, CA – The California Department of Food and Agriculture Preliminary Grape Crush Report for 2021 has been released. It is a summary for the supply of the wine and grape industry, containing tons crushed and prices of wine grapes sold during the 2021 harvest. The Crush Report provides growers and wineries insight into the inventory position for the California wine business as a whole, and influences market dynamics for the current bulk wine market as well as the upcoming 2022 harvest. Key Insights by Region   Tons Crushed 2021 Tons Crushed 2020 Net Gain/Loss Equivalent Gallons % Chg 2021 %Δ to 5Y Avg North Coast 424,648 364,380 60,268 9,944,000 17% -15% Central Coast 549,111 403,959 145,152 23,950,000 36% 9% Northern Interior 987,540 858,767 128,773 21,247,000 15% 5% Southern Interior 1,578,463 1,704,384 -125,921 -20,777,000 -7% -16%   Tons Crushed 2021 Tons Crushed 2020 Net Gain/Loss Equivalent Gallons

Q1 is a time for review in the wine industry. How did 2021 take shape? What do the trends mean for 2022? As various industry reports are being released, we thought it would be fun to take a look back on 2021 ourselves. Being a team of fulfillment specialists affords us a privileged point of view here. We can speak to wine sales and the DTC channel having seen it up close, on the ground. We see the actual orders going out the door to customers.  And what we see is this—the industry has gone through some substantial changes, no doubt about it. The “necessity is the mother of invention”’ principle is prevailing, which makes us  optimistic about what the rest of the year has in store.  Here are three trends to watch in 2022: Tasting Rooms Have Evolved, and Will Continue to Do So One of the biggest changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was its effect on tasting rooms. We’re not talking about tasting rooms closing and re-opening; we’re ta

Brian BakerBrian Baker is managing partner at Cultivar, a wine sales and marketing company specializing in three-tier, direct-to-consumer, and export channels. We spoke with Brian last year on tasting rooms and the changes that came with the COVID-19 pandemic; now, we turned to him again to talk about imports and how foreign wine brands are now looking at direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels. You‌ ‌can‌ ‌listen‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌full‌ ‌interview‌ ‌here‌ ‌or‌ ‌read‌ ‌the‌ ‌abridged‌ ‌version‌ ‌below‌:‌ ‌ Milton Cornwell: Today, I have Brian Baker, who really needs no introduction. His background in the wine and hospitality space is extensive and includes senior leadership positions at Jackson Family Wines, Chateau Montelena, and Mayacamas Vineyards. We first caught up with him in 2020, right after the pandemic had hit, and got into many topics, mo

Recently, I watched a presentation by Peter Yeung and Dr. Liz Thach in anticipation of reading their new book, Luxury Wine Marketing: The Art and Science of Luxury Wine Branding. Their book is based on extensive research on luxury products and wines specifically, and includes interviews with luxury wine producers, experts, and consumers alike. I thought it would be helpful to give our readers some of the highlights and to compare their work with our own thoughts on marketing to affluent wine consumers. (Here is the full webinar for those that are interested—many thanks to LuxeSF and Alf Nucifora for putting this together!) These are five insights worth noting: Insight #1: To be defined as a luxury wine, it must have 6 specific qualities.  Luxury wine brands are defined as wines that are (1) of high quality, (2) come from a special place, (3) have a sense of scarcity about them, (4) sold at an elevated price, and provide both (5) pleasure and a sense of (6) privilege.&nbs

Brian Baker is well known in the wine industry as a Sales and Profitability specialist and has given many talks and workshops on the subject. He is also a managing partner of Cultivar Marketing, which provides wine sales and marketing consulting. We recently reached out to Brian to discuss the future of the tasting room, especially in the face of COVID-19 quarantine.   Milton Cornwell: Thank you for agreeing to the interview, Brian! There is a lot I want to discuss with you, especially with all the changes we’re seeing with coronavirus [COVID-19] and how wineries are embracing technology. I can’t help but compare this to Y2K—that event fundamentally changed how companies embraced technology. Are we in a similar kind of moment now?   Brian Baker: It is a pivotal moment, if that’s what you mean. Disruptive events like these have disruptive consequences. They also create opportunities. Coming out of this crisis, winery-owned tasting rooms have a c