WineDirect to Commerce7: 19% Growth in Club Customization, 50% Less Support, and the End of "Batch Day" TL;DR: Faced with manual bottlenecks on WineDirect, Hill Family Estate migrated to Commerce7 to empower their members. The results were immediate: a 19% increase in customized club shipments and a 50% reduction in support volume. Most importantly, the team reclaimed 4-5 hours of manual labour per club run by allowing their customers to customize their orders online and move to fully automated background processing.  Founded by third-generation farmer Doug Hill, Hill Family Estate is a family-run operation in Napa Valley that blends deep vineyard expertise with approachable hospitality. Their winery and tasting room experiences are known for being family-friendly, intimate, and deeply rooted in the land they have farmed for decades. For Allison Negrón, DTC Manager at Hill Family Estate, the goal is always to provide a seamless, personali

An Arc Flash Study is a critical safety analysis that evaluates the potential risks posed by electrical faults within a system. It calculates the energy released during an arc flash event, defines the arc flash boundary, and specifies the necessary personal protective equipment to safeguard workers. For wineries where electrical systems are integral to processes like fermentation, bottling, and pasteurization, conducting these studies is essential to protect both personnel and operations.  Why Wineries Need Arc Flash Studies Arc flash incidents - sudden, high-energy electrical faults - present serious risks to workers in any industrial setting. In the wine industry, where large-scale electrical equipment is used throughout production, these risks can have devastating consequences. An Arc Flash Study provides wineries with:  Risk Mitigation: Identifying electrical hazards and recommending safety protocols to protect employees. Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring adherence to

Custom Crush Overview The bulk wine and grape market has seen a recent downturn, resulting in a surplus of inventory actively for sale. This is due to sluggish consumer sales of wines priced below $10.00 per bottle. At our brokerage firm, we’ve been closely monitoring the changing market and marketing opportunities to ensure we offer our clients the best advice. However, buyers are still cautious about investing in additional inventory despite attractive prices.  During oversupply periods, custom crushing becomes a topic of discussion, and wineries are reaching out to us for promotion of their custom crush services. With over five decades of experience in custom crush bulk brokerage, we believe success comes from understanding the risks, creating mitigation strategies, and setting realistic expectations.  Over the past five decades, we’ve seen successes and failures in custom crushing. Drawing from this experience, we emphasize that success in custom crush venture

Growing Forward Recap: Preparing for the Risk Factors of Smoke & Fire Exposure

Experts weigh in on preventive steps and mitigation methods for wildfire impacted vines.   By Alexandra Russell  On July 27, 2022, Wine Industry Network hosted its most recent Growing Forward webinar, […]

Understand what moves the needle for insurance companies and concrete actions you can take to reduce your winery’s wildfire risk, increase wildfire resilience, and manage your overall risk. This webinar will provide an update on the marketplace with wildfire best practices from the Heffernan Wine Team and will feature Peter Michael Winery. Stuart Bockman, GM of Peter Michael Winery in Calistoga, will share their new wildfire mitigation protocols and how that has enabled them to procure Insurance amidst an insurance crisis.

Presented by: Heffernan Insurance Brokers Understand what moves the needle for insurance companies and concrete actions you can take to reduce your winery’s wildfire risk, increase wildfire resilience, and manage your overall risk. Stuart Bockman, GM of Peter Michael Winery in Calistoga, will share their new wildfire mitigation protocols and how that has enabled them to procure Insurance amidst an insurance crisis. Join us June 16 at 11am for this free webinar. Register Now Speakers:  Stuart Bockman, GM Peter Michael Winery Liz Bishop, Heffernan Wine Practice Leader / EVP, Heffernan Insurance Brokers  Debra Costa, Wine Practice Leader / SVP, Heffernan Insurance Brokers  Adam Iveson, President, Ember Defense

NAPA, Calif. – January 19, 2022 – Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the bank of the world’s most innovative companies and their investors, today released its 2022 State of the Wine Industry Report. The 21st edition of the annual report assesses current conditions in the wine industry and provides a unique forecast for the year ahead based on proprietary research and economic and behavioral trends among consumers. While premium wine companies led the industry with the best sales growth since 2007 – and nearly 30% of wineries described 2021 as their best year in history – the US wine industry as a whole experienced a decline in sales volume and failed to take advantage of the tailwind of businesses reopening as COVID restrictions loosened. SVB will host a live videocast with SVB Wine Division founder Rob McMillan to discuss the annual report and state of the wine industry on January 19, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. PST with Amy Hoopes, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, The W

Winery and vineyard businesses in California, Oregon, and Washington are facing major challenges maintaining insurance on their properties, facilities, and inventory due to increased wildfires. Join us to learn key steps your company can take to navigate these pressing issues going forward. Our panel of winery and insurance professionals will share stories, provide advice, and answer your questions. The session will include relevant insights on: Realities of the market Best ways to approach securing insurance and controlling premium costs How to self-insure Possible solutions to challenges in maintaining insurance and controlling spiraling premiums Actions you can take to mitigate your business risk Webinar: October 26, 2021 10:00-11:00 AM PT Register Now Speakers Bill Vyenielo, Business Consultant, Moss Adams Bill has worked with clients in the wine industry for more than 25 years and has solved operational challenges for vineyard and winery clients since 2006. He works with owners a

Wine School Reopens Its Doors to the Public in October

Fully Vaccinated Staff Are Uncorking New Educational Possibilities September 13th – Philadelphia, PA – With vaccination rates over 90% and state-of-the-art virus mitigation systems in place, the Wine School of Philadelphia opens its doors in October. “From the beginning of the pandemic, we felt it best to minimize the risk to our students and employees. […]

CD&P GM Lisa Carter attended a Town Hall about Public Safety Power Shut-Offs hosted by Congressman Jerry McNerney last week. The outlook is grim with the hot, dry weather - wildfires are a certainty this year.  Pacific Gas & Electric filed its state-mandated 2021 wildfire safety plan in February. The extensive plan proposes to clear vegetation, inspect power lines, install sensors and cameras, and otherwise invest in efforts to prevent a recurrence of the deadly wildfires that pushed the Northern California utility into bankruptcy. But perhaps the most controversial part of PG&E’s plan is to dramatically expand the scope of planned grid outages, which are intended to preempt the risk of its grid sparking more deadly wildfires this summer, and the disruptions and dangers those blackouts could cause. Please visit our PGE Planned Power Outages resource page to see what you can expect and how to prepare, stay safe and prepare your business now in order to mini