Event Type: Webinar
Date: 4/22/2026
You’ve already done the hard part getting guests through the door. Now it’s time to make every visit truly count.
Join Liz Mercer for a sharper, more intentional look at how top-performing wineries are transforming the tasting room into a powerful engine for revenue and loyalty. From the first welcome to the final touchpoint, you’ll learn how small, deliberate shifts in approach can significantly improve conversion, deepen engagement, and create lasting customer relationships.
If you want stronger results from every tasting room interaction, this is a session you won’t want to miss.
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 at 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (PT)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Liz Mercer
WISE Coach & Content Developer
Liz Mercer grew up in the Napa Valley, which instilled a deep respect for the culture and lifestyle of wine and the industry supporting it. She left the area to attend Northwood University in Michigan, where she studied Finance & Business Management. She joined the wine industry as a temp in a tasting room in 1999. Shortly thereafter, she was drawn into direct-to-consumer sales via wine clubs and e-commerce, where she led a team to rebrand the wine club, establishing it as one of the largest wine clubs in the country. Over 25 years, she has held various leadership roles with wineries on the Central Coast and the Napa Valley, while working with WISE. In 2024, she left day to day winery operations and joined WISE full time as a Partner and DTC Coach.
Liz earned her Master of Professional Studies in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America. Liz witnessed the landscape of direct-to-consumer sales environment change drastically over the last 20+ years as the industry has matured and is excited to be a part of developing the next generation of direct marketers.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
WISE (Wine Industry Sales Education) has long championed excellence across all Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) channels - tasting rooms, clubs, events, phone and beyond - through practical, hands-on training and data-driven insights. Today, their work extends beyond sales skills to shaping strong leaders and healthy teams.
Strong Leaders. Healthy Teams. Successful Wineries.
They believe a rising tide lifts all boats and that our industry deserves professionalism at every level. Through experiential learning, mystery shopping, coaching, consulting, and peer Cabinets, WISE continually raises the bar for leadership and DTC mastery—empowering wineries to thrive today and build lasting success for tomorrow.
As wineries navigate shifting consumer behavior, rising costs, and increasing compliance complexity, one thing is clear. The gap between average and top performing direct to consumer programs is widening.
At eCELLAR, we see this play out every day across our winery clients. The difference is not just better wine or stronger brand recognition. It is operational.
Top performing wineries are taking a more intentional approach to customer relationships, internal workflows, and conversion. Increasingly, success comes down to how well technology supports those efforts behind the scenes
1. They Personalize the Club Purchase Experience
Wine clubs continue to be one of the most important drivers of long-term revenue. Managing them effectively requires more than basic functionality.
Wineries seeing the most success are:
- Offering more flexible club structures
- Automating recurring processes
- Creating a seamless member experience across channels
As club models evolve, the systems supporting them need to evolve as well.
2. They Reduce Friction at Every Step of the Customer Journey
From the tasting room to checkout to post visit follow up, leading wineries are focused on removing friction wherever it exists.
Small inefficiencies like slow checkout, manual adjustments, or disconnected systems add up quickly, impacting both the customer experience and conversion.
Even something as simple as changing an order from pickup to ship can create friction if it requires multiple steps. The most efficient wineries enable these changes to happen quickly and seamlessly. At eCELLAR, we have streamlined this process so teams can make adjustments in real time without adding unnecessary steps or slowing down the sale.
3. They Expect More from Their Technology Partners
Wineries are no longer just looking for software. They are looking for partners who understand their business, support their growth, and provide long term stability.
That includes:
- Flat rate pricing with zero revenue share to keep profits alive
- Reliable platforms that can scale
- Responsive and knowledgeable support
- Direct integrations with FedEx and UPS to improve efficiency and reduce costs
Maintaining control over revenue is also becoming a key consideration when evaluating technology partners.
4. They Prioritize Operational Efficiency as Much as Revenue Growth
For many wineries, growth has traditionally been measured by traffic and sales. Today, operational efficiency is just as critical.
Top performing wineries are asking:
- How much time are we spending on manual processes
- Where are we duplicating effort
- How confident are we in our data
Reducing back-office workload and improving accuracy allows teams to focus on higher value activities that drive revenue.
