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

High-Capacity Pressing Power — Ready for the Season Now available: a Willmes SIGMA 16 Wine Press — a high-capacity, premium pressing solution designed for wineries looking to improve efficiency, throughput, and juice quality. The SIGMA series is known for its double-membrane technology and vertical juice channels, which allow for gentler pressing, faster cycles, and higher-quality juice with fewer solids. With capacity designed to handle large volumes and reduce mechanical stress on the fruit, presses like this are a key part of optimizing production ahead of harvest. View Listing The WIN Marketplace is built to connect buyers and sellers across the wine industry, and equipment listings like this Willmes SIGMA 16 Wine Press highlight how the platform helps wineries access high-performance production tools. Known for its efficiency, gentle pressing, and ability to deliver high-quality juice with reduced solids, equipment like this plays a critical role in optimiz

For winemakers and distillers, crafting exceptional beverages is only part of the journey. To ensure your product maintains its premium quality and reaches consumers in perfect condition, the preservation of both its taste and appearance is critical. This is where the often-overlooked factor of glass color comes into play. The color of your bottle can have a profound impact on the longevity, flavor stability, and overall appeal of your wine or spirit. By understanding how different glass colors protect against light damage, you can make more informed packaging choices that safeguard your product’s quality and enhance its shelf life. In this article, we’ll explore the science behind glass color and light exposure, explain how traditional and modern glass choices can protect your product, and provide insights into balancing practical preservation needs with aesthetic considerations. Whether you’re crafting aged whiskey or fine wine, the right glass color is more

Corporate gifting is quickly becoming one of the strongest growth channels in the wine industry. In this session, Jessica Luke of Jackson Family Wines and Jessica Smith of WineDirect Fulfillment share how wineries can capture this demand with streamlined operations and tailored gifting experiences. Attendees will walk away with practical steps to build or expand a corporate gifting program that drives new customers and year round revenue.  Wine Sales Symposium - May 13, 2026 DoubleTree Hotel in Rohnert Park, CA Learn More Speakers Director of Marketing / WineDirect Fulfillment  Director of E-Commerce & Email Marketing / Jackson Family Wines  

Explore the newest RedChirp innovations, the latest carrier changes in the telecom industry, and how leading wineries are evolving their messaging strategies to stay ahead. Jennie Gilbert will be joined by industry experts Paul Learly, Founder of Assemblage Strategy Group, and a WISE (Wine Industry Sales Education) partner, bringing deep, hands-on experience from their work with hundreds of wineries. Together, they’ll share actionable strategies to grow subscriber lists (email too!), increase engagement, and what's working best to drive revenue during the challenges of today’s DTC wine market. Attendees will leave with timely industry updates, expert perspectives, and practical ideas they can implement immediately. Wine Sales Symposium - May 13, 2026 DoubleTree Hotel in Rohnert Park, CA Learn More

Ten Ways Wineries Can Evolve From Selling Bottles to Creating Experiences That Resonate With a New Generation. If I told you a winery just opened with no vineyard, no winemaker on staff, and no interest in talking about terroir… would you visit? What if I told you it had a silent disco in the barrel room, a drag brunch series, and a 3-month waitlist for a zero-proof pairing menu? Those wineries exist. And they’re thriving. Because for a new generation of visitors, the wine isn’t the reason—it’s the reward. It’s not about what you pour anymore. It’s about how you make people feel. And we used to excel at this. But then we woke up one day… and it wasn’t working like it used to. The same offers stopped converting. The same messages started falling flat. The same visitors didn’t come back. And it’s not because we got worse at what we do. It’s because the customer changed. What they want. How they behave. Where t

We call it a Tasting Room, when it’s really a Sales Room. Why is that? After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, wineries re-opened in an environment where the government was highly suspicious of any and all alcohol sales. On-premise consumption was restricted and considered the purview of saloons, which were vilified during the years of Prohibition. So, to comply with laws and distinguish themselves as places of refined moderation, wineries leaned into “tasting,” not drinking. The Tasting Room became the winery’s sales room. Over the decades, tasting rooms have become places of hospitality, education, and increasingly, dinner (or lunch). Along the way, the primary role of the tasting room—to form a connection with the consumer for the purpose of selling wine—got lost. Now, I recognize that I’m being hyperbolic here. In the contracting market we’re living in, too many wineries are focusing only on the hospitality aspect. They need to lean

The art of crafting the perfect bottle can elevate a brand to new heights. In the competitive world of wine and spirits, packaging plays a pivotal role in capturing consumer attention and conveying brand identity. This is where the expertise and innovation of Global Package and the leading-edge designs of Estal converge. Global Package is the preferred distributor for Estal in the US, working together since 2007. Our partnership brings together a wealth of experience in sourcing, supplying, and designing exceptional glass packaging. Together, we offer a comprehensive solution that empowers wine and spirit brands to stand out on the shelves and connect with their audience. Estal: A Leader in Glass Packaging Innovation Estal is a global leader in crafting exceptional glass packaging renowned for its commitment to innovation, quality, and sustainability.  Boasting over 25 years of industry expertise, Estal has honed its craft of design, understanding the unique packaging needs of th

It shouldn’t feel this hard Running a winery is complex. Your technology shouldn’t make it more so. But for many wineries, the day feels like this: Double-checking reports Reconciling numbers across systems Fixing small workflow gaps Wondering if the data is actually right Putting out quiet operational fires None of it feels dramatic. It just feels… heavier than it should. That’s what missing pieces cost. Calm Commerce looks different. It looks like: One unified system across POS, clubs, eCommerce, CRM, and reporting A data-centric Shopify integration that keeps customer records centralized Direct QuickBooks integration that removes month-end cleanup Reporting that leads directly to action Fewer workarounds. Fewer surprises. Fewer “why is this happening?” moments When systems are aligned, the business feels aligned. Clearer decisions. Less second-guessing. More control. If you’ve been following this series, you’ve seen the cost

A question I’ve been thinking about lately: Do your tasting room systems actually work together,  or do they just coexist?  For many small WA wineries, the setup feels fine on the surface. You launch ecommerce. You add a POS. You manage your clubs. You run reports.  Sure everything functions. But a few deeper questions tend to reveal where things get… shall we say, murky.  Does tasting room purchase history show up cleanly in online customer records?  If someone joins your club at the counter, does that status automatically reflect in your segmentation?  When inventory changes, does every channel update right away?  Can you pull one report that includes tasting room, online, and event sales - and trust it?  Or is the answer sometimes… “Well… kind of.”  That “kind of” is where small inefficiencies hide - extra exports, reconciliations, double-checking report