In the film Field of Dreams, a quiet voice whispers a simple promise: “If you build it, he will come.” The idea was never really about baseball. It was about creating something meaningful and trusting that the right people would be drawn to it. The wine industry is standing at a similar crossroads. For decades, wineries have operated on a simple assumption: make great wine, tell a compelling story, and consumers will come. Craft the product. Earn the accolades. Build the brand. But the next generation of wine consumers is telling us something different. Gen Z, now entering legal drinking age and shaping the future of hospitality, is not primarily seeking bottles to collect or scores to chase. Many say they are looking for something more fundamental: connection, community, and places where they can gather with friends away from the constant pull of the digital world. In other words, they are looking for a third space. For winery owners, executives, and Direct-to-Consumer lea

For most wineries, marketing still follows a familiar path: email campaigns, wine clubs, tasting room experiences, and social media. These channels continue to drive direct-to-consumer sales, but they are also becoming increasingly saturated. Reaching new customers often requires more content, more spend, and more competition for the same audience. At the same time, another force is shaping consumer behavior at scale—film and television. A single streaming series can influence travel, dining, fashion, and brand awareness almost overnight. Within those moments, wine is already present. It appears in dinner scenes, celebrations, restaurants, and quiet evenings at home, serving as a natural extension of lifestyle and hospitality. Historically, however, the bottles used on screen have rarely represented real wineries. That is beginning to change. Wine product placement is emerging as a viable and strategic marketing channel for wineries looking to expand beyond traditional touchpoin

Why Wineries Need Influencer Marketing Now Here's a number that should reshape how you think about marketing: 69% of consumers trust influencer recommendations more than information coming directly from a brand That's not a slight edge. That's a fundamental shift in how people decide what to buy. For wineries, this matters more than it does for most industries. Wine is a considered purchase wrapped in uncertainty. Your potential customer is standing in a tasting room or scrolling through an online store, wondering: Will I like this? Is it worth the price? Am I making the right choice? Influencer content answers those questions in ways traditional marketing cannot. When a trusted voice says "I tried this Pinot and it's incredible with grilled salmon," that carries weight. It's a peer recommendation disguised as content. Instagram and TikTok now drive wine discovery among younger audiences, and 87% of Gen Z consumers say they're willing to buy products

Green shoots: Is this a “transitional moment”? With spring getting underway, this month’s California Report assesses vineyard conditions, grape demand, and whether the bulk wine and grape markets are seeing the first tentative green shoots of  recovery: Is the industry in a “transitional moment” before growth returns later this year or next? We dive into recent reports that case-good sales declines in the US are slowing, using the latest SipSource US wholesale depletions data to pick out some sales trends. The convergence of pricing toward California-appellation levels on all but a select handful of wines theoretically enables bulk wine buyers to make their decisions based purely on which samples best meet their quality/character specifications. This has opened up product development and scope for wine companies to attack potential retail opportunities. With wine aisles growing shorter, this is a challenging time to “buy the dip” with inn

Keynote by Felicity Carter, Founder of Drinks Insider A global tasting and marketing forum where winemakers, sommeliers, and buyers share their insights and hone their tasting skills. Get ready for an unforgettable experience at our most popular wine conversations event! We've just completed the 2026 wine selection process with MS Evan Goldstein, and the 2026 blind wine tasting panel promises to offer a delightful mix of wine discovery and enjoyment. Last year, our event was overbooked, so secure your spot now for the Thirteenth Anniversary of the Annual Wine Conversations: A Global Tasting and Marketing Forum, hosted by DIAM Bouchage and G3 Enterprises. St Helena, CA The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone 2555 Main St, St Helena, CA 94574 March 5, 2026 • 9:30 am - 12:00 pm Optional Lunch 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Reserve Your Spot Alternate event on March 3, 2026 in Buellton, CA.

