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

A few years ago at the DTC Wine Symposium, a panelist joked about the modern winery website formula: the guy, the dog, the truck, and the vineyard. Beautiful backdrop, strong lifestyle photography, a thoughtful founder story. Polished, absolutely. Strategically distinct, rarely. The critique wasn’t about branding. It was about structure. Most winery websites aren’t broken, but they aren’t built as decision environments either. Calls to action are unclear, revenue pathways are buried, shipping surprises appear late, and wine club often lives in isolation instead of throughout the buying journey. After auditing winery sites across regions and production sizes, the pattern is consistent: performance is constrained by friction, not effort. Most wineries don’t have a traffic problem. They have a conversion architecture problem. Before increasing ad spend or launching another promotion, run a winery website audit — on your phone. Start at the homepage and move t

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

On February 20, 2026, in a victory for American beer, wine, and spirits importers, the Supreme Court in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 607 US ____, Slip Op., February 20, 2026 (“Learning Resources”) struck down President Trump’s imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”). The Trump administration had used IEEPA to justify certain tariffs imposed on imported goods from various countries in 2025, including beer, wine and spirits. Despite the decision in the importers’ favor, no one is popping the Champagne quite yet. First, while the Court’s opinion invalidated the Trump administration’s IEEPA tariffs, it has no effect on the administrations’ ability to rely on other statutes to impose tariffs. Second, on the same day that the Supreme Court issued its decision, the President issued a proclamation imposing a 10% worldwide tariff under a different federal law (discussed in more detail belo

Forget the harsh, high-proof jars of yesteryear. This is Moon Moonshine, a modern spirit for a modern drinker: smooth, flavorful, mixable, and built for today’s drinkers. It’s low sugar, low calories, no artificial ingredients, and has a lighter, smoother finish than most tequila or whiskey.  Crafted in Kentucky with non-GMO corn, premium limestone and shale–filtered spring water, and distilled in copper pot stills, Moon Moonshine delivers a clean, contemporary take on America’s original spirit. Three all-natural flavors—Citrus, Berry, and Tropical—come in at 35% ABV. Launched just four months ago, the brand is already picking up major traction in Florida. College bars, beach bars, cocktail bars—they’re all leaning in. And with good reason: Moon Moonshine is easy, versatile, and profitable for Buyers. “Moon Moonshine takes a timeless spirit and gives it a bold, modern twist. We wanted a people-forward brand that’s s

What we’re seeing Holiday and event weekends are where wineries make their money — and also where tasting rooms get the most stressed. Lines back up, staff get flustered, and POS screens fill with clutter right when teams need simplicity. How vinSUITE TabletPOS helps TabletPOS is built for exactly those moments: fast, flexible, and easy to use anywhere you pour. These three small setup tweaks have a big impact on busy weekends: 1. Dollar-Based Tips That Match Wine Service Swap restaurant-style percentages for simple dollar buttons that feel natural in a tasting room. The problem Restaurant-style 20% tip prompts can feel out of place on high-value wine tickets. Guests hesitate, do math, or skip tipping entirely. The tweak Use Custom Tip Amounts in TabletPOS to swap percentages for simple dollar buttons like $5, $10, and $15. Why it’s a win Feels natural for winery hospitality vs. restaurant-style math. Speeds up checkout with fewer edits and awkward pauses. Suppo

For more than 20 years, Activ8 Commerce has built technology specifically for wineries — and we’re proud to share our latest update. In every tasting room, the moments that matter most happen at the counter — or wherever a guest decides they’re ready to buy. The challenge is making sure your team can meet that moment quickly, without waiting on hardware or wrestling with terminals. Across the industry, the wineries seeing the strongest DTC results this year have focused on a few core operational shifts: 1️⃣ Reduce friction at checkout Guests expect fast, smooth transactions. Long lines or “sorry, this reader is stuck again” moments absolutely impact sales. Tap-to-pay with credit cards — especially when available on mobile devices — helps teams stay fluid and attentive. 2️⃣ Make hardware flexible and affordable Tasting rooms aren’t built like retail stores. Stations need to move. Staff shift positions. Outdoor service expands and co

DP&F partner Jennifer E. Douglas, and employment law attorney Angela A. Nelson, will be presenting two 2026 Employment Law Update webinars this winter, sharing updates for California employers on December 11th, 2025 and January 13th, 2026. Each session will feature a legal update for changes to employment law in 2026, including updates to employer pay data requirements, minimum wage increases, tip theft laws and new stay-or-pay contracts. Jennifer and Angela will also address ongoing employment law requirements that continue to cause employers difficulty. There are two dates to choose from, one on Thursday, December 11th, and one on Tuesday, January 13th. The topics covered will be the same for both sessions, and registration links are below. Webinar Registration December 11, 2025   |   January 13, 2026

DP&F partner Jennifer E. Douglas, and employment law attorney Angela A. Nelson, will be presenting 2026 Employment Law Updates, sharing updates for California employers on December 11th, 2025 and January 13th, 2026. Each session will feature a legal update for changes to employment law in 2026, including updates to employer pay data requirements, minimum wage increases, tip theft laws and new stay-or-pay contracts. Jennifer and Angela will also address ongoing employment law requirements that continue to cause employers difficulty. There are two dates to choose from, one on Thursday, December 11th, and one on Tuesday, January 13th. The topics covered will be the same for both sessions, and registration links are below. Webinar Registration December 11, 2025 |   January 13, 2026

DP&F partner Jennifer E. Douglas, and employment law attorney Angela A. Nelson, will be presenting 2026 Employment Law Updates, sharing updates for California employers on December 11th, 2025 and January 13th, 2026. Each session will feature a legal update for changes to employment law in 2026, including updates to employer pay data requirements, minimum wage increases, tip theft laws and new stay-or-pay contracts. Jennifer and Angela will also address ongoing employment law requirements that continue to cause employers difficulty. There are two dates to choose from, one on Thursday, December 11th, and one on Tuesday, January 13th. The topics covered will be the same for both sessions, and registration links are below. Webinar Registration December 11, 2025 |   January 13, 2026