Reach the West's most engaged wine and spirits community! Sunset is the definitive lifestyle brand of the modern American West and the single most trusted resource for a national audience aspiring to live the western lifestyle. Sunset readers appreciate Sunset‘s commitment to the wine and spirits industry and count on the magazine to expand their wine and spirits knowledge. The Engagement 1.2MM+ site visits per month. Average page views are 1.57MM. 4MM+ Total Cross-Platform Reach 2.5% - 3.5% Industry-Leading Social Engagement 103% YOY - Total Social Audience Growth The Readers Sunset has a readership of  of 960K in print and digital $229,619 Average HHI $1.65 Million Average HH net worth 80% of Sunset readers make decisions on brands and product choices based on ads seen in Sunset. Enter the Competition Today! Take advantage of early bird pricing until May 19th

Ten Ways Wineries Can Evolve From Selling Bottles to Creating Experiences That Resonate With a New Generation. If I told you a winery just opened with no vineyard, no winemaker on staff, and no interest in talking about terroir… would you visit? What if I told you it had a silent disco in the barrel room, a drag brunch series, and a 3-month waitlist for a zero-proof pairing menu? Those wineries exist. And they’re thriving. Because for a new generation of visitors, the wine isn’t the reason—it’s the reward. It’s not about what you pour anymore. It’s about how you make people feel. And we used to excel at this. But then we woke up one day… and it wasn’t working like it used to. The same offers stopped converting. The same messages started falling flat. The same visitors didn’t come back. And it’s not because we got worse at what we do. It’s because the customer changed. What they want. How they behave. Where t

Napa Valley, CA — October 9, 2025 — Scout, the vineyard intelligence platform built by and for growers, announced today that its Scout Gen5 technology has been named to TIME’s list of the Best Inventions of 2025, which features 300 innovations transforming the way we live, work, and connect with the world.  Each year, TIME’s editors evaluate thousands of submissions across industries, considering originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact. The 2025 list highlights breakthroughs in healthcare, sustainability, AI, and agriculture, recognizing inventions that are shaping a better future.  The Modern Farmer’s Eye: Grower-Centric Innovation  Scout was founded on a simple idea—the farmer’s eye is the best sensor in the field. Our mission is to scale that intuition and experience for the decades ahead. Scout delivers clarity and confidence through AI that sees and analyzes what humans can’t, and empowers what they can, so e

Small Steps, Big Gains: Affordable Efficiency with Winery Automation The wine industry is undergoing a seismic shift. Changing consumer preferences, generational taste evolution, and a surge of lower-cost grapes and bulk wine from global markets are reshaping the competitive terrain.  To stay ahead, wineries are rethinking their operations, streamlining workflows, expanding outreach, and embracing automation as a strategic lever for growth. Companies facing financial constraints often turn to automation, a proven strategy that can help reduce labor costs and increase production efficiency in packaging and bottling lines. Among these innovations, packaging automation stands out, delivering measurable cost savings, production agility, and scalable infrastructure, empowering wineries to protect margins and adapt swiftly to market demands. When financial constraints tighten, automation becomes more than a luxury; it’s a lifeline. For wineries, automating packaging and bottling

Beyond SMS & Email: 2 Proven DTC Channels for More Wine Sales in 2025 New Direct Mail Strategies & Affordable Mobile Apps Deliver Quick Wins As we barrel into OND — the most critical sales quarter for wine brands — many DTC marketing teams are staring down a sobering reality: sales are slumping, inboxes are saturated, and SMS campaigns are losing steam.  The two primary direct marketing channels most wineries rely on — email (used by 85% of brands) and SMS (used by 15%) — are showing serious signs of fatigue. Promotional emails are increasingly buried in spam folders, and just last week, some of the industry’s leading SMS providers urged wineries to limit their use of SMS this holiday season due to deliverability concerns. So what now? If you’re a wine marketer looking for incremental sales this year without taking big risks, it’s time to revisit two proven channels that have quietly regained their edge: direct mail and affordabl

