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

In today’s challenging business climate, many small winery owners are cutting back wherever they can. But when it comes to marketing, the stakes are high: cut too much, and you risk losing momentum. Spend without a plan, and you may as well be tossing cash into the vineyard wind. Too often, I see owners relying on what I call “hope marketing.” They send out an ad, launch a promotion, or host an event—and hope it brings in more customers or wine club signups. It’s a bit like planting a vineyard without knowing your soil, climate, or varietals. You spend the money, put in the work, and pray for a great harvest… but you’re not set up for consistent success. And then there’s the temptation to copy what big wineries are doing, thinking it must be the “right way” to market. So they hire an expensive marketing consultant—one who’s used to working with large companies—and end up hearing nothing but crickets. It&rsqu

What’s the opportunity cost of stopping to ingest another piece of content? Two sentences in, are you gripped with a guilty impulse to reach for your phone or keyboard and start making calls instead? I’d like to redirect your energy so that your success in sales isn’t random or acute, but consistent and chronic — the result of a strategic, focused effort that means doing less and selling more. Defining Success If I “get you” to read this article, does that mean I’ve written it well?  “Well,” you might say, “that depends on your goal, I guess. What are you trying to do here —put words in my mouth?” As tribal creatures, we tend to assume everyone around us is on the same page, that we define success in the same way.  In Chapter 1 of The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel argues that “Nobody’s Crazy” — every one of us handles our finances based on different values, informed

Andy White, an Account Manager at Lumo and the author of this article, installing a Lumo smart valve.  I need to be honest with you about something…I had the idea for Lumo ten years ago. Well, that might be an overstatement. But at some point, I realized the flow meter was key for automation accountability. In fact, I’d bet you half the vineyard managers in Napa have had that idea at one point or another, because we’ve all found ourselves at the altar of the irrigation gods, praying that nothing is going terribly wrong with that automated timer system we set up a week ago and haven’t had a chance to go back to check on. And sure, from the outside looking in, you might wonder what would drive a vineyard manager to use a system with no built-in accountability, no remote control, no leak alerts or visibility into how much water you’re applying. Why would you put yourself in that position? It’s obviously not where you want to be. Of course it&