From hospitality-driven visitation to loyalty and strategic partnerships, the Wine Sales Symposium explores where revenue growth is coming from now

The path to winery growth looks different than it did even a few years ago.

Today’s most successful wineries are not relying on a single channel or a single tactic. Instead, they are building growth through a combination of stronger customer experiences, deeper retention strategies, and brand partnerships that extend reach beyond traditional wine audiences.

At this year’s Wine Sales Symposium, several sessions will explore how these shifts are reshaping sales and marketing strategies across the industry.

One of the most important changes is happening in hospitality and visitation. Consumers—especially Millennials and Gen Z—are increasingly choosing experiences that feel personal, memorable, and aligned with their identity. For wineries, that means visitation is no longer simply about tasting wine; it’s about designing emotionally resonant experiences that build connection and long-term loyalty.

Sessions focused on hospitality will examine how leading wineries are redefining the tasting room experience, borrowing inspiration from hotels, restaurants, and other experience-first brands to meet evolving consumer expectations.

At the same time, wineries are placing renewed focus on customer retention and lifetime value. In a market where acquisition costs continue to rise, reducing club churn and increasing member loyalty has become a major revenue driver. Attendees will hear how wineries are rethinking their club programs as long-term membership ecosystems designed to keep customers engaged well beyond the first year.

Another key area of growth is emerging through strategic brand partnerships. More wineries are collaborating with hospitality, travel, lifestyle, and media brands to expand visibility, reach new audiences, and create new revenue opportunities. These partnerships are proving to be powerful tools for brand awareness, customer acquisition, and long-term business growth.

Together, these sessions reflect a larger industry reality: growth today is coming from wineries that create stronger customer relationships at every stage—from the first visit to long-term loyalty.

The Wine Sales Symposium will bring these conversations together with practical frameworks, case studies, and actionable strategies wineries can apply immediately.

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The tasting room used to be the heart of the winery business model. Walk-ins became club members. Club members became brand ambassadors. Revenue flowed predictably, and the formula worked.

That’s changing.

Visitation to wine regions is softening and tasting room traffic that wineries once counted on is declining. The cohort that’s most noticeably absent? Millennials and Gen Z, the consumers who should be building the next generation of wine loyalty.

For many wineries, the drop-off has been gradual enough to rationalize. Blame the economy. Blame changing drinking habits. Blame competition from craft beer and cocktails.

But the reality is harder to swallow: younger consumers aren’t avoiding wine country because they don’t like wine. They’re avoiding it because the traditional tasting room experience no longer competes with how they want to spend their time and money.

And if wineries don’t adapt, they risk becoming relics of an industry that waited too long to evolve.

The Real Problem: Wine Isn’t Enough Anymore

Twenty years ago, offering great wine in a beautiful setting was sufficient. Guests arrived curious, left educated, and often joined the club.

Today, wineries aren’t just competing with each other. They’re competing for a slice of consumers’ total “fun budget” which is the same budget that includes destination dining, immersive travel experiences, live entertainment, and cultural events that didn’t exist a generation ago.

“Walking into a quiet tasting room with a scripted presentation about soil types isn’t exactly the adrenaline rush younger consumers are looking for,” says Susan DeMatei, president of Wine Glass Marketing and a speaker at Wine Industry Network’s upcoming Annual 2026 Wine Sales Symposium. “Millennials and Gen Z want experiences that feel social, shareable, and worth their time. Wine as a status symbol simply doesn’t inspire them the way it did previous generations.”

The stakes are high. Tasting rooms that fail to evolve risk becoming what younger consumers already suspect they are: stuffy, expensive, and irrelevant.

But here’s what makes this moment both challenging and opportunistic: some wineries are cracking the code. They’re drawing in exactly the consumers others have lost. They’re creating loyalty where skepticism used to live. And they’re doing it by fundamentally rethinking what a tasting room can be.

What’s Working (And Why It Matters)

The wineries seeing success aren’t just tweaking their tasting fees or updating their furniture. They’re reimagining hospitality from the ground up.

Candace MacDonald, co-founder and managing director at marketing firm Carbonate will lead a session on hospitality concepts at the Wine Sales Symposium and has watched this shift happen in real time.

