The Australian ‘Black Summer’ of 2019/20, which saw bushfires destroy swathes of vineyard land across the country was a dramatic reminder of the growing challenges facing winemakers around the world. We spoke to leading Australian winemakers and lab technicians to find out how agile decision-making is helping to deal with the consequences of global warming. Offering alarming proof of the escalating effects of climate change, in November 2019 bushfires blazed through New South Wales, scorching more than five million hectares of land following Australia’s hottest and driest year on record. In December 2019, the fires swept through the Adelaide Hills, destroying 650 ha of vines in the region, and wiping out entire vineyards. Making matters worse, the smoke from the fires was far-reaching, rendering vineyard plots from Canberra to the Hunter Valley useless. Ravaging an estimated 24.3 million hectares of land in total and destroying over 3,000 buildings, the September 2019

The Future of Wine DTC: Data-Driven Trends and Strategies for Success Join Commerce7 and Sovos ShipCompliant for a look at the latest stats and trends in direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine, and how you can leverage them in growing your business. Specifically, experts from each team will share findings from the Commerce7 2022 Data Book and the Sovos ShipCompliant 2023 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report, which is produced in partnership with Wines Vines Analytics, including: Insights on successful wine club programs Ecommerce best practices that drive bigger carts Tasting room tactics that feed DTC success DTC shipping trends by region, varietal, average bottle price and destination state This webinar will be of interest to wineries of all sizes that are selling and shipping direct-to-consumer via website, club, subscription and tasting room channels. May 18th, 10:00am PT Register

Join Commerce7 and Sovos ShipCompliant for a look at the latest stats and trends in direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine, and how you can leverage them in growing your business. Specifically, experts from each team will share findings from the Commerce7 2022 Data Book and the Sovos ShipCompliant 2023 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipping Report, which is produced in partnership with Wines Vines Analytics, including: Insights on successful wine club programs Ecommerce best practices that drive bigger carts Tasting room tactics that feed DTC success DTC shipping trends by region, varietal, average bottle price and destination state This webinar will be of interest to wineries of all sizes that are selling and shipping direct-to-consumer via website, club, subscription and tasting room channels. May 18th, 10:00am PT REGISTER HERE (You will be taken to Sovos' website) *Can’t attend the live webinar? Register anyway and we’ll send you a link to the recording afterwards! SPEAKERS:

Afternoon Brief, January 20th

DTC Symposium Recap: Engaging the Future: The 2023 Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium, which took place Jan. 18-19, was a forward looking affair featuring panel discussions and data presentations focused on future opportunities for the wine industry — and, of course, DTC, in particular...

During her 20-year career at Yalumba, Louisa Rose has become one of the world’s most respected winemakers, challenging perceptions of Barossa Valley Shiraz and helping to put Australian Viognier on the world wine map. We caught up with her to find out how the 2022 vintage is shaping up, and the changes she’s making in the vineyard to safeguard the estate against global warming. How are things going at Yalumba – what’s new for 2022? All is well – Australian wine in general has had a few headwinds in the commercial red space on the back of the Chinese tariffs, and we’re working to balance our supply and demand. Things are generally looking strong as we have a well-balanced portfolio. What have you been focusing your efforts on recently? Sustainability is a big focus at the moment. We’ve been measuring our carbon footprint for decades, but all of a sudden people want to hear about it. We wouldn’t still be here if we hadn’t made i

Afternoon Brief, September 16th

Price Hikes Turn Off Wine Country Visitors: Tasting room visits to West Coast wineries, after rebounding in 2021, are way down this summer compared to pre-pandemic numbers, according to a survey of 400 wineries released last week by a company called Community Benchmark....

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

VinesOS offers Stripe-based Point of Sale for small to midsize wineries. Small to midsize wineries that are looking for a modern, all-in-one, flat-rate priced solution to accept contactless payments and utilize QR codes for their direct-to-consumer sales will find all in VinesOS. VinesOS enables wineries to manage all DTC channels from a single dashboard: POS, Clubs, Subscriptions, eCommerce, and Reservations. VinesOS’ Stripe integration offers flat-rate pricing with no hidden fees or contracts. Wineries can start processing immediately upon signup, with no third-party merchant account setup. SELL ANYTHING, ANYWHERE  Staff can quickly ring up a sale anywhere they go, on any device, with a swipe, tap, or click, using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a card on file. New members can be added on the spot, or customers can scan a QR code to sign up for a club in less than a minute. MODERN QR CODES ACCELERATE SALES  The cloud-based POS allows wineries to sell wine, flights, bot

FEBRUARY 2, 2022 | INDUSTRY NEWS & OUTLOOKS | MATT CLARK, SENIOR INDUSTRY ANALYST AND KALYN WALSH, CREDIT COMPLIANCE ANALYST, AMERICAN AGCREDIT In 2021, the wine industry began to recover from an unusual and challenging year in 2020. Wine sales sharply improved from the previous year, when pandemic-related restaurant and bar closures spurred a precipitous decline in wineries’ sales at restaurants and tasting rooms. Wine sales improved around 10 percent in 2021, according to Wines Vines Analytics and bw166, and analysts expect demand for wine to remain healthy in 2022. Overall demand for wine grapes has improved, driven by a limited reopening of tourism, restaurant and event traffic. Many expect to see modest improvements in wine sales and grape values in 2022. Rising input prices from supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, drought, and general inflation may narrow margins for some operators. As the economy was reopened in a limited fashion, wine sales bega

Afternoon Brief, January 31st

The Next Normal—DtC Shipping Reverts to Pre-Pandemic Predictions: The 2022 Direct to Consumer Wine Shipping Report has been released, and the industry is likely breathing a collective sigh of relief. The report, an annual collaboration between Sovos ShipCompliant and Wines Vines Analytics, shows the industry slowly returning to its pre-pandemic state...