Wine clubs have long been the backbone of direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. But with shifting consumer expectations and the rise of subscription culture, from streaming services to meal kits, wineries are rethinking the traditional club. Subscription models promise flexibility for customers, stability for wineries, and in many cases, less operational strain. We asked four leading technology providers (Awtomic, Commerce7, OrderPort, and VinSuite) to share their insights on how wineries can successfully add or adapt subscriptions. We also gathered a few winery examples to show how creative models are being used today. This list is in no way exhaustive, there are many winery DTC software/SaaS providers with options, and the landscape is continuously evolving. For a deeper dive, check out this article by WineBusiness Monthly with all the providers, trends, and a very helpful comparison chart. What Are Wine Subscriptions? At their core, wine subscriptions are a modern twist on the tradi

Afternoon Brief, September 29th

Ohio Launches Appeal Over Wine Shipping: The state of Ohio has requested the Supreme Court to take on another wine shipping case....

Aerobic, anaerobic, bioreactor... Don't get overwhelmed! We have broken down winery wastewater treatment processes into basic, easy-to-understand language. For a cliff-notes guide to process and winery wastewater treatment systems, check out our article. Here at STS, we specialize in the Bioreactor Method, which uses organisms to break down organic material, and has a small footprint. That means more space for vines and visitors! The effluent is high quality, so it can be used for irrigation, fire protection, and other applications. Continue Reading

Cliff Lede Vineyards Promotes Three Winemaking Team Members

(August 12, 2021; Yountville, Calif.)—Tony Baldini, President and COO of Lede Family Wines, is pleased to announce the promotion of three key members of the winery production team at Cliff Lede Vineyards, located in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. Christopher Tynan, Winemaker at Cliff Lede Vineyards since 2012, will now take the role […]

Virtual Tastings have transformed our industry during these unprecedented times.  Being able to quickly adapt a new experience that is both compelling and convenient for our customers is critical." - Christian Gastón Palmaz, Co-Founder Palmaz Vineyards We understand that today's modern winery needs to efficiently create multiple orders and charge only one payer for virtual tastings, corporate orders and friends buying for others.    Currently serving these special, high volume customers, the typical winery is currently doing this outside of their main sales & CRM system by charging one customer for everything, and then manually creating a list of orders, then shipping to recipients.  If this sounds familiar, you are not alone.   The problem with this manual process are two-fold:  The laborious way of processing this outside of the sales system has minimal error/validation checking and is prone to processing & shipment errors T