I spend an embarrassing amount of time every January reading year-end recaps, trend reports, and “culture in review” pieces. It’s part professional habit, part curiosity, part doomscrolling with a notebook. But as I started flipping through 2025 retrospectives, something felt… off. Not alarming. Not exciting. Just oddly muted. Nothing was shouting. Nothing felt particularly sharp. Even the topics that usually come with big opinions seemed softened, neutralized, turned down a few notches. So I pulled the thread. And the more I looked, the more I began noticing the same quiet signals emerging in places that had no connection to each other: design trends, language, social behavior, media content, fashion, and even travel preferences. Different industries. Different audiences. Same emotional temperature. Meh. Which led me to a question I couldn’t shake: Is this increasing indecisiveness a new form of rebellion? A sign of boredom? Or are we just culturall

Another month of calm November typically marks the end of a new harvest and the middle of our busiest sales quarter. October’s government shutdown created unbelievable market uncertainty. But with the system back up and Thanksgiving almost normal, stability returned rather than the predicted surges or collapses by pundits from both sides. Still, questions remain about the future of our economic recovery prospects. For now, it is a reprieve, allowing us to regroup for the new year. Market dynamics The delayed reports from Commerce and the Bureau of Labor Statistics have started to trickle in, bringing some key takeaways: Unemployment is holding at 3.8%. Inflation easing to 2.3% YoY. Consumer spending down ~2% from Q3, but no hint of a cliff. As we close out the year and look to 2026, the focus will be on staying agile in both supply planning and capturing winery sales and marketing opportunities. The key trends persist: Steady demand, no major swings, and a growing gap between spe

HOW TO KEEP YOUR BRAND TOP OF MIND WHEN CUSTOMERS ARE DROWNING IN HOLIDAY EMAILS The inbox in December isn’t a communication tool—it’s a full-contact sport. Every brand, from the global megastore to the local dog bakery, is shouting their way into people’s attention span with flashing subject lines, endless exclamation points, and “40% OFF” hysteria that blurs into static. Consumers don’t read; they scan for relief. According to Mailjet’s 2024 BFCM report, holiday email volume jumps nearly 80% between Thanksgiving and Christmas, while average open rates drop to 13–15%—a statistical cry for help. But the real problem isn’t quantity—it’s tone. Every brand is talking at their audience instead of with them. The louder the messaging, the less people listen. Leading with prices and panic doesn’t inspire trust; it triggers fatigue. That’s your opportunity. The brands that win the inbox aren’t the

Wine clubs have long been the backbone of direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. But with shifting consumer expectations and the rise of subscription culture, from streaming services to meal kits, wineries are rethinking the traditional club. Subscription models promise flexibility for customers, stability for wineries, and in many cases, less operational strain. We asked four leading technology providers (Awtomic, Commerce7, OrderPort, and VinSuite) to share their insights on how wineries can successfully add or adapt subscriptions. We also gathered a few winery examples to show how creative models are being used today. This list is in no way exhaustive, there are many winery DTC software/SaaS providers with options, and the landscape is continuously evolving. For a deeper dive, check out this article by WineBusiness Monthly with all the providers, trends, and a very helpful comparison chart. What Are Wine Subscriptions? At their core, wine subscriptions are a modern twist on the tradi

Take a guess! What catches the eye of the smartest consultants working in the wine industry today? Here are a few hints. It wasn't DTC. (From what the consultants see at the wineries they work with, DTC is pretty much holding steady.) It wasn't the pros and cons of one platform over another. It wasn't even AI. What caught their eye was one thing in particular: How their can wineries sell more wine... into WHOLESALE. I'm happy to say that we can help with exactly that. Enolytics' software analyzes distributor depletion data (which we receive, with the winery's permission, thanks to our partnership with VIP). More importantly right now, we leverage a winery's DTC data to identify suggested accounts and opportunities in wholesale. Watch the VIDEO here to see how that looks. This is what catches consultants' eye, because it's what their wineries are worried about. DTC is holding steady, for many wineries, but wholesale has fallen off a cliff

The conversations I have about quality tend to focus on red wine. This is especially true in California, where Napa Cabs have historically garnered high prices, followed up by Coastal Pinot noirs and red Rhones. Honestly, in most places I’ve been where the climate allows for ripening red grapes, the reds are the main event with the whites being more of a warm-up act or even an afterthought. As a result, we know a lot about how to grow red grapes for quality – and less about how to grow whites. Consumer tastes are shifting though, and the big reds of yore are taking a back seat. Drinkers want lower alcohol wines with a lighter style and wineries are taking fewer risks with wine they can turn around in under a year. As a result, white varieties are in hot demand. If you’re a grower who can’t sell your grapes, you may very well be considering grafting some of your reds over to white.  So how do you grow a good white? In many ways whites are harder than their r

"The relationship I had built with M. A. Silva is the reason I moved everything to them" Erica Stancliff, a consulting winemaker renowned for her meticulous attention to detail and unwavering commitment to quality, has been working with M. A. Silva since 2010. Initially, she relied on M. A. Silva solely for corks. However, by 2015, her trust in their products and services grew so much that she transitioned all her clients’ packaging needs, including specialized glass molds and box printing, to M. A. Silva. Stancliff’s decision to move everything to M. A. Silva was not made lightly. The catalyst for this shift was the exceptional relationship she developed with their team. “The relationship I had built with M. A. Silva is the reason I moved everything to them,” Stancliff explains. The previous glass vendor she used had consistent issues with variability, delivery problems, and a lack of reliable customer service. These challenges were particularly prob