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

Loyalty, Deconstructed: Small Moments, Big Retention What actually makes members stick? In Session 4, Jason Curtis sits down with industry veteran Brian Baker to break down loyalty into practical, repeatable steps you can deploy without requiring bigger discounts or heavy lifting. In this replay, you’ll learn: Story by generation: Gen Z (values & moments), Millennials (experiences), Gen X (clarity), Boomers (legacy). Micro-exclusivity that scales: tiny lots, off-menu pours, member-only moments that feel special. Personalization beyond the name: preferences, simple “your year in wine” recaps, timely outreach. Surprise & delight: thoughtful unboxing layers, quick QR thank-you videos, occasional “upgrade” moments. Hospitality that converts: use the 80/20 guest-talk ratio and a 3-second pause to show you’re listening. Community & values: partner events, cause alignment, and easy member micro-communities. “Aim small, miss small. Start l

Wine Club Symposium — Session 1 State of the Industry: Why Wine Clubs?  Watch the full recording of vinSUITE’s opening keynote to see how leading wineries are growing clubs in a softer market—by reducing sign-up friction, making commitment flexible, and keeping members engaged between shipments. The panel shares field examples from tasting rooms and clubs, then maps them to simple operational changes you can test this quarter. You’ll leave with practical ways to shorten the join flow, add flexible commitment (pause/skip/swap or prepaid), and build habit-keeping touches between shipments—plus the metrics that show it’s working. What you’ll learn Reduce tasting-room friction: capture contact earlier and streamline the join flow. Flexible commitment: pause/skip/swap and prepaid balances convert “almost” members and save cancels—without discounting. Between-shipment engagement: one planned touch + a simple cancel-save step k

vinSUITE has announced the full agenda and speaker lineup for the 3rd Annual Wine Club Symposium, the leading virtual event for winery professionals focused on driving wine club growth, boosting member retention, and leveraging AI in direct-to-consumer (DTC) operations.  Taking place online on Tuesday, July 15, and Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the Symposium features six sessions, more than a dozen speakers, and data-backed content designed to give attendees clear, tactical steps for immediate application. The event is free to attend and begins each day at 9:00 AM PDT. Register at wineclubsymposium.com or directly via GoToWebinar. With wine clubs generating as much as 60% of DTC revenue for top-performing wineries, this year’s agenda focuses on increasing profitability through strategic customer targeting, member experience innovation, and operational efficiency. 2025 Wine Club Symposium Agenda Day 1 – Tuesday, July 15 9:00–9:50 AM PDT— State of the

Afternoon Brief: Vinarchy - A New Global Wine Company

Vinarchy combines the assets of wholly-owned Accolade Wines with the Australian, New Zealand and Spanish wine businesses formerly owned by Pernod Ricard, which were acquired by AWL in April 2025...

NAPA, Calif. (Feb. 17, 2025) – Cooperages 1912, a subsidiary of Independent Stave Company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Shelton as Director of Sales and Operations for North America, South America, Australia, and Asia.  In this role, Shelton will oversee the day-to-day management and development of the North American wine barrel market and sales team headquartered in Napa, California. He will also be responsible for overseeing Cooperages 1912’s international subsidiaries in Australia, Chile, and Argentina, which include two wine barrel cooperages and finished barrel warehouses.  In addition, Shelton will supervise and direct the efforts of the R&D personnel and analytical laboratory located at the Cooperages 1912 Napa offices. This aspect of his role will help shape new product development strategy and execution, as well as brand development.  Born and raised in Texas, Shelton brings more than 15 years of experience in the wine i

The ninth annual Rich Smith Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to the American grape and wine industry was presented today to Emily Hodson, the winemaker at Veritas Vineyards and Winery, a co-owner of Flying Fox Vineyards and Winery, and an active leader in the Virginia wine industry. Members of the Smith family and sponsoring organizations present the Rich Smith award to Emily Hodson (third from left). The prestigious award annually reflects the spirit and accomplishments of the late Richard (Rich) Smith, founder of Valley Farm Management and Smith Family Wines in California’s Santa Lucia Highlands wine region in Monterey County. Rich was first and foremost a family man, but also a successful grape grower and winery owner, and a highly respected colleague known for the combination of passion, commitment and collaboration which helped advance the American grape and wine industry. Ever since Rich passed away in December 2015, three organizations—WineAmerica, N