It’s hard, in any business, to choose strategies that promote long term growth and longevity while struggling to keep the lights on and make payroll every month. Under thinly veiled panic, we have a tendency to push our sales teams to treat our buyers as means to an end when cash is tight. Overvaluing vanity metrics like off-premise accounts sold, we scrounge for quick, small wins and placements that result in high churn and ultimately lead us right back to square one.    While we may accept – somewhere in the distant, tightly compartmentalized, “rational part” of our brain – that not all accounts are equal and that the vast majority of volume is driven by the top ten or twenty percent of our customers, we go on behaving this way nonetheless, because action feels better than a sales cycle rivaling the Great Wall of China lengthwise.   The good news for wineries & distilleries willing to be more strategic with their sales resources is

Keeping up with industry news and trends is one of the most underrated disciplines in beverage alcohol. It’s a frightening habit, admittedly — slowing down long enough to read or at least skim several articles every day when the return on investment takes months or years to materialize.  When sales are down, it’s human nature to scrounge for the fastest wins available. In our desperation to keep the lights on, we abandon most eagerly the very practices that would lead to longevity and profitability for our business. The inconvenient timing of these insights — namely, that the best articles and industry reports tend to circulate precisely when everyone has checked out for the holidays —only intensifies the competitive advantage up for grabs by those who are paying attention. An up-to-date understanding of consumer preferences and behavior can inform our production, focus our messaging, and align sales & marketing so that everything from tasting ro

Afternoon Brief: How TikTok Could Transform the Wine Industry

Within hours of TikTok announcing that it would allow alcohol advertising in North America, alcohol companies began running recruitment ads for TikTok specialists. Whats surprising is how few wine companies joined in...

Afternoon Brief, April 10th

Scientists Launch Wine Bottle Washing Project in Finger Lakes, New York: Glass scientists in New York State are studying ways to wash and reuse wine bottles in order to mitigate rising costs for Finger Lakes producers...

Your products and services are only as good as the stories you tell. Your marketing materials have the power to educate your customers, pull at their heartstrings, tell a compelling story and so much more. Even with the best products, the way you position them can make a huge difference in your success. If storytelling isn’t your strong suit—have no fear! These storytelling tips will help you craft content that converts.  Be human. We’re all human… so write like it! It’s easy to get wrapped up in technical speak and jargon when writing marketing materials and communications. Next time you’re feeling like you aren’t sure if your writing sounds conversational, try reading what you wrote out loud. Does it sound like how you would talk in real life? If not, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Remember that you’re simply trying to appeal to other people who you hope will find your storytelling relatable. With big words and j

You know it’s harvest season when the winemakers emerge from their cavernous abodes and start making appearances in the vineyard. It’s a magical time, I mean, sometimes they bring donuts! But they also bring with them some funny ideas about irrigation methods, mostly that you make better wine by curtailing water in the weeks leading up to harvest. It’s a silly one-size-fits-all approach. Here’s why. Thou shalt not irrigate after veraison…why is this wrong? I’m not sure the logic here, but I think this comes from some idea about “concentrating flavors” and not letting them get diluted by irrigation. It’s ironic given how much watering-back is done in California wineries. More than that though, it’s physiologically erroneous. At the start of sugar accumulation, the grape berry partially severs contact with the xylem almost exclusively allowing the influx of sucrose-laden sap from the phloem. Excess water is not going to blim

Afternoon Brief, August 14

Multi-State Partnership Advances Sustainability in the U.S. Wine Industry Through Research, Education and Promotion: The largest winegrowing states in the country — California, Oregon, New York and Washington, which produce 95% of U.S. wine — have established educational and certification sustainability programs over the past two decades, furthering the widespread adoption of sustainable practices by U.S. winegrowers and winemakers...