5. They Embrace Automation Without Losing the Human Touch
Automation is no longer a nice to have. It is essential.
Wineries are looking to reduce manual work while maintaining personalization, giving teams more time to focus on the customer.
Much of this starts with better data at the point of entry. Address auto complete, capturing the full ZIP plus four, and real time validation improve accuracy upfront, reducing back-office cleanup, strengthening compliance, and increasing confidence in shipping and tax calculations.
These types of improvements may seem small, but they eliminate downstream friction and have a direct impact on both efficiency and compliance.
At eCELLAR, these are the principles that have guided the platform since the beginning. The focus is not just on features, but on helping wineries operate more efficiently and build more profitable direct to consumer programs.
“Our goal has always been simple,” says Paul Thienes, founder, and CEO of eCELLAR. “Help wineries become more profitable and more successful. We will continue investing in technology that supports the way wineries actually operate while staying true to the service and reliability our clients depend on.”
Learn more about eCELLAR’s DTC platform or schedule a demo at: www.ecellar1.com/get-started/.
eCELLAR's The Pulse: Making the Most of the Tasting Room Visit with Liz Mercer
Date: April 22, 2026
Time: 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM PT
Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D2JERMtnSdWzc0gkAaas4Q
In the first session of this two part series, Beyond the Tasting Room, we explored how wineries are generating revenue beyond the tasting room and adapting to evolving consumer behavior.
In Part Two, Making the Most of the Tasting Room Visit, we bring the focus back to where many of the industry’s most important customer relationships begin.
We welcome back Liz Mercer, Partner at WISE, for a practical conversation on how wineries can maximize the impact of every tasting room visit. Drawing on industry data and her experience working closely with wineries, Liz will share what today’s top performing tasting rooms are doing differently. From creating more meaningful guest interactions to improving conversion, retention, and long term customer relationships, this session will highlight strategies wineries can apply right away.
Together, we will look at the full guest journey. How visitors experience your brand, how staff engagement influences outcomes, and how wineries can turn a single tasting room visit into a lasting relationship.
If you are looking to get more value from the traffic you already have and ensure every tasting room interaction counts, this conversation will provide the framework to help you do just that.
If you run a tasting room, you know this situation well.
A guest has a great visit. They taste through the wines, fall in love with them, and decide to join the club. They set their shipments to pickup because naturally they are already planning their next trip back to the winery.
But sometimes life gets in the way.
Schedules change. Travel plans shift. Months pass more quickly than expected. Suddenly that pickup order is still sitting at the winery and now a second one has accumulated. Then the customer calls with a simple request.
“Can you just ship it to me?”
For many wineries, pickup orders that turn into shipping requests can create operational headaches. Staff often have to cancel orders, rebuild transactions, adjust inventory, and try to keep their winery order fulfillment and accounting records accurate.
We have always believed winery software should support the way wineries actually operate. That is why eCELLAR includes the ability to convert pickup orders to shipped orders without cancelling and recreating the transaction.
It is a small feature that solves a surprisingly common problem for wineries managing direct to consumer wine sales.
Real Tasting Room Flexibility for Winery Pickup Orders
Pickup to Ship conversion gives winery teams the flexibility they need when a guest changes their mind.
Instead of canceling the original order and starting from scratch, staff can quickly convert a pickup order to ship directly inside the eCELLAR system.
The system allows you to:
• Add a shipping address
• Apply the appropriate shipping method and cost
• Schedule a future ship date if needed
• Process payment for shipping
Once complete, the order simply moves into the normal winery shipping workflow.
From the guest's perspective, it feels effortless. From the winery's perspective, it keeps DTC order management clean and efficient.
A Year End Reality for Winery Accounting
There is also a very practical reason wineries rely on this feature, especially as the year comes to a close.
Under standard GAAP accounting practices, wineries cannot recognize revenue on wine that has not yet been delivered. In other words, the wine must either be picked up or shipped by the end of the year in order for the revenue to be recognized.
For many wineries, that means December includes a bit of a scramble. Teams often review outstanding winery pickup orders and reach out to customers to either collect their wine or arrange for shipment.
It is not the most glamorous project, but it is an important one.
