Sonoma, CA – April 22, 2026 – Free Flow Wines announces the winners of the 13th Annual KEGGY Awards, honoring outstanding partners who are advancing sustainability, quality, and innovation across the wine and hospitality industries. Now aligned with Earth Month, the KEGGY Awards continue to spotlight the environmental and operational benefits of wine on tap, while celebrating the growing community of wineries, distributors, and on-premise operators leading the charge. FFW & Partners’ Cumulative Impact to Date: 45,448,130 bottles saved from landfill 80,827,751 lbs. of CO₂ emissions prevented from entering the atmosphere New in 2026, Free Flow Wines has expanded its award categories to recognize excellence across a broader set of hospitality leaders. These new honors celebrate accounts that demonstrate a strong commitment to reusable stainless steel kegs, investment in draft beverage quality, and a dedication to elevating the overall guest experience. New categories include Best Ho

Top Line Water is one of the most critical—and increasingly scrutinized—resources in modern winemaking. From cleaning tanks and floors to maintaining oak barrels, cellar operations can consume thousands of gallons daily. With rising sustainability expectations and operational costs, reducing water use is not just good for the environment, it is good for business. Water conservation is becoming an issue in modern winemaking. In the past, much of the conversation centered around vineyard irrigation. Today, one of the most overlooked areas of water consumption occurs in the cleaning and maintenance of barrels. Small efficiency improvements per barrel can translate into thousands of gallons saved per year in your operation. The Challenge Traditional oak barrels, while prized for the unique flavor addition and maturation with O2, also come with a significant sustainability issue: water usage. Cleaning and sanitizing an oak barrel typically require several high-impact water even

Your next customer will see your winery before they ever taste your wine. They'll see it on Instagram while planning a weekend trip. They'll see it on your website while deciding whether to book a reservation. They'll see it in an email while considering whether your wine club is worth joining. And in every one of those moments, they're making a decision based on what your visuals tell them about who you are. This isn't a trend. It's how people buy now. According to a 2023 study by Cloudinary and Harris Poll, 75% of online shoppers say product photos are the most influential factor in their purchase decisions. That number holds across categories, and it holds in wine. The difference is that wineries aren't just selling a product. They're selling an experience, a place, a feeling. Which means your visual content has to do more work than a product shot on a white background. It has to make someone want to be there. Most wineries know this on some level. Fe

The weather is shifting, trip-planning season is underway, and tasting room traffic is about to pick up. This is the good news. The bad news? If you're reading this and thinking "we'll get to our spring marketing when spring gets here," you're behind. The tasting rooms that stay full from April through June aren't the ones with the best wine or the prettiest views. They're the ones that showed up in someone's planning process three weeks before the trip happened. People don't stumble into wine country on a whim and wander from door to door the way they did fifteen years ago. They research. They scroll. They book. And if your winery isn't visible and compelling during that research window, you're invisible when it counts. The hotel industry figured this out years ago. Marriott doesn't wait until summer to market beach properties. They start running "book your getaway" campaigns in late winter, because they know the booking win

WHAT: The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Preliminary Grape Crush Report for 2025 is a barometer for the wine and grape industry, containing prices and tons of wine grapes crushed. The Crush Report provides growers and wineries insight into the inventory position for the California wine business as a whole, and can influence market dynamics for the current bulk wine and grape markets as well as potential impacts at the consumer level. WHEN: CDFA is scheduled to release the Crush Report at 12:00PM PST on Friday, March 13th, 2026.ANALYSIS: A historically small crop coupled with below break-even spot market grape pricing compounds wine industry headwinds. For the second consecutive year, the California Crush Report will reflect a wine industry navigating a significant supply-and-demand imbalance. While actual tons harvested remained historically light across many regions in 2025, the primary driver of market instability is the sustained decline in consumer demand and

Green shoots: Is this a “transitional moment”? With spring getting underway, this month’s California Report assesses vineyard conditions, grape demand, and whether the bulk wine and grape markets are seeing the first tentative green shoots of  recovery: Is the industry in a “transitional moment” before growth returns later this year or next? We dive into recent reports that case-good sales declines in the US are slowing, using the latest SipSource US wholesale depletions data to pick out some sales trends. The convergence of pricing toward California-appellation levels on all but a select handful of wines theoretically enables bulk wine buyers to make their decisions based purely on which samples best meet their quality/character specifications. This has opened up product development and scope for wine companies to attack potential retail opportunities. With wine aisles growing shorter, this is a challenging time to “buy the dip” with inn

2026 Alexander Valley Bordeaux Grapes Now live on the WIN Marketplace: 2026 Alexander Valley / Pine Mountain Bordeaux grapes, grown at 2,000 feet above the Russian River. This offering includes all five Noble Bordeaux varietals, providing the opportunity to craft a complete Meritage or classic Bordeaux blend — a true one-stop sourcing solution for producers building out a cohesive red program With a 25-year track record supplying well-known premium Napa and Sonoma wineries, this vineyard brings both pedigree and high-elevation character to the table. Whether you’re sourcing fruit for blending, program expansion, or long-term vineyard partnerships, this listing provides direct access to availability details and grower contact information in one place: View Listing Thinking Ahead to Your Own Wine or Grape Sales? As planning continues for the year ahead, the WIN Marketplace is a valuable channel for producers and growers looking to sell bulk wine or grapes and connect di

 Wine Club Retention    Predict Churn Risk and Act Earlier Churn rarely starts with a cancellation. It starts with drift.   What drift looks like • Stops opening emails • Engages less with releases • Buys less between shipments • Feels less connected while still “active”   That is why retention is not one save campaign. It is a system. The fastest way to improve retention is to catch risk earlier, then focus your time on the members who are drifting.   3 signals that spot drift early   Recency Recent opens, clicks, site activity, add-on purchases  Do: simple check-in or personal invite Consistency A normally engaged member suddenly goes quiet  Do: ask what they want more of, adjust cadence Value High lifetime value behaviors, add-ons, referrals, events  Do: human outreach, recognition, insider access   Match outreach to the moment   VIPs who are drifting: personal outreach that feels hum

At ACIC Cork & Closures, we believe great wine deserves the right finish. We work with wineries, beverage producers, and bottlers to provide high-quality corks and closures that protect what’s in the bottle while elevating the final presentation. From small-lot producers to large-scale operations, our focus is on delivering dependable products, consistent quality, and responsive service. Our portfolio includes a wide range of closure solutions designed to support different wine styles, aging needs, and branding goals: Natural Corks — Straight-punched options in multiple sizes and grades for a classic seal. Inoc Corks — Natural cork that's treated witha proprietary surface coating that fills the outer lenticels. Sparkling Corks — Designed for sparkling wine, cider, beer, & meads. Micro & 1+1 Agglomerated Corks — Technical solutions for aging and performance. Bartops — Stylish, functional

Award Recognizes That Each Family Has Continuously Farmed Local Land for More Than 100 Years  Multiple generations of eleven longtime Sonoma County farming families, all winegrape growers today, gathered to be recognized as the newest members of the “Century Club.”  The honor recognizes families who have continuously farmed their family’s land for more than one hundred years. The 2025 recipients join twenty-two other local farming families who were recognized last year in the first class of the Century Club.  Sonoma County Winegrowers created the Century Club to mark the unique legacies of farm families in the region.  Each member family of the Century Club is a testament to the strength and adaptability required to farm.    “We are thrilled to welcome more families to the Century Club and to honor each new member today,” said Karissa Kruse, President and CEO of Sonoma County Winegrowers.  She added, “Farming is a