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

2024 Virtual Wine Club Symposium: Opening Insights on the State of the Industry Key Takeaways from Jason Curtis and Rob McMillan's Presentation The 2024 Virtual Wine Club Symposium kicked off with an insightful session on the current state of the wine club industry. Industry veterans Jason Curtis, President of vinSUITE, and Rob McMillan, EVP & Wine Division Founder at Silicon Valley Bank, shared valuable insights based on the latest SVB 2024 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Survey. Their presentation covered key trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of wine clubs. 1. The Power of Consistent Communication Wineries that communicate with their club members bi-weekly or monthly are 127% more likely to experience growth. This statistic underscores the importance of maintaining consistent engagement with wine club members. Regular communication keeps your winery top-of-mind and fosters a sense of connection and loyalty among members. Implementation Strategies: Develop a

Afternoon Brief, April 4th

NBA and Kendall-Jackson Winery Announce Multiyear Partnership: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Kendall-Jackson Winery today announced a multiyear partnership, making Kendall-Jackson the Official Wine of the NBA and USA Basketball and La Crema the Official Wine of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)...

Over the years we’ve made various predictions about where the wine industry was going, especially when it came to DTC wine shipping, tasting rooms, and wine sales and marketing generally. And while events of the past few years have definitely made things more interesting, we can say confidently that, no matter what events are in the news, the underlying fundamental forces are always at work. Think of it like a small boat caught in the Gulf Stream. A storm might come by and toss the boat to-and-fro, and could even move it several yards off course. But, ultimately, the flow of the Gulf Stream wins, and the boat is carried along that same course. The wine industry has been the same way. What looked like temporary waves now look like strong undercurrents that have been there for some time, and will continue to operate. Here are five such undercurrents that continue to define the wine space midway through 2022: Tastings “By-Appointment-Only” Are Forever Part of the Landsca