Sonoma, CA – April 22, 2026 – Free Flow Wines announces the winners of the 13th Annual KEGGY Awards, honoring outstanding partners who are advancing sustainability, quality, and innovation across the wine and hospitality industries. Now aligned with Earth Month, the KEGGY Awards continue to spotlight the environmental and operational benefits of wine on tap, while celebrating the growing community of wineries, distributors, and on-premise operators leading the charge. FFW & Partners’ Cumulative Impact to Date: 45,448,130 bottles saved from landfill 80,827,751 lbs. of CO₂ emissions prevented from entering the atmosphere New in 2026, Free Flow Wines has expanded its award categories to recognize excellence across a broader set of hospitality leaders. These new honors celebrate accounts that demonstrate a strong commitment to reusable stainless steel kegs, investment in draft beverage quality, and a dedication to elevating the overall guest experience. New categories include Best Ho

Together with ONAFIS and a great group of partners, InnoVint, MUST Fabricating, Santa Rosa Stainless Steel, and Vivelys, we’ll be showcasing how technology is transforming cellar operations, from real-time data to smarter automation and better decision-making. You’ll also hear directly from winemakers sharing their real-world experience and results in the cellar: Bastien Lucas (Marciano Estate) & Michaella Goldner (Domaine Carneros Winery) Thursday, April 23rd | 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM MUST Fabricate Machinery, St Helena From tech demos to live discussions and a relaxed French-style cookout, it’s a great opportunity to connect with peers and explore what’s next for modern winemaking.  Spots are limited. hope to see you there!  Register here.

Conceptualized in 2016 and fully launched in 2019, the 220L Wineglobe is found in many important sparkling, white and red cellars around the world. Created by Bordeaux based Famille Paetzold, in 2025 Wineglobe released the newest edition to their lineup: The 400L Wine Globe. Through client feedback and market testing, the goal of the 400L was to: Create an actual sphere that is more natural in shape and entirely made of borosilicate glass Decrease the price per L: 220L / 4,950 EURO vs. 400L / 5,950 EURO -  Easier handling via it's forklift friendly stand Easier cleaning via valve opening or 90 degree elbow Produced locally on site in Cadaujac Bordeaux, France Production The 400L Wineglobe is produced via a patented process involving two separate half spheres which are then fused together to make a complete sphere. The production is internalized at Famille Paetzold and is overlooked by the youngest of the Paetzold's; Paul. At the origin of the Wineglobe is gla

Join leading wine industry attorneys, winery owners, and professionals for a focused half-day panel discussion. Panelists include: Arnaud Joubert - Légi Conseils Bourgogne Mario Zepponi - BMO Howard Bailey - Arch + Beam Pete Danko - Portland Business Journal Michael (“Mikey”) Etzel - Beaux Frères Winery Janie Brooks Heuck - Brooks Winery Barbara Gross - Cooper Mountain Vineyards David Millman - Domaine Drouhin Rusty Field - Domaine Serene Adam Campbell - Elk Cove Winery JB Rivail - Ponzi Vineyards What you’ll gain: Practical strategies to manage financial and operational risk Insights on protecting assets in a shifting market Real-world perspectives from industry leaders and advisors Actionable steps to strengthen stability and long-term positioning May 12, 2026 7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.  Check-In & Breakfast 8:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Program The Allision Inn & Spa 2525 Allison Lane  Newberg, OR 97132 Register Here

Wright Contracting’s dedicated team specializes in creating stunning winery spaces to elevate your brand, enhance guest experience and leading-edge production facilities that blend efficiency and tradition. With our stellar portfolio, we bring a wealth of expertise in: custom winery construction, renovations and expansions. Let us help you craft a beautiful, functional space that reflects your unique vision. From concept to completion, we’re committed to excellence every step of the way. Transform your winery dreams into reality.  Wright Contracting Unified Symposium Booth: 1016 For over 70 years, Wright Contracting has built a reputation as the leading commercial construction company in the North Bay. This tradition of craftsmanship has earned us the opportunity to build and renovate many of the North Bay’s most notable landmarks, including wineries such as Domaine Carneros, Cakebread Cellars, Chateau Montelena, Dominus, Hamel Family Wines and many more. With of

