After 30 years of moving up and to the right, the American wine industry hit a wall. Not a temporary slowdown or a soft patch. A structural shift that requires a fundamentally different marketing playbook. 2025 was the reality check. 2026 is the year wineries either adapt or watch their customer base age out beneath them. The data is now unambiguous: wine sales dropped approximately 6% in 2024, marking the steepest decline in decades according to SipSource industry data. More troubling than the headline number is what's driving it. This isn't a recession blip or a bad vintage. It's a fundamental realignment of who drinks wine, how they buy it, and what they expect from the brands they choose. Here are the five trends reshaping the US wine market and what they mean for your brand's survival. The Demographic Disruption The wine industry built its growth on one generation: Baby Boomers. That generation is now aging out. The Wine Market Council's 2025 U.S. Consumer Ben

Wright Contracting’s dedicated team specializes in creating stunning winery spaces to elevate your brand, enhance guest experience and leading-edge production facilities that blend efficiency and tradition. With our stellar portfolio, we bring a wealth of expertise in: custom winery construction, renovations and expansions. Let us help you craft a beautiful, functional space that reflects your unique vision. From concept to completion, we’re committed to excellence every step of the way. Transform your winery dreams into reality.  Wright Contracting Unified Symposium Booth: 1016 For over 70 years, Wright Contracting has built a reputation as the leading commercial construction company in the North Bay. This tradition of craftsmanship has earned us the opportunity to build and renovate many of the North Bay’s most notable landmarks, including wineries such as Domaine Carneros, Cakebread Cellars, Chateau Montelena, Dominus, Hamel Family Wines and many more. With of

We hope to see you at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium Jan. 28-29th SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, Sacramento, CA We look forward to great conversation and great company at the industry’s largest annual event. G3 Enterprises & ColloPack - Booth #600 Jan 28th Specialty Barista Coffee 9am-12pm Jan 29th Specialty Barista Coffee 9am-12pm Get Your Portrait Painted w/ Wine 9am-1pm DIAM® Closures - Booth #500 Click below for a Trade Show pass (limited supply available), or to attend our Hosted Reception (by reservation only). G3 Reception RSVP         Request Trade Show Pass From harvest hauling to wine packaging, from winemaking equipment to transportation, storage and 3PL warehousing, G3 Enterprises provides the wine industry with complete solutions, backed by technical expertise, advanced analytics, and extensive experience. Featured Products and Services Experienced, Scalable Ag Hauling As the largest winegrape transportation company in

News release highlights Saverglass’s support of the wine industry’s sustainability goals with the release of high-quality lightweight glass bottle solutions.  Fairfield, CA (June 12, 2026) – Leading premium glass bottle maker and decorator Saverglass, an Orora Group company, released today its lightest weight wine bottles. From design to logistics, structural qualities to aesthetics, wine producers have a wide range of available options in the premiumization category. Inspired by customers’ desire for a high-quality and lightweight bottle, Saverglass launches the first two bottles of a new collection in 2026 called Optimum. The Optimum Collection features unique and innovative lightweight glass bottle shapes. It is a collection that easily demonstrates glass wine bottles can be well designed and lightweight. With its low shoulder and long, slender neck, the Burgundy shaped BLOSSOM OPTIMUM bottle boasts a unique silhouette and optimized design. Its

Agriculture is a tough business and the rigorous demands of viticulture management requires durable, precision-engineered vehicles capable of traversing diverse landscapes, coping with unpredictable weather and efficiently managing structured vineyard layouts. Can-Am, an iconic brand of BRP Inc., is at the forefront of innovation for the agricultural industry with their new lineup of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and side-by-sides (SSVs) designed specifically for 2026. These vehicles are not merely recreational—they are essential tools for the winemaking process. Introducing the revolutionary 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11, a tough, clever and capable utility SSV designed for peak performance with a powerful 999cc inline three-cylinder Rotax ACE engine that outputs an impressive 95 horsepower and 70 lb-ft of torque. Featuring industry-best payload capacities of 2,500 lbs for towing and up to 600 lbs in the cargo bed, this vehicle is built to tackle the toughest tasks. The Defender

