“Peer to peer.” What are my neighbors doing? How are my neighbors doing, in relation to my winery? I’m all for running your own race, and doing what’s right for your own brand and your own business. I also understand that we live in a tight, relational ecosystem of wine. What’s happening with your peers matters and it can provide important perspective and context for what’s happening with you. This week I’d like to hover over two peer-to-peer perspectives. First up, our latest “snapshot” from January, highlighting key metrics across our entire dataset. For the first time we’re also including the WISE Triple Score, thanks to our newest partnership with the WISE team. Important takeaways from this community snapshot: Wineries gathered more customer data this January than last January, successfully building their databases for future marketing efforts. Winning wineries convert improved data capture and club conversion

After veraison, as grapes develop their enticing color in the vineyard, the age-old battle between man and nature — in the form of hungry birds — begins. Vintners and farmers have experimented with gas cannons, reflective flash tape, sonic sound systems, drones and netting to scare off their voracious flying opponents. But, the noise of cannons and sonics can irritate neighbors, and drones and netting are labor intensive, making them too expensive to maintain. Nature often provides the best solution, and in the case of birds raiding vineyards, the natural solution is birds of prey like falcons. Small birds' instinctive fear of their natural predators causes the flock to shift direction, saving the crop from invasion. After five decades in the bird abatement business, Falcon Crop Protection has an intimate knowledge of bird behavior and has brought this knowledge to wine country after their marketing manager moved to Healdsburg, launching Falcon Crop Protection to help

Tyler Harlington, Head Red Winemaker at Four Feathers Wine Estates in Prosser, WA discusses how they incorporate Pulsair's air mixing equipment for cap management in their large fermentation tanks.

Afternoon Brief, February 8th

Heitz Cellar Sued Over Wages: A former employee has filed a class-action lawsuit against Heitz Cellar for allegedly violating California’s wage laws, according to court records...

Afternoon Brief, February 24th

Smoke on the Vineyards: Wine Industry Looks for Solutions to a Continuing Problem: Hundreds of wine industry owners and professionals joined a Tuesday seminar on wildfire smoke’s effect on wine, searching for answers to what is becoming an almost annual problem...