Being able to quickly convert pickup orders to shipping orders makes this process significantly more efficient. Instead of rebuilding transactions or adjusting inventory manually, staff can convert the order, collect shipping, and move it directly into the winery fulfillment process.
What used to be a time consuming cleanup project becomes a quick operational task.
Protecting Inventory and Order Data
Behind the scenes, there is more happening than a simple order update.
When an order is converted from Pickup to Ship, eCELLAR automatically adjusts the inventory transactions. The system restores inventory from the pickup location and reallocates it to the shipping fulfillment location.
This ensures that inventory levels remain accurate across tasting rooms, warehouses, and fulfillment locations.
Just as important, the original order record remains intact. Your accounting history stays clean.
Built for Modern Winery DTC Operations
One of the guiding principles behind eCELLAR has always been to support real winery workflows.
Orders originate in many places. The tasting room. The wine club. Events. Phone calls. Hospitality visits that turn into larger purchases later.
Having the flexibility to convert pickup orders to shipped orders without disrupting inventory, accounting, or compliance workflows helps wineries operate more smoothly.
Pickup to Ship conversion is one of those features that quietly improves winery DTC operations every day.
And sometimes, the smallest features are the ones that save the most time.
Event Type: Webinar
Date: 2/24/2026
Coffee with Rob: Macro Trends & How Top-Performing Wineries Are Responding
This session is all about stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Rob will dig into the macro trends impacting the wine industry, drawing from the 2026 SVB State of the U.S. Wine Industry Report along with additional slides from his presentation deck that help put the data into context.
Rather than focusing on day-to-day tactics, the conversation will center on what’s happening at a market level and what the data shows about how top-performing wineries are navigating today’s environment.
We’ll start with Rob’s take on the data, followed by a moderated Q&A with questions submitted in advance by the eCELLAR community.
DATE: Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 , 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
WHO: Rob McMillan, EVP & Principal Brand Strategist, Wine Silicon Valley Bank, a Division of First Citizens Bank
LOCATION: Virtual Event
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rob McMillan, EVP & Principal Brand Strategist, Wine Silicon Valley Bank, a Division of First Citizens Bank
Rob McMillan is one of the wine industry’s most respected thought leaders and a long-time advocate for innovation and data-driven strategy. As the founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division, Rob has spent over 25 years analyzing trends, forecasting market shifts, and advising some of the most successful wineries across the U.S. His annual State of the U.S. Wine Industry Report is widely considered essential reading, offering forward-looking insights into consumer behavior, generational change, and financial health in the wine business. Known for his candid analysis and sharp commentary, Rob brings a unique perspective to the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of direct-to-consumer wine sales.
THE PULSE IS AN eCELLAR SPEAKER SERIES INSPIRING DTC SUCCESS
The Pulse is an eCELLAR speaker series designed to inspire and empower our DtC clients. These webinars explore cutting-edge topics that directly impact the wine industry, offering valuable insights and actionable strategies. Check out our upcoming calendar of events to take full advantage of this exclusive benefit and stay ahead in the industry.
If you’re heading to the DTC Wine Symposium in Monterey, we’d love to invite you to join the eCELLAR team for a relaxed Bubbles & Bourbon Happy Hour on January 21st in our hospitality suite.
Swing by between 5:30–7:00 PM to enjoy bubbles, bourbon, small bites, and good music, all in great company. It’s an opportunity to unwind, connect, and spend time with fellow colleagues and the eCELLAR team before the evening continues.
Please RSVP if you’d like to join!
Event Type: Webinar
Location: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4DFg_5iKRW6AecGjx52Sig
Date: 12/17/2025
Join Liz Mercer at WISE and Tracy McArdle at eCELLAR for a dynamic 45-minute session and 15-minute Q&A exploring how wineries are driving sales outside their four walls. Learn how to take your brand on the road and other creative outreach strategies that deepen connections, build loyalty, and boost revenue. Discover what’s working for leading wineries, how to identify the right audiences and partners, and how to bring your brand story to life beyond the tasting room.
About WISE
WISE (Wine Industry Sales Education) has long championed excellence across all Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) channels - tasting rooms, clubs, events, phone and beyond - through practical, hands-on training and data-driven insights. Today, their work extends beyond sales skills to shaping strong leaders and healthy teams.
Strong Leaders. Healthy Teams. Successful Wineries.
