When the Super Bowl and Olympics approach, we celebrate the performance we see on the field. What we don’t see is the year-round conditioning, repetition, and skill-building that made that performance possible. Winning teams don’t train only when the lights are brightest. They train all year long. The same principle applies to winery DTC teams. Downtime Is Where Advantage Is Built Periods of slower visitation or economic uncertainty can feel like a signal to pause. But research shows that the opposite approach separates leaders from laggards. A landmark study published by Harvard Business Review analyzed more than 4,700 companies across multiple recessions. The findings were striking: “Only 9% of companies emerged from recession stronger than before.” Even more telling: “Companies that balanced cost discipline with continued investment in people and capabilities recovered faster and gained market share.” Training Is a Growth Strategy,

Welcome to the August update from our friends at Saxco, on market dynamics in beverage packaging. This update first appeared in August’s Ciatti California Report, which you can find on Substack here.  Despite the macro-economic challenges, the CrowdStrike outage, the geopolitical tensions, and the exciting Olympics, the wine packaging market has remained rather stable for the last month.  However, the US Department of Commerce (Commerce) recently made affirmative preliminary antidumping (AD) determinations regarding glass wine bottles and similar glass bottles (740ml-760ml) imported from China, Mexico, and Chile. As a result of these preliminary findings, imports of in-scope glass bottles will incur AD cash deposit requirements at rates within the ranges indicated below. As with the countervailing duty (CVD) cash deposit requirements announced in May 2024, AD cash deposits represent payments of estimated tariffs, and any final AD tariff liability will be dete

US’ Shamier Little passes on the baton to Bryce Deadmon in the mixed 4x400m relay heat at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo: Jewel Samad/AFP It began years ago, and every day, we have the chance to cross the finish line strong. How we got here is not by accident; rather, it is the result of vision, dedication, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. It started years ago with a vision of a brand. The starting gun may have shot off generations ago, or perhaps it was more recent. Someone somewhere had the idea to set down roots and create a brand. Significant investment was made in the vineyard sources, the winery and production facility, and of course, in the tasting room. The vineyard crew has one of the hardest jobs in our industry. From being outside in the early pre-dawn hours in the cold to working in soaring temperatures during the heat of harvest, these crews show up and are rarely recognized. They face spiders, snakes, and yellow jackets that want to leave a mark. They

The 2024 Olympics will take place in Paris, France, one of the most iconic wine regions in the world, and is a fantastic opportunity for wineries to boost sales and engage customers. With the event right around the corner, here are some fun and practical ways to make the most of this global spectacle. These tips will help you create both in-person and virtual experiences that can drive wine sales and create memorable interactions. 1. Host an Open Night Ceremony: “Open the Bottle Night” Align your event with the Olympic opening ceremony and invite your audience to open a special bottle of your wine. Use email campaigns and social media to spread the word. Encourage participants to share photos and videos on social media with a specific hashtag, such as #OpenTheBottleNight or #SipForGold. Organize a live virtual toast via Zoom or Instagram Live, inviting a local athlete or wine expert to lead the toast and share a few words about your wines and the 2024 Olympics. Enhance the

With the Paris Olympics approaching, a special spotlight on Tonnellerie Maury & Fils and its French Olympic Roots. Serge Maury - French Olympian: Development of the cooperage was undertaken by the second generation cooper: Serge Maury who expanded the activity of the Maury cooperage and solidified its reputation among Bordeaux's most important Châteaux. In addition to Serge's passion for the wine and cooperage industry, he loved sailing and in 1972 would win a Gold Medal for France in the "Finn" sailing discipline at the Munich Summer Olympic Games--after also being the quadruple French Champion and double European and World Champion. Today - Mathieu Maury: The third generation of the Maury cooperage now sees Mathieu Maury at its helm, who at a young age joined his father at the cooperage's Quai des Chartrons' location to repair barrels. Mathieu has grown production to between 3,000 to 4,000 barrels annually. Mathieu and his team oversee all parts

SPRUCE UP YOUR FEED WITH THESE SIMPLE TECHNIQUES Hashtags, once dismissed as mere digital decoration, have evolved into indispensable tools for social media optimization. Understanding their significance entails recognizing their role as navigational aids for users seeking specific content within the vast expanse of social media platforms. In this blog post, we delve into the strategic implementation of hashtags, delineating their capacity to amplify visibility or, conversely, engender confusion. THE PURPOSE OF HASHTAGS: At their core, hashtags serve as categorical signposts, facilitating content discovery and audience engagement. By affixing relevant hashtags to posts, content creators align their material with thematic threads, thereby enhancing a post’s discoverability to interested audiences. But they do warrant thought, as inadequate or misapplied hashtags may obfuscate content, diminishing visibility within the digital noise. RESEARCH AND SELECTION OF HASHTAGS: Effective

The Olympic games only come once every four years, or in the case of a pandemic, once every five. As the greatest display of athleticism in the world has taken center stage these past few weeks, it turns out there’s more to learn from the Olympics than simply who comes out as the greatest athlete.That’s right—as a marketer, there are valuable lessons your business can learn from the Olympics! Check out some of those lessons below and take inspiration from the world around you as you put your best efforts forward in the business world.  Stick with What Works Just as with all past Olympic opening ceremonies, this year the committee stuck with specific traditions that work. They bring viewers back time and time again. Even though the crowds had ceased to fill the stadium, the ceremonial Olympic torch was still ignited, being passed from athlete to athlete. In your marketing efforts, know what your audience expects and what keeps them coming back, much like these tr

The new collection of Manter self-adhesive papers produced by Arconvert offers unexplored creative possibilities for premium labels thanks to Arconvert new technologies, unique textures and appealing colors. Creativity is the beating heart of the new Arconvert Innovation & Inspiration catalog, for, through inspiration and innovation, creativity has always been the basis of every development process. Dedicated to the most innovative and inspired minds of our time, such as, for example, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk or Banksy, this new catalog looks forward both in terms of technology and aesthetics. Despite nowadays’ many forms of communication, labels continue to be the most powerful tool for brands that want to leave an indelible mark on consumers’ mind, starting from the first glance on the shelf. Designed by Stefano Torregrossa, brilliant and multitalented art director of O,nice! Design studio, the labels celebrate some of the most inventive minds of our time. The label