“The deadly combination of high cost and high formality is what’s killing traditional wine country,” MacDonald says. “Younger consumers don’t want to feel like they’re walking into an intimidating masterclass. They want to feel welcomed into a space where they belong.”

Some wineries have responded by lowering the barrier to entry. Others have elevated the experience to compete with luxury hospitality. A few have done both, depending on the audience.

The common thread? They’ve stopped treating wine as the sole attraction and started treating it as one part of a larger, more compelling story...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Join winery leaders and industry experts to explore the strategies shaping the future of wine sales.

The wine industry is entering a period of significant change. Consumer behavior is shifting, visitation patterns are evolving, and the traditional paths to market are being redefined.

To succeed in this environment, wineries must rethink how they attract customers, build lasting relationships, and grow their brands.

The Wine Sales Symposium, taking place on Wednesday, May 13, brings together winery leaders and industry experts for a full day focused on the strategies shaping wine sales today and in the years ahead.

This year’s program explores critical topics that will cover:

• Hospitality Innovation: Reimagining tasting room experiences to attract Millennials and Gen Z through values-driven programming, experiential design, and strategic partnerships

• Wine Club and Customer Retention: Data-driven approaches to reducing churn, building membership value, and creating loyalty programs that work in today's subscription-saturated market

• AI and Digital Transformation: How artificial intelligence is reshaping wine marketing, customer engagement, and brand visibility; with sessions on AI-powered marketing, customer journey optimization, and practical implementation strategies

• Distribution and Wholesale Strategy: Navigating consolidation, portfolio rationalization, and the new realities of wholesale partnerships in a rapidly changing distribution landscape

• State of the Industry: Expert analysis on wine sales trends, market opportunities, and winning strategies for producers in a contracting market

If you’re responsible for growing wine sales, building stronger customer relationships, or navigating the changing wine market, this event was designed for you.

Join fellow winery owners, sales leaders, marketing professionals, and industry experts for a day of insight, strategy, and meaningful conversation.

Get Your Early Bird Discount and Register Now!


2026 Event Sponsors

The Wine Sales Symposium is an in-person event dedicated to providing actionable insights, expert advice, and industry predictions for wineries looking to grow sales and profits.

This year’s program will kick off with an in-depth look at how the wine category is performing overall and what the key indicators could mean for sales in the near future. Sessions will explore how AI is influencing which wines get discovered and sold, how top-performing wineries are turning wine club churn into long-term retention, how visitation is being redefined through identity and experience, and how producers and sales leaders are adapting to distribution shifts and economic pressure.

With a focus on data-driven decision-making, consumer behavior, and sales optimization, the symposium offers practical takeaways that wineries can implement immediately. Whether it’s enhancing guest experiences, improving customer retention, or leveraging new marketing channels, this event is designed to help wineries thrive in an evolving industry.

At WIN, our goal is simple: to create conferences and events that provide maximum value to winery and wine industry professionals. To do that, we want to hear directly from you.

We’ve put together a very short list of topics, just a few checkboxes and space for your suggestions, to capture the issues that matter most in wine sales and marketing today. By sharing your preferences, you’ll help us build a program that’s directly tailored to the challenges, opportunities, and ideas shaping your business right now.

Your feedback ensures these events are more relevant, more actionable, and more valuable - for you and the entire wine community.

Share your input here: https://winesalessymposium.com/survey/. 

Wine Sales Symposium 2025’s roundtable of writers and PR experts explores
how storytelling and publicity can shift the narrative.

By Laurie Wachter

Carl GiavantiDoes media coverage really help sell wine? 

That’s the question the roundtable of top wine journalists and PR experts will set out to answer in Mastering Modern Media: How to Secure & Leverage Media Coverage That Drives Sales, one of the first sessions at the May 14th Wine Sales Symposium in Santa Rosa, CA.

Moderator Carl Giavanti, a winery publicist and author of Wine Industry Advisor’s interview series, Turning the Tables, will lead the panel discussion by asking six questions about the benefits and pitfalls of media coverage.  

What role does media coverage play in helping drive awareness and, ultimately, sales?