Domaine Della 2023 Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir Takes Top Prize  November 18, 2025 — Winners have been announced in the 2025 Harvest Challenge Wine Competition. After two spirited days of judging, Domaine Della 2023 Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir took the top prize. It was also awarded Best of Show Red Wine and Best of Monterey County AVA. Coming in at 98 points, judges praised the wine as “warm and spicy” with “fig and nutmeg.” Other descriptors included “meaty,” “prosciutto,” and “dried rose petal.”  With entries from across the globe, the Harvest Challenge bases judging on a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions and grapes that combine to give personality to the wine.  In other competitions, this terroir is ignored. At the Harvest Challen

For years, discounting has been the default lever wineries pull to spark sales and reward loyal customers. But in today’s crowded marketplace, deep discounts can erode brand value and condition customers to buy only when the price drops. There’s a better way: loyalty points programs. Retention, without discounting, comes from making customers feel known, valued, and part of something special. They’ll stay not because it’s cheaper, but because it’s theirs. Instead of discounting away margin, wineries can encourage repeat visits and purchases by offering rewards that feel aspirational, personalized, and memorable. Loyalty points add up over time, giving guests a reason to come back again and again, all the while protecting your brand’s premium image. 10 Reasons Why Loyalty Points Work Shift from price to experience. Points reward frequency and engagement, not bargain hunting. The program should reinforce experience, access, and emotional loyalty, not

From the desk of Michelle van der Lugt: GIFTERS are such a valuable part of holiday-season sales, as we saw in last week’s post. Corporate gifters? Even more so! Enolytics does the heavy lifting for you of identifying gifters in your own database, saving you hours (days) of time. Then we filter through the email domains of the list of gifters. A gmail address? Our algorithm knows that is likely a personal address. An @deloitte.com or @amazon.com email? More likely, that’s a corporate address, so we flag those for you specifically. Then it gets even more interesting. We also filter for industry, such as finance, legal, education, and more, and we assign each industry a score. Financial services email addresses, for example, score higher than emails of non-profits. So you’ll know where your biggest opportunities lie, and can prioritize outreach and messaging. And here’s the bonus: corporate gifters don’t just buy in December. They gift year-round wheneve

Bouchard Cooperages is very proud to represent Tonnellerie Damy, based in Meursault, one of the most prestigious cooperages in Burgundy. Tonnellerie Damy, and its French Sales Manager Étienne Martin, work exclusively with their neighbor and client Domaine Élodie Roy in Maranges. This important producer uses Damy barrels exclusively for its production of chardonnay, aligoté and pinot noir. For those interested, the same Damy barrels Élodie Roy uses for the production of these wines are currently available from stock inventory in California, Oregon, Washington, Virginia and Ontario. Tonnellerie Damy - Meursault, France Tonnellerie Damy was founded in 1946 and is managed by third generation Jérôme Damy who overseas the production of 18,000 barrels per year. The cooperage represents a state of the art facility located in Meursault, Burgundy. The majority of Damy's barrels are made from single origin French Oak, sourced from the most

Independent Stave Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Glycine Bonneville-Jiang as Oak Research & Development Specialist based in Napa, California. Bonneville-Jiang brings extensive experience in wine research and production, with a specialized focus on wine microbiology, sensory analysis and vineyard-to-cellar innovation. She most recently served as R&D Manager at Lawrence Wine Estates, where she led technical initiatives for Heitz Cellar, Burgess, Ink Grade, Haynes and Stony Hill. Her work has included microbial analysis, smoke taint mitigation, native fermentation development, and soil health trials to enhance wine quality and sustainability. With more than a decade of global wine experience spanning France, Australia and the United States, Bonneville-Jiang has held research and harvest positions at wineries including Vieux Château Certan, Le Pin, Domaine Louis Latour and Château Léoville Barton. She has also consulted on wine microbiology in