Shutdown Showdown?: If it’s September, it’s time for this annual Washington drama, a manufactured crisis of political theater that typically lasts right up until the deadline (midnight, September 30), That’s when the government would run out of money unless Congress passes (and the President signs) a “Continuing Resolution” (CR, in DC lingo) that extends the old budget until they eventually create a new one. The last “on time” budget was passed when Bill Clinton was President, meaning that both Democrat and Republican administrations have consistently failed. Stay tuned for the 2025 theatrics! Hemp High?: Can you have THC-infused products shipped to your mailbox without any onsite ID proof necessary? Yes, thanks to a 2018 Farm Bill glitch that legalized hemp, including (unwittingly) the same THC that is also derived from marijuana. So…while alcohol and marijuana are both highly regulated, hemp is not at all. As a result, Congress is work

Second-Year Sponsorship Highlights American Wine Industry’s Economic Impact and Community Building Mission  WineAmerica, the National Association of American Wineries, announced today its proud sponsorship of the 2025 Come Over October Congressional Wine Caucus press conference and reception, taking place on October 8th in Washington, D.C. This marks the second consecutive year WineAmerica has supported this important invitation-only industry event, demonstrating the organization’s continued commitment to fostering bipartisan support for America’s burgeoning wine industry.  The reception will showcase wines from across many states, celebrating the breadth, diversity and quality of American wine production from coast to coast. This comprehensive representation underscores the truly national scope of the American wine industry, which now includes 10,637 wine producers operating in every state. Economic Powerhouse Supporting American Communities WineAmerica&r

Join Karen MacNeil, Kimberly Noelle Charles and Gino Colangelo, co-founders of the Come Over October campaign, for a focused webinar on how wineries, wine companies, and wine regions can use this fall’s campaign to promote and sell their wines.

Join wine industry icon Karen MacNeil, RedChirp co-founder Jennie Gilbert, and Laurelle Turner-Clemons from Hess Persson Estates for a practical, idea-packed webinar to help you promote and sell your wine using the Come Over October campaign for creative traction.  Co-created by Karen, Kimberly Noelle Charles, and Gino Colangelo, the Come Over October campaign is focused on telling the positive story about wine by celebrating togetherness, connection, and hospitality. The campaign has experienced extraordinary success thus far—reaching nearly 2 billion media impressions in its first year. In this session, we’ll highlight how your winery can easily participate, benefit, and be a part of Come Over October this fall.  You’ll get proven text message marketing strategies, ready-to-use SMS campaigns, and expert tips to drive traffic and boost sales, all tailored to the Come Over October theme. Whether you're joining for the first time or returning for ano

Join Karen MacNeil, Kimberly Noelle Charles and Gino Colangelo, co-founders of the Come Over October campaign, for a focused webinar on how wineries, wine companies, and wine regions can use this fall’s campaign to promote and sell their wines. Begun in 2024, Come Over October is a hugely successful grassroots consumer campaign in support of wine as the beverage that brings people together. To date Come Over October, and its sister campaign Share & Pair Sundays, have garnered nearly 2 billion media impressions and more than 1400 retail stores will run Come Over October promotions this fall. The webinar will include special guests, plus an excerpt from the campaign’s interview with winemaker Alecia Moore (stage name P!nk). Speakers:  

It’s baaaaaack! The incredibly successful “Come Over October” campaign is once again inviting the international wine community to celebrate with the beverage that brings us all together. Everyone is invited, and now is the time to get started by planning for a dozen curated suggestions: –Game Day gatherings with wine and snacks –Best Friend nights centered around cooking dinner together –Neighborhood Potlucks that build community connections –Leaves Changing Color celebrations with white, red, and rose tastings after autumn walks –At-home wine tasting parties for old and new friends –Wine Book Club gatherings that combine reading with regional wine exploration –Renewed Sunday Supper traditions –End of October costume parties featuring bewitching wines –TGIF Wine and Cheese gatherings after work –Love Your Local Winery visits to support the wineries in all 50 states And you can even create your own themes! The

February 20th, 2025 — Wineries seeking innovative ways to engage wine lovers and drive DTC sales this spring now have a powerful new tool at their disposal. RedChirp, the wine industry’s leading text messaging platform, is proud to collaborate with best-selling author and wine industry thought leader Karen MacNeil—co-creator of Come Over October and Share & Pair Sundays—to help wineries seamlessly integrate this exciting new movement into their marketing strategies.  On Thursday, February 27th at 10 AM Pacific, Karen MacNeil and RedChirp co-founder Jennie Gilbert will host an exclusive webinar: "New Ways to Engage Wine Lovers: Share & Pair Sundays + Text Message Marketing." Attendees will discover the inspiration behind Share & Pair Sundays and gain access to a suite of new tools designed to make participation effortless for busy DTC teams—including prebuilt bulk message templates, expert SMS marketing strategies, and prov

Acquisition Creates the Leading Full-Service Wine & Spirits Agency in the U.S., with Offices in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Austin and now, the Heart of Downtown Napa Colangelo & Partners (www.colangelopr.com), the leading wine and spirits-focused communications agency in the U.S., today announces the acquisition of a majority stake in the business of WineGlass Marketing (https://www.wineglassmarketing.com/), a wine and spirits-focused digital marketing agency. WineGlass Marketing is renowned for combining strategic planning and creativity in direct response and advertising campaigns, web development and email marketing for the U.S. wine and spirits industry. “This investment expands our service offering for the wine and spirits community in critical digital marketing areas and gives our agency a physical presence in the heart of wine country,” said Gino Colangelo, president of Colangelo & Partners. “We’ve grown our agency organically from a tea

How 'Come Over October' Brought the Wine World Together (WineAmerica)

Come Over October (COO) sprung from a light bulb moment in January 2024, when noted author & wine writer Karen MacNeil was walking her dog and