Imagine your VP of Sales announcing they’ve ditched CRM for a Rolodex. Or your finance director saying Excel is too modern, so they’re switching to chalkboard.  And yet, here we are — 2025 — squinting at billbacks for hours on end and sending reps to visit every retail account like the entire industry is running for sheriff. Automation isn’t new, but for the wine & spirits world, it might as well be black magic. We love to talk about efficiency, scaling, and modernizing — right up until someone proposes replacing busywork with bots. Suddenly, it’s “But our rep relationships!” or “This is how we’ve always done it.” As if nostalgia for manual labor is part of our brand identity. Let’s get one thing straight: no one’s asking you to hand your label design to Midjourney or let ChatGPT pick your clones. We’re talking about automating the parts of your business that drain time, w

Here’s the truth: strong businesses are built on strong leaders. And while some people seem like “natural leaders,” most great managers don’t just stumble into success. They learn it, practice it, and grow into it. That’s where leadership training comes in. At The Personnel Perspective, we’ve spent nearly 40 years helping organizations bring out the very best in their people. And if there’s one thing we’ve seen over and over, it’s this: investing in leadership training is one of the smartest financial decisions you can make. Let’s dive into the ROI of leadership development and how services like leadership training Boise and leadership coaching programs Boise can transform your workplace, boosting productivity, cutting costs, and creating teams people actually want to be a part of. TL;DR: Getting Returns on Your Leadership Training Short on time? No worries. Here’s the short and sweet of this blog: Leadership t

January 8, 2026  FireHawk® Bioherbicide made its first appearance at the North Coast Wine Industry Expo on December 3 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, joining wine industry professionals from across Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake counties for a full day of conversation and connection.   As a first-time exhibitor, FireHawk attended the WIN Expo with a simple goal: to listen, learn, and better understand the priorities shaping vineyard and grower decision-making across the North Coast. At the booth, the team showcased FireHawk® Bioherbicide Super Concentrate, engaging growers and vineyard managers in discussions around contact weed control and application considerations.   Hosted by Wine Industry Network, WIN Expo continues to be a key gathering point for the region’s wine community, bringing together growers, vineyard managers, and industry partners through a robust trade show and educational program.   Throughout

The Perils of Using AI to Replace Entry-Level Jobs EXCERPT FROM: AI Wine Marketing News by VinterActive Perhaps you’ve read the headlines about entry-level workers struggling to find jobs due to the rise of AI.  And especially if cash flow is tight, it’s mighty tempting to target entry-level jobs that might be done at lower cost by AI assistants controlled by seasoned marketers.  On the other hand, Harvard Business Review warns: “Replacing entry-level jobs with AI may harm long-term competitiveness by eliminating critical training grounds for future leaders.” — Harvard Business Review What does that mean for wine business managers? As you probably know, AI works best as an assistant, not a replacement.  So, if you don’t have entry-level marketers learning from your experienced leaders, what do you do when senior leaders move to greener pastures? The answer is to challenge leaders to identify repetitive work that AI c

Verallia inaugurates a new oxy-combustion furnace with HeatOx™ technology at its Campo Bom in Brazil, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and local development. Verallia, the European leader and world's third-largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products, has inaugurated a new oxy-combustion furnace equipped with HeatOx™ technology, an innovative solution owned by Air Liquide, at its Campo Bom plant in Rio Grande do Sul. This €111 million investment marks a major milestone in Verallia’s growth strategy in Brazil, reflecting the Group’s long-term vision and commitment to sustainable innovation.  For Patrice Lucas, CEO of Verallia Group “The commissioning of the Campo Bom furnace is a significant step in Verallia’s journey to decarbonize its production processes and accelerate innovation across our markets. This project embodies our ambition to invest in sustainable technologies, strengthen our presence in stra

We're hiring Account Managers in McMinnville, OR and Napa, CA! If you're passionate about client success, love building relationships, and want to join a collaborative team, we’d love to meet you.  At Wineshipping, we stand for: 🔹 Unity – We support each other and our clients, celebrate diversity, and build trust through shared focus 🔹 Simplicity – We solve complex problems with simple, effective solutions...and with no drama llamas 🦙🦙 🔹 Fun – We work hard, grow together, and celebrate often because wine (and work) should be fun Click the links below to apply: McMinnville, OR Napa, CA

Wine clubs have long been the heartbeat of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) revenue for wineries. With dependable quarterly allotments, they’ve offered a level of predictability that few other channels provide. But as wine club expectations evolve and consumer lifestyles shift, managing them with outdated systems isn't just inefficient—it's unsustainable. The reality? Many wine club managers are still losing sleep (literally) over club processing. They're spending hours—sometimes days—navigating clunky systems that should have made their jobs easier. Instead of focusing on member engagement, personalization, and loyalty building, they’re stuck in a loop of manual tasks, system errors, and reactive troubleshooting. It doesn’t have to be this way. Let’s talk about why modern tech should support your wine club manager’s time—not steal it—and how Corksy is leading that change. The Burden of Traditional Club Processing We&rsquo