“It’s always been about storytelling,” says Giavanti, “and even more so today when there’s so much competition, variety and options for adult beverages. You can’t be successful if you’re trying to sell ‘the product,’ whether it’s your vineyard, winery, process, innovations, sustainability or whatever unique, cool things you’re doing. The product is important, and the wines have to be great — but honestly, it’s really all about storytelling. People buy from people they connect with and relate to. And every brand owner, winery owner and winemaker has a story to tell.”

How important are a winery’s unique brand stories?

 Alder Yarrow“I like to say that stories are really what make wine meaningful and memorable,” agrees wine writer Alder Yarrow, a brand experience strategy consultant who is the author of the celebrated Vinography blog. 

“If you want to get geeky about it, the more we learn about how the human memory works, the more it seems like the very structure of memory is narrative in its construction. Our brains are hardwired for stories: to seek them out, to understand the world through them and to remember through them. Storytelling is as essential as you get when it comes to building a relationship with a customer.”

What’s the one thing wineries could do better in relation to getting visibility with the media?

Deborah Parker WongDeborah Parker Wong, DWSET, national editor for SOMM Journal and Slow Wine Guide USA, suggests, “Treat the media landscape strategically and with the best use of your resources.”

“In the short term, develop print/digital paid media that serves as longer-lived/evergreen content that can be used to educate [other media]. It can also be repurposed in many ways, including as a source of content for videos, podcasts and presentations.” At the same time, she adds, “Build relationships with media and become a resource.“

More questions

Liz Thach, a wine writer and Wine Market Council president, and Brianne Cohen, a certified sommelier and wine educator, will also join the panel to explore why winery PR can fail, how wine media can help change today’s negative narrative, and whether paid content from influencers will replace traditional media.

Experience this knowledgeable panel at the Wine Sales Symposium on May 14 at the Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country in Santa Rosa, and also plan to join Adam Bird, partner and director of strategy at Highway 29 Creative, for his How Archetypes Make Unforgettable Wine Brands session, for insights on how to craft your brand’s story.

Adapt, Connect, Thrive: Why Sales & Marketing Leaders Can’t Miss this Event

In a time when the wine industry is facing headwinds on every front—rising inventories, demographic shifts, changing consumer preferences, and continued economic pressure—many wineries are grappling with how to evolve their approach to sales and marketing. The upcoming Wine Sales Symposium, taking place May 14th at the Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country in Santa Rosa, was created specifically for wine sales and marketing professionals who are ready to embrace change and seek out the strategies driving real growth in today’s marketplace.

Hosted by the Wine Industry Network, this one-day, in-person event brings together top-performing wine brands, leading industry voices, and innovative thinkers for a focused, no-fluff conversation about what’s working—and what’s not—in the business of wine.

Sessions Designed for Doers, Not Bystanders

Unlike broader wine industry events, the Wine Sales Symposium zeroes in on sales and marketing-specific content, making it especially valuable for winery executives and teams tasked with driving revenue and brand growth. Sessions are designed to deliver practical, applicable insights—not theory—and offer a chance to learn directly from those who are adapting and thriving.

From pricing and packaging to content strategy and distribution, the program covers the spectrum of sales challenges facing wineries in today’s environment.

Key Conference Highlights You Can’t Miss:

• State of the Industry with Dr. Chris Bitter, offering a data-driven breakdown of current market forces, consumer trends, and key headwinds shaping both DTC and wholesale channels.
  
  
• Cracking the Code: Why Some Wine Brands Are Thriving Against the Odds, a dynamic closing session featuring cross-sector perspectives from J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, O’Neill Vintners, Breakthru Beverage, and more. This discussion will unpack the real strategies driving success, from impact-driven branding to navigating SKU consolidation.
  
  
• Mastering Modern Media, a panel of wine journalists and PR experts exploring how smart media strategy can increase visibility and drive sales. Panelists will answer the question every winery is asking: Does media coverage really help sell wine, and how do you make it work for your brand?
  
  

Beyond the Sessions: Networking, Celebration & Onsite Resources

In addition to the main sessions, attendees will benefit from four targeted breakout sessions that dive deeper into sales and marketing topics critical to winery success today. These sessions are designed to be interactive and immediately applicable, giving attendees a closer look at specialized strategies and tools.

