Afternoon Brief, June 18th

California Fire Season Starts Early: At least nine wineries in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley were evacuated Sunday by a fast-moving wildfire. Another 13 wineries were facing an evacuation warning, depending on how fast the fire spreads...

Afternoon Brief, June 10th

Warren Winiarski, Famed Napa Valley Winemaker, Dies at 95: Warren Winiarski, co-founder with his wife Barbara of the famed Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, passed away June 7, 2024, as he was preparing for his 60th harvest in the Napa Valley...
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Sales Trends and Predictions, Consumer Motivation, Wine Club Retention, Navigating Wholesale Distribution, Wine Marketing Winners, and MORE! Join us Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Santa Rosa, CA, for this one-day event focused on delivering insights, advice, and predictions from industry leaders and winery executives from thriving brands sharing their strategies for succeeding in this competitive landscape. The Symposium program will open with a keynote address by Ben Dollard, President of Treasury Americas, and continue with topics that cover insights into customer demographics, industry sales trends and predictions, luxury wine consumer motivations & behaviors, converting website traffic into revenue, wholesale channels success, wine club retention, and more! Session panels will host speakers from notable brands that include Clif Family Winery & Farm, Customer Vineyard, DaVero Farms & Winery, Distinguished Vineyards, Far Niente Family of Wines, Knights Bridge Winery, L

The Wine Business Institute (WBI) at Sonoma State University (SSU) announced the 2023-2024 scholarship recipients of the Wine Industry Scholars Program (WISP) and the Wine Business Institute Inclusive Excellence Scholarship Program February 26. Recipients are recognized for having outstanding commitment to advancing their knowledge and expertise in the wine business. The Wine Industry Scholars Program (WISP) supports the access, retention, and graduation of students who are first-generation college students and children of families working in the wine industry. WISP awards approximately $150,000 in scholarships annually. The Wine Business Institute Inclusive Excellence Scholarship Program aims to foster a more diverse and inclusive wine industry by supporting a broad range of scholars, including women, individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds and those requiring financial support for their education. “This year’s recipients went through a rigorous sel

Wright Contracting recently completed construction of the incredible Knights Bridge Vineyards winery, which was designed to assume low a profile, complementing the existing landscape and blending seamlessly into the Knights Valley. As stewards of the land, the owners of Knights Bridge are committed to continuing their sustainable agricultural operation with no adverse impact on the unique rural nature of its surroundings. The construction elements of the project include a winery building “stepped” into the hillside, located at the entrance to caves where crush, fermentation, and storage will occur. The winery production building features a steel and glass wall facing north to view Mount St. Helena, and a Kallwall skylight for ample natural daylighting. Extensive caves provide additional production, barrel ageing, and a tour through the mountain to a cave office and tasting building built around a below grade courtyard garden light well. Construction materials have been sele

Afternoon Brief, January 26th

Ford Pro, Sonoma County Winegrowers Join Forces to Electrify Business of Farming: One of the most forward-thinking winegrowing counties in the United States is looking to advance its sustainability mission, and the Ford Proâ„¢ suite of electric vehicles, charging and telematics services has been tapped to help make that happen...

Afternoon Brief, December 20th

Pioneering Wine Industry Leader Art Ciocca Passes Away: Arthur “Art” Ciocca, founder of The Wine Group, has passed away at the age of 84. Known for his vision, entrepreneurial spirit, integrity, and deep-rooted values, Art was the founder of The Wine Group and its CEO for 26 years...

Bronwyn Dickson Ney is the founder of Bronwyn Ney Consulting, a marketing consulting firm focused on helping clients in wine, luxury, food, and hospitality. She is an expert in customer relationship marketing and has helped wineries drive significant growth over the years. We spoke with Bronwyn recently about luxury brands, stories, and connecting with the customer. Oh, and bacon. Listen to the full interview here or read along below:  Milton Cornwell: I’m excited to share another installment in our expert series for the wine industry. Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Bronwyn Ney, who has a fabulous background starting in luxury goods marketing with Sephora. She spent time with Clorox and ultimately held the Director of Marketing position with Hall Winery, and VP of Marketing and Direct with Knights Bridge. She now has her own consulting firm appropriately named Bronwyn Ney Marketing, which helps clients navigate the current marketing landscape. Her core focus on