They believe a rising tide lifts all boats and that our industry deserves professionalism at every level. Through experiential learning, mystery shopping, coaching, consulting, and peer Cabinets, WISE continually raises the bar for leadership and DTC mastery—empowering wineries to thrive today and build lasting success for tomorrow.
Join us tomorrow for eCELLAR's The Pulse Presents:
AI in Action – Tools, Tips, and What’s Next with Andreas Mueller-Schubert
Event Date: 10/01/2025 @ 9AM
Location: Zoom webinar RSVP
Discover practical AI tips and tools for everyday business success with Andreas Mueller-Schubert
AI is not just coming - it’s already here, reshaping how we all work and make decisions. In this practical and conversational eCELLAR's The Pulse session, AI expert Andreas Mueller-Schubert will explore how AI is transforming businesses of all sizes, especially in areas like marketing, operations, and team productivity. We’ll talk about the opportunities (and challenges), tools that are actually useful today, and what it means to stay competitive in a world where the edge goes to those who use AI well. No jargon, no hype, just a real conversation with someone who’s helping businesses make AI work for them.
Andreas Mueller-Schubert is Managing Partner at WSI Next Gen Marketing, a Napa-based digital agency that works closely with many local wineries and small businesses. With past leadership roles at Microsoft and Siemens, Andreas brings a strong background in global tech and business strategy to the heart of wine country. At WSI, he helps clients grow through smarter marketing, better websites, and data-driven solutions.
More recently, Andreas has emerged as a practical expert on AI for business. He speaks and consults on how AI tools can be used to streamline operations, enhance marketing, and boost team efficiency, all without requiring deep technical skills. He and his wife Georgia live in Napa and are passionate supporters of the local business community.
Event Type: Webinar
Location: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3vhvv8qRR3G-TRedjGi3-g
Date: 10/1/2025
Discover practical AI tips and tools for everyday business success with Andreas Mueller-Schubert
AI is not just coming - it’s already here, reshaping how we all work and make decisions. In this practical and conversational eCELLAR's The Pulse session, AI expert Andreas Mueller-Schubert will explore how AI is transforming businesses of all sizes, especially in areas like marketing, operations, and team productivity. We’ll talk about the opportunities (and challenges), tools that are actually useful today, and what it means to stay competitive in a world where the edge goes to those who use AI well. No jargon, no hype, just a real conversation with someone who’s helping businesses make AI work for them.
Andreas Mueller-Schubert is Managing Partner at WSI Next Gen Marketing, a Napa-based digital agency that works closely with many local wineries and small businesses. With past leadership roles at Microsoft and Siemens, Andreas brings a strong background in global tech and business strategy to the heart of wine country. At WSI, he helps clients grow through smarter marketing, better websites, and data-driven solutions.
More recently, Andreas has emerged as a practical expert on AI for business. He speaks and consults on how AI tools can be used to streamline operations, enhance marketing, and boost team efficiency, all without requiring deep technical skills. He and his wife Georgia live in Napa and are passionate supporters of the local business community.
eCELLAR - Your Success, Our Commitment
For more than 25 years, we at eCELLAR have believed that financial success should never come from taking a percentage of your direct-to-consumer sales. Our flat monthly pricing model ensures that every dollar of revenue you earn remains yours, providing predictable costs and exceptional value.
But competitive pricing is just the beginning. eCELLAR is a proven, full-featured direct-to-consumer platform that powers everything from CRM, POS, and inventory to reservations, email campaigns, UPS and FedEx integration, reporting, and more. Our REST API makes it easy to connect eCELLAR with trusted third-party tools such as RedChirp, Enolytics, and others, giving you the flexibility to run your business your way.
We continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of our clients. One example of that commitment is our upcoming integration with Stripe. This addition will offer wineries an alternative flat-rate merchant processing option with access to digital wallet payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay online. It’s designed to keep your operating costs low and predictable, while giving your customers more ways to pay.
At eCELLAR, our mission is simple. We provide wineries with the tools, choice, and value they need to thrive — from a robust direct-to-consumer platform to streamlined, low-cost payment solutions like Stripe.
See the eCELLAR difference yourself via our online demo videos and our flat-rate pricing.