Mays Chemical will be attending the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium 2026. Please contact Tinus Els or Peter Vallis to schedule a meeting. Largest Wine & Grape industry trade show in North America. January 28th - 29th, 2026 - SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, Sacramento, CA Since the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) and the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) joined forces to create the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in 1995, it has become the largest wine and grape conference in the nation. And while we’re proud of the size of the Unified Symposium, it is our established reputation for providing outstanding, current and breaking news, as well as information and content that we find most rewarding. As one of the industry’s premier gatherings, the Unified Symposium presents a vital platform to focus on the issues shaping today, while interfacing the topics and trends shaping the future of grape growing and winemaking.

Enartis S.r.l., a leading company of the Esseco Group and a world leader in providing products and technologies for the oenological industry, announces the signing of a preliminary agreement to acquire 100% of Parsec S.r.l., an Italian centre of excellence based in Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), internationally renowned for designing and manufacturing advanced, integrated control systems for the wine sector. The effectiveness of the agreement is subject to the completion of the procedure required by Italian law. The integration of Enartis and Parsec will create a global player capable of offering wineries worldwide a complete and smart management of their production processes, combining the advantages of cutting-edge oenological solutions with advanced, automated process management, from grape reception to bottling, on a single platform. This strategic union, following the acquisition of the Portuguese company Winegrid in 2023, will mark the birth of a globally unique hub of expertise. T

Wright Contracting’s dedicated team specializes in creating stunning winery spaces to elevate your brand, enhance guest experience and leading-edge production facilities that blend efficiency and tradition. With our stellar portfolio, we bring a wealth of expertise in: custom winery construction, renovations and expansions. Let us help you craft a beautiful, functional space that reflects your unique vision. From concept to completion, we’re committed to excellence every step of the way. Transform your winery dreams into reality.  Wright Contracting Unified Symposium Booth: 1121 For over 70 years, Wright Contracting has built a reputation as the leading commercial construction company in the North Bay. This tradition of craftsmanship has earned us the opportunity to build and renovate many of the North Bay’s most notable landmarks, including wineries such as Domaine Carneros, Cakebread Cellars, Chateau Montelena, Dominus, Hamel Family Wines and many more. With of

Take a look at any number of Tasting Room Associate job ads, and it becomes apparent we need to hire unicorns – rare, mystical, and never seen in the wild except by a chosen few. We are seeking that blend of hospitality heart, wine knowledge, and hopefully sales skills. Every new opportunity to hire is the chance to go searching for unicorns, and luckily, there is a strategy to help find them! First, let’s define what a successful DTC candidate needs to have. Hospitality Heart. A Hospitality Heart, which is impossible to train for, is something the candidate either has or not. It is the rarest quality, hidden, and can be bluffed if needed. WISE calls this Service Heart. In our Mystery Shopping, we are looking for Service Heart – the deep seeded desire of that teammate to be helpful, kind, and truly wanting to be of service, and not just there to punch a time clock and collect a paycheck. At the Union Square Hospitality Group, Danny Meyer has taken great care to d

Uncertain times can feel like a game of survival for many in the wine industry. With tighter budgets, shifting consumer spending, and market challenges, it’s tempting to cut back on non-essential expenses like staff training and development. Yet, those who invest in their teams during tough times often emerge stronger, with a distinct edge that sets them apart from the competition. Perhaps we’re preaching to the choir, but for anyone who needs to ‘sell’ the concept to others, let’s explore why investing in training your team now is not only essential but could also be the key to long-term growth, stability, and resilience. Elevating the Guest Experience: Training as a Core Strength A well-trained sales team creates an unmatched guest experience that can directly impact your bottom line, especially when fewer guests may be walking through the door. Every guest interaction is an opportunity to build loyalty and increase conversions, whether through wine sal