The day also includes a Marketing Awards Winners Celebration, recognizing standout campaigns and creative work from across the wine industry. Attendees will enjoy a catered outdoor lunch, offering time to relax, connect with peers, and recharge between sessions.

As the day wraps up, the Symposium will host a special end-of-day Wine Social—a relaxed networking reception featuring local wines and the opportunity to connect directly with winery owners, marketing executives, wholesale distributors, DTC experts, and industry peers.

Throughout the event, attendees can also explore the Sales & Marketing Resources – select industry vendors and solution providers that will be exhibiting onsite. It’s a chance to discover tools, services, and partnerships that can support your marketing and sales goals—plus build new business relationships in a meaningful, face-to-face setting. 

Real People, Real Conversations, Real Solutions

What sets WISS apart is its interactive format and peer-to-peer value. The Symposium isn’t just about sitting in on sessions—it’s about connecting with other winery professionals who are also navigating uncertainty and seeking fresh ideas. Attendees gain not only expert insights from the stage, but also powerful takeaways from the people they meet over coffee, during lunch, and between sessions. 

Whether you’re working to reinvigorate your wine club, capture younger audiences on social media, or reposition your brand in a crowded shelf space, the conversations at WISS are designed to help you find your next move.

If you’re a sales or marketing leader looking to sharpen your strategy, build new relationships, and come away with actionable ideas that can move the needle, this is the event for you. The Wine Sales Symposium is a rare chance to step outside your day-to-day and invest in learning what it takes to succeed in today’s wine market.

The future of wine is being shaped right now.
Be in the room where it happens.

To view the full event schedule, conference program, speaker line-up, and registration, visit: www.winesalessymposium.com

At this year’s Wine Sales Symposium, taking place on May 14th, we’re tackling two of the biggest challenges facing today’s wine professionals: standing out in a saturated market, building meaningful connections with consumers, and driving consistent sales through wholesale channels. These expert-led sessions will equip you with the strategies you need to elevate your brand and expand your reach. Whether you're looking to sharpen your story or unlock distribution success, these conversations are designed to deliver real-world insights you can apply immediately.

Is your brand telling a story that resonates with today’s consumers, or just blending in?

In a market where younger consumers connect more with craft beer and spirits, wine brands need stronger stories to stand out. This session explores how using brand archetypes can help wineries build emotional connections, shape clear messaging, and create memorable, story-driven branding that resonates with today’s audience. Discover how to make your wine brand more relatable, engaging, and repeatable—so it’s more than just another bottle on the shelf. Read more about this session.

How Do Successful Wine Brands Win at Wholesale?

Selling wine in today’s wholesale landscape takes more than great product—it requires smart pricing, strong distributor relationships, and a clear brand message. This session dives into proven strategies for boosting retail and on-premise sales, navigating buyer expectations, and building partnerships that support long-term growth. Walk away with practical insights you can apply right away. Learn more now!

Want to turn your followers into loyal customers?

In the session "Social Media Strategies to Grow Your Audience—and Sales," you’ll learn how different audiences engage with platforms, why Gen Z and Millennials aren’t as hard to reach as you think, and how to craft authentic content that truly resonates. You’ll also explore how smart investments in consultants, influencers, and targeted strategies can make a real impact on your bottom line. Walk away with actionable insights to strengthen your brand, grow your audience, and boost conversions. Learn more about this session.

Some wine brands are thriving — even in today’s tough market. Want to know why?

This lively session will dive into the bold strategies, innovative decisions, and fresh approaches that are driving real-world success across wineries, retailers, and distributors. You’ll hear from industry leaders who are outperforming the competition and leave with unexpected insights, proven ideas, and fresh inspiration to help you grow sales, strengthen your brand, and build stronger partnerships in an evolving market. The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities — come discover how to make them yours. Read more about this powerful discussion.

In addition to these session and the conference program, the event will include an outdoor catered lunch and a special end-of-day networking wine social featuring local wines. Attendees will have an opportunity to visit with onsite sales & marketing resources exhibiting at the event and network with winery owners, marketing executives, sales professionals, wholesale distributors, and DTC experts leading to potential new business relationships and collaborations.