Boost Holiday Wine Club Sales with a Mobile App Ready in 7 Days Let’s not beat around the bush… Direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine sales are down, and fewer wine country visitors fill our tasting rooms. So, this holiday season, all eyes are on wine club sales. But you already know there’s a problem. Many of your best customers complain that they “never see your emails.” And the growing costs and complexity of SMS can overwhelm any wine marketing team. So how can you win this game? Your Secret Weapon: A Custom Wine Club App Email still matters.  It’s great for long-form content, images, or receipts. But between spam filters and overcrowded inboxes, you’re lucky if 50% of your club members see your pick-up reminders, deadlines for customizing shipments, or special holiday sales offers. And even if you text your club members, many of your best customers won’t opt in. That’s why leading brands turned to branded mobile apps over a dec

Design Your Own Custom AI Concierge for FREE Affordable pricing starts @ $69/mo Websites, not tasting rooms, are the first point of contact for most consumer journeys.  Still, too many merchants greet website visitors with pretty pictures and pushy pleas to share personal contact info before they’re welcomed with any semblance of hospitality. That’s why VinterActive created an AI Winery Concierge -- a multi-channel chatbot -- trained in the art and science of delivering attentive, personalized customer service 24/7. Why Add an Affordable AI Concierge to Your Team? KEY BUSINESS BENEFITS KEY MARKETING FEATURES Helps guests 24/7  Boosts wine sales Saves time & money Drives engagement Improves customer service Frees up small marketing teams to accomplish more Fully customized personas Detailed brand training Self-learning mode Compliance aware Asks for feedback Multichannel/multilingual: chatbot, standalone, mobile app, Shopify, SMS, email, In

Wine Marketers: You’re Probably Using AI Wrong Here's the way to work with your AI Marketing Assistant... Earlier this year, I leaned into GenAI to learn how it might help wine marketers survive a challenging time. Like many wine marketers, I initially viewed AI as another traditional business tool.  I’d ask a question (input) and wait for the computer’s answer (output).  Results? Sometimes insightful or artful, but often decidedly less so. It turns out I was using GenAI wrong when I first approached this unique beast. Here's what I learned... WORKING WITH AI AS A COLLEAGUE...NOT A TOOL Working with GenAI as a colleague, instead of using it as a tool, made all the difference in the world for me.  Instead of simply saying “write a business plan,” I ask my AI assistants to ask me questions about my goals and limitations, enabling them to do their best work tailored to my needs. Then the give-and-take of my conversations with Gen

  Sustainable farming practices are essential for protecting the environment, improving long-term agricultural productivity, and supporting healthy communities. In fact, many of the methods highlighted today are shared across a variety of certification programs, from sustainable certifications like SIP Certified to regenerative programs like Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC). While each certification has its own specific requirements, the core principles of responsible farming remain consistent. In this week’s Marketing Tip, we’ll take a closer look at three key areas – Water Management, Soil Health, and Habitat Preservation – and how sustainable farmers manage them to ensure future success. Water Management Water is one of agriculture’s most critical resources. Sustainable farmers work carefully to both use water efficiently and protect water quality.   Efficient Irrigation Anyone who has struggled to keep a plant alive knows that plants

How Analytical Insights Help Craft Fine Languedoc Wine By Drinks Business Magazine In this Drinks Business article from 2024, the magazine reports on how FOSS analytical technology has helped Gérard Bertrand to maintain high quality in its award-winning wines. Putting aside the oft-referenced factors of unique terroir, prestigious grape varieties or generations of experience, how does one make fine wine? The solution is increasingly found in small tabletop equipment that look more at home in a laboratory than an ancient cellar. For the last 25 years, FOSS Analytics has been producing such technology and helping winemakers get the best from their grapes. Though the technology is complex, the premise is simple. By checking the chemical makeup of the wine-to-be, whether must, fermenting juice or a wine ready for bottling, winemakers can act quickly and precisely to make the best possible product. Using a FOSS machine, one can measure up to 30 parameters from a single sa