“Every gift creates two customers: the buyer and the recipient. Most brands only nurture the buyer and leave half the value on the table…” 👉 More gifts sent means more recipients reached. 👉 More recipients reached means more piping hot leads. 👉 More piping hot leads? Well, you’re just one re-engagement email away from a super slick conversion. (Did you know that referred customers have higher retention and at least 16% higher value than non-referred customers with similar demographics, according to the Journal of Marketing?) If you’re ready to learn more about gifting for your brand (and how to amp up your strategy around these high-intent referrals), download the Ultimate Gifting Playbook right here for free » https://www.zest.co/2025-ultimate-gifting-playbook

Five years ago, running a winery on Shopify meant duct-taping a lot of things together. Great for e-commerce. Okay for DTC. Difficult for wine clubs. Not really designed for tasting rooms. That's changed. The combination of Shopify's platform investments and a handful of wine-specific apps has created something genuinely new: a single operational stack that connects your tasting room, your wine club, your online store, and your loyalty program under one customer record. That convergence has real operational consequences — and it's why an increasing number of wineries are consolidating everything onto Shopify. Here's what's actually different. Your Card on File, Finally Done Right One very frustrating limitation of running a winery business on Shopify used to be simple: Shopify didn't let you vault a customer's payment card and charge it later for anything other than a subscription — not from your POS or your back office or sales team for one-tim

The Post-Harvest Drop-Off Fall brings a flurry of activity to wine country. Tasting rooms fill with eager visitors, social media buzzes with harvest photos, and the energy is palpable. Then November arrives, and for many wineries, engagement plummets. According to Silicon Valley Bank's 2024 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Survey, the average winery converts less than 15% of harvest event attendees into repeat customers by year-end. This represents an enormous missed opportunity. The wineries that thrive year-round don't view harvest as a seasonal peak but as the starting point of a strategic customer journey.  Harvest Is Your Customer Acquisition Funnel Stop thinking of harvest events as isolated experiences and start viewing them as the top of your sales funnel. Smart consumer brands recognize that seasonal events provide a prime opportunity to collect valuable customer data while creating memorable brand experiences. These touchpoints become the first step in an ongoing relat

Meta Ads, Miracle Results If your holiday Meta ads felt like lighting money on fire in a festive candle, that’s not because social is dead. It’s because your targeting and flighting were built for wishful thinking, not gifting intent. The fix isn’t magic. It’s method. You can absolutely turn Meta into a gift-selling machine between Thanksgiving and New Year—if you understand what actually drives intent and how to spend wisely when every other brand on earth is screaming for attention. What follows is a ruthless, winery-specific playbook for the six-week window between Thanksgiving and New Year that prioritizes intent, protects margin, and leans on real benchmarks instead of folklore. First, reality: volume is there, but it clusters Holiday ecommerce keeps breaking records, with online spend hitting roughly $241.4B from Nov 1 to Dec 31 and mobile responsible for the majority of transactions. (Adobe Newsroom) Translation: your customers are buying on their

For years, discounting has been the default lever wineries pull to spark sales and reward loyal customers. But in today’s crowded marketplace, deep discounts can erode brand value and condition customers to buy only when the price drops. There’s a better way: loyalty points programs. Retention, without discounting, comes from making customers feel known, valued, and part of something special. They’ll stay not because it’s cheaper, but because it’s theirs. Instead of discounting away margin, wineries can encourage repeat visits and purchases by offering rewards that feel aspirational, personalized, and memorable. Loyalty points add up over time, giving guests a reason to come back again and again, all the while protecting your brand’s premium image. 10 Reasons Why Loyalty Points Work Shift from price to experience. Points reward frequency and engagement, not bargain hunting. The program should reinforce experience, access, and emotional loyalty, not

By the Copper Peak TeamThe OND (holiday) season is fast approaching, and now is the time to lay the groundwork for a smooth, successful holiday shipping experience. At Copper Peak Logistics, our shipping experts have shared their top strategies to help wineries and DTC brands get ahead—before the rush begins. Amanda Castorena and Mike Galvan have pulled together some tips and a checklist to help you stay on track! 1. Finalize Gifting and Kitting Plans Early Corporate gifting and seasonal kits are high-impact, but they require extra components like branded packaging, glassware, and printed collateral. Ordering these items now ensures you won’t face delays later when demand spikes. 2. Lock in Your Shipping Calendar Submit club setup forms and finalize ship dates for the rest of the year. Mondays are already filling up, and blackout dates are creeping in. Build in extra transit time to account for seasonal delays and avoid last-minute surprises. 3. Refresh Your Marketing Mater

9 proven strategies to maximize Your October, November, December revenue  October, November, and December (OND) are the biggest sales months of the year for your business, and if done right, not just for short-term gains. This is your prime window to capture new customers, increase average order value, and build relationships that carry into the new year.  For many beverage alcohol businesses, OND can represent 30–40% of annual sales. The reason? Peak holiday spending meets perfect timing, gatherings, corporate gifting, and a growing preference for wine purchases create a massive opportunity.  The businesses that win the season don’t just survive the rush, they plan ahead, market smart, and execute flawlessly.  1. Start early and build holiday momentum While many of the sales will take place in OND, August and September are nearly the most important months as this is when your planning and preparations take place.  Suggested timeline:  August:

Everywhere you look right now—Hallmark Channel, Netflix, social media—it’s Christmas in July. And while most people are watching cozy movies and pretending it’s snowing outside, here’s a better question for wineries: Are you ready for your holiday season? October, November, and December (OND) are your biggest sales months of the year. Holiday winery marketing doesn’t start in October—it starts now. They’re sprinting through Q3—right now—while everyone else is still daydreaming about hot cocoa and watching Christmas movies… you’ve got rosé in your glass and wine bundles to plan. 1. Clean Up Your Data — Because Bad Data Costs You Money This isn’t just about removing bounced emails. Bad data quietly drains OND revenue by blocking you from segmenting, targeting, or even reaching your customers. Your Move: Export your full email list (now, not later). Use ChatGPT to help spot typos like gmaii.com in

5 Tested Techniques To Improve Wine Packaging Quality   It’s time to think outside the box, here are Global Package’s techniques to improve your wine packaging. But, why is packaging for wine important, you ask? With the increase of “unboxing reveals” across social media and the fierce competition for on-shelf dominance in the wine industry, packaging has become crucial to gain a marketing advantage. Your customers will not only anticipate the quality of your beverage by the label and bottle design but also by the packaging (or lack thereof) your product is in.  What Is Wine Packaging? Packaging means so much more than just the bottle, and in this case when we are specifically referencing outer packaging, can also include wooden boxes, decorated gift boxes, wine totes, gift bags, storage containers, and more. Outer packaging has three main functions: to enhance the branding, add prestige, and keep the wine safe during transport and delivery. The packa

As the holiday season nears, wineries tend to focus on individual customers—rolling out special promotions and curated holiday bundles. But here’s the thing: corporate gifting is an amazing opportunity that often gets overlooked. Companies are constantly searching for meaningful gifts to send to their clients, employees, and partners, and guess what? Wine is a popular choice because it’s both a crowd-pleaser and a versatile gift that suits various tastes and occasions. Including corporate gifting in your holiday sales strategy doesn’t just open the door to bigger, high-value sales—it introduces your winery to a whole new audience who might not have discovered you otherwise. Each bottle sent as a corporate gift is more than just a product; it’s an introduction to your brand’s story and the quality you pour into every bottle. It's not just a one-off sale—it’s about crafting an experience that makes an impression that lasts long af