In-Person Event is Almost Here - Register Soon!

Wine Sales Symposium:
Media Coverage, Tasting Room/Wine Club Strategies, & Customer Growth Tactics 

New Customers. Loyal Members. Boost Sales by Leveraging Media & Creating Memorable Tasting Room Experiences with Smarter Wine Sales Strategies. 

Today’s wine market demands fresh thinking—whether you’re looking to expand your customer base or reimagine your wine club strategy. At this year’s Wine Sales Symposium, taking place on May 14th, you’ll get the tools and insights you need to adapt, innovate, and drive real results. Below, explore two can’t-miss sessions designed to help wineries reach new audiences, increase loyalty, and grow smarter in a shifting landscape.

Getting press is only part of the equation—knowing how to turn that attention into real business impact is what sets successful brands apart.

Wine media has changed, and this session will help you keep up. Join leading wine journalists and PR experts as they reveal what makes a story pitch-worthy, how to navigate today’s media landscape, and how to turn coverage into tasting room traffic, club sign-ups, and real sales. Whether you manage PR in-house or work with an agency, you’ll walk away with actionable strategies to boost visibility and drive measurable results.

Is your tasting room turning guests into loyal customers? Your tasting room should be more than a visit—it should be a conversion.

Great wine alone isn’t enough—your tasting room should turn first-time guests into loyal customers. In this session, guest experience expert Karen Wetzel shares insights from over 30 years in the wine industry, including her work as a secret shopper across California, to help you create more engaging, profitable visits. Discover what today’s consumers expect and how small, strategic changes can lead to big gains in club sign-ups, repeat visits, and long-term customer retention.

Are you doing everything you can to reach today’s evolving wine consumer? 

In this high-impact session, Honore Comfort, Vice President of International Marketing at Wine Institute, will share real-world strategies for expanding your brand’s reach and reputation—both globally and domestically.

Drawing on fresh insights from Wine Institute’s proprietary global tracking study and market trend data, Honore will walk attendees through step-by-step tactics to prime your brand for success in new and emerging markets. From knowing what buyers and distributors are looking for, to how to get your wines in front of them, this session is packed with actionable takeaways.

Outdated Wine Club Tactics Won’t Cut It Anymore.

The wine club model is shifting—and to stay competitive, your strategy needs to evolve with it. In this data-driven session, you'll hear from a panel of experts who will break down what’s working now when it comes to building high-performing wine clubs. From falling tasting room traffic to changing consumer expectations, the challenges are real—but so are the opportunities.

You'll gain insights into modern recruitment tactics that attract qualified members, engagement strategies that keep your wine club top of mind, and proven methods for increasing retention and maximizing customer lifetime value.

Learn more about these sessions and view the full event details now!

Wine Sales Symposium
OPENING SESSION

State of the Industry: The Wine Market and Consumer Are Evolving – So Should You

Wine sales are shifting, and consumer behavior is changing—but not always in the ways the headlines suggest. To help make sense of it all, we’re kicking off the 2025 Wine Sales Symposium on May 14th with an opening session led by Dr. Chris Bitter, Senior Wine and Grape Analyst at Terrain / American AgCredit.

In this insightful and interactive session, Dr. Bitter will explore what’s really behind the recent declines in wine consumption and provide a deeper look at the trends shaping both retail and DTC sales channels. He’ll address the structural challenges facing the industry, offer a forward-looking outlook, and share where innovative wine brands are still managing to grow despite headwinds.

This session is designed to help you make informed, strategic decisions and adapt to the realities of a changing marketplace. Don’t miss your chance to gain the insights you need to stay competitive and lead with confidence.

Chris Bitter, Ph.D.
Senior Wine & Grape Analyst / Terrain, American AgCredit
In addition to the opening session and conference program, the event will include an outdoor catered lunch and a special end-of-day networking wine social featuring local wines. Attendees will have an opportunity to visit with onsite sales & marketing resources exhibiting at the event and network with winery owners, marketing executives, sales professionals, wholesale distributors, and DTC experts leading to potential new business relationships and collaborations.