In this episode of the WIN Insider Series, George Christie sits down with Alison Crowe, Vice President of Winemaking and Partner at Plata Wine Partners, to explore her remarkable journey through the wine industry. From her early days growing up in California’s Central Coast to studying viticulture and enology at UC Davis, Alison shares how curiosity, hands-on experience, and a willingness to take risks shaped her career across roles at Chalone Vineyard, Curtis Winery, and Bonny Doon Vineyard. She also reflects on authoring The Winemaker’s Answer Book and how translating complex winemaking concepts into practical insights has been a common thread in her work. Alison offers a candid look at today’s wine landscape, from the collaborative, client-focused model at Plata Wine Partners to the broader challenges facing the industry, including shifting consumer preferences and increased competition. She discusses the importance of making wine more approachable, the need for

Plata Wine Partners is a premium “vineyard-to-bottle” production house rooted in California’s top coastal AVAs. With more than 20,000 acres of sustainably managed vineyards, Plata provides bulk-wine, private-label, and custom-program solutions for brands of all sizes. Their team brings together expertise in viticulture, winemaking, production, and finance to deliver programs aligned with modern consumer preferences. As the business evolved, Plata recognized that their Winemaker’s Database (WMDB) system lacked the accuracy, speed, and real-time visibility required by a 12+ facility production model. Plata implemented InnoVint in 2024, and the difference after just one harvest was remarkable. The Challenge: A System That Slowed Down the Entire Business Before InnoVint, Plata’s production and finance teams were burdened by manual processes that made everyday work harder and introduced costly risk.  Excessive manual data entry. Every two weeks, the

As suspected, legal challenges have been made to both AB-51, which prohibits mandatory arbitration in employment, and AB-5, the new independent contractor test.  Below is a brief summary of the challenges and what it may mean for your business. Arbitration As of December 30, 2019,  California is prohibited from enforcing AB-51.  Mandatory arbitration is currently still binding. The United States and California Chambers of Commerce along with other interested parties filed an action to enjoin California’s implementation of AB-51 and sought a temporary restraining order to halt the January 1, 2020 effective date.  The Court determined that it was more likely than not that the moving party (Chamber of Commerce) would prevail at the January 10, 2020 hearing barring implementation of the law.  The primary argument for barring the implementation is that it is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”).  A link to the Court’s ruling can be found here. At the January 10 hearing, the C