Keynote by Felicity Carter, Founder of Drinks Insider A global tasting and marketing forum where winemakers, sommeliers, and buyers share their insights and hone their tasting skills. Get ready for an unforgettable experience at our most popular wine conversations event! We've just completed the 2026 wine selection process with MS Evan Goldstein, and the 2026 blind wine tasting panel promises to offer a delightful mix of wine discovery and enjoyment. Last year, our event was overbooked, so secure your spot now for the Thirteenth Anniversary of the Annual Wine Conversations: A Global Tasting and Marketing Forum, hosted by DIAM Bouchage and G3 Enterprises. Buellton, CA Santa Ynez Valley Marriott 555 McMurray Road|Buellton, CA 93427 March 3, 2026 • 9:30 am - 12:00 pm Optional Lunch 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Reserve Your Spot Alternate event on March 5, 2026 in Helena, CA.

"The barrier to entry with wine and AI is you." That was my favorite takeaway from last Friday's inaugural AI and Wine group discussion, which Nadia Kinkade and I had initiated to explore how artificial intelligence is shaping the business of wine. It was Stephen Mok, founder of New Vintage Labs, who said it. And it's stuck with me. You know, and we all know, that there are plenty of barriers of entry when it comes to today's wine industry. And never before have two such powerful (tsunami-scale?) forces crashed together as they have right now, namely the massive shift in technology and the wine sales downturn globally. Which is why it's never before been so important to have conversations like this, about the industry's responses to these forces. And to have them openly and with a community-forward mindset. And to learn from our colleagues and peers about how they're managing the waves. That's exactly why we'll keep having these sessio

When we launched the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast in 2016, we weren’t sure where it would go. Now, 300 episodes later, it’s become a go-to resource for growers, researchers, educators, and wine industry professionals dedicated to sustainability. To mark this milestone, we flipped the mic around and interviewed our host, Craig Macmillan, PhD — long-time vineyard and winery professional, educator, and now podcasting veteran — to reflect on some favorite episodes, meaningful moments, and what’s ahead. From Zoom Recordings to Global Reach Craig began hosting when the podcast was just an idea sparked by the Vineyard Team’s goal to make sustainable winegrowing knowledge more accessible. “I wasn't a podcast listener at all,” Craig admits. “But I said sure, why not? Let's try it.” Since then, the show has featured scientists, growers, and innovators from all over the world, creating a ripple effect of conversations and c

Shorter harvests fail to stir uncertain bulk market The Northern Hemisphere harvests are in full swing and this month’s report relays the latest news from the vineyards on crop size and grape quality. Only one of California, France, Spain and Italy appears on course for a crop size in line with its five-year average, the others look set to come in short to varying extents, whether due to Mother Nature, vineyard removals/mothballing, or both. But with inventories long and North American and European retail sales of wine continuing to struggle, the bulk market has been largely unmoved. This month’s report identifies the activity that has occurred. Inflation and a cost-of-living squeeze are increasingly cropping up again in industry conversations. While the worst of the post-pandemic inflationary tailwinds are in the past, grocery and energy prices remain significantly elevated versus 3-5 years ago and consumers are reducing their spending on discretionary items accordingly.

The word that will dominate supply chain conversations in 2025 (and possibly the next four to eight years) will be “tariffs”. It is no longer a market-by-market theme. Instead, due to the US administration’s “Liberation Day” on April 2 – intended to remedy trade deficiencies, increase US manufacturing advantages, and tighten down on weaknesses in trade policies from the country’s top trading partners – the world is upended as it relates to global commerce. Liberation Day saw the unveiling of 10% universal global tariffs and reciprocal tariffs for specific countries ranging from 11% to 50%. The US has not imposed tariffs to this degree in over 75 years, and the proposed increases emulated the protectionist policies of 1922 and 1930, which had a dramatic effect on the US economy. Effective April 10, those countries which had received country-specific rates greater than 10% – such as the EU (20%), Vietnam (46%) and South Africa (30%)