Why Wine Clubs Aren’t Working, And What’s Replacing Them For many wineries, the biggest challenge today isn’t attracting new customers; it’s keeping the ones they already have. Wine clubs once represented the most stable revenue engine for wineries. Members signed up, shipments went out quarterly, and predictable revenue flowed in. It was the foundation of direct-to-consumer success. But that foundation is cracking. Recent industry data reveals a troubling trend: nearly 40% of wine club members cancel within the first year. In a market where customer acquisition costs are climbing, and competition for attention has never been fiercer, losing members at this rate isn’t just a retention problem; it’s a profitability crisis. The math is unforgiving. If acquiring a new club member costs hundreds of dollars in marketing, tasting room labor, and incentives, losing them before they’ve generated meaningful lifetime value means wineries are bleeding money with every signup. And yet, some winer

On February 20, 2026, in a victory for American beer, wine, and spirits importers, the Supreme Court in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 607 US ____, Slip Op., February 20, 2026 (“Learning Resources”) struck down President Trump’s imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”). The Trump administration had used IEEPA to justify certain tariffs imposed on imported goods from various countries in 2025, including beer, wine and spirits. Despite the decision in the importers’ favor, no one is popping the Champagne quite yet. First, while the Court’s opinion invalidated the Trump administration’s IEEPA tariffs, it has no effect on the administrations’ ability to rely on other statutes to impose tariffs. Second, on the same day that the Supreme Court issued its decision, the President issued a proclamation imposing a 10% worldwide tariff under a different federal law (discussed in more detail belo

"Victory is the beautiful, bright-colored flower. Transport is the stem without which it could never have blossomed.” Winston Churchill In the evolving world of wine and spirits distribution, logistics has become one of the biggest barriers to growth for small and mid-sized Makers. Storage is in one place, bottling in another, compliance somewhere else entirely—and distribution? Too often, it’s the bottleneck that slows down otherwise incredible brands. LibDib is changing that. At the end of last year we announced two major partnerships—Corning & Company and WineDirect Fulfillment—that both point toward the same mission: eliminating logistics pain points for Makers and giving them a smoother, simpler, more cost-effective path to market. In terms of what these partnerships mean for the future of Maker-first distribution, we are focused on logistics that work for Makers, not against them. At its core, our strategy is simple: streamline everyth

Wakefield Taylors Wines and 1800 Milenio Take Top Honors July 14, 2025 — Winners have been announced in the 18th annual Women’s International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWWSC). The competition, which took place recently in Santa Rosa, Calif., was founded on the premise that the majority of wine purchased for home consumption is bought by women. The IWWSC judging panels consist entirely of professional women in the wine and spirits industries — winemakers, distillers, marketers, buyers, sommeliers, educators and journalists.  This year, Wakefield Taylor Wines 2024 Estate Riesling and 1800 Milenio Extra-Aged Añejo took top honors. Wakefield Taylor, a heritage winery in Australia’s Clare Valley (a region known for quality Reislings), wowed judges with its “mouthwatering citrus blooms” and “gentle salinity.”  A representative from 1800 Mileno remarked, “1800 Milenio is backed by 11 generations of tequila-making e

If this was easy, everyone would do it. Setting expectations is difficult. After all, we all want perfection and success, so isn’t it just positive thinking to predict that your campaigns will be victorious? That’s what “The Secret” tells us, anyway. But while it can’t hurt to take a stab at manifesting abundance and contemplating gratitude, you are likely using more concrete values, such as benchmarks and previous performance, to project the results of your marketing campaigns to your management. We submit additional data points to anticipate reasonable responses to your marketing campaigns. These data points are: What environment exists around this campaign? What workload can I reasonably handle successfully? What does my management consider, including the cost of goods sold? Let’s break each of these down and include some real-life winery examples.* CONTEXT – WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY? Many marketing decisions are best made with