In our analysis of Wine Club Scorecard responses, some surprising trends have emerged. Many wineries are missing crucial strategies that could dramatically boost growth and member engagement. Here are some of the biggest opportunities revealed so far:   1. Tracking Member Churn: A Critical Oversight for Retention Surprisingly, 40% of wineries don’t track their membership churn—the rate at which members leave the club. Without churn data, understanding why members are leaving becomes difficult, making it challenging to take proactive steps to keep members engaged. Tracking churn allows wineries to spot trends, like when members are most likely to leave or what offerings might need improvement. For wineries new to tracking churn, the Wine Club Scorecard offers straightforward steps and retention strategies to reduce attrition and maintain a thriving membership.   2. Offering Flexible Membership Options: Personalization Matters While traditional wine

In Session 3 of the Wine Club Symposium, Liz Mercer (WISE Academy) made a clear case: tasting-room traffic alone is too volatile to power sustainable DTC growth. Wineries that take their brand to their members, through roadshow events and member travel, are winning sign-ups, sales, and loyalty in the markets where fans already live. Why this matters now Weather, travel patterns, and local disruptions make tasting-room demand unpredictable. Taking the winery on the road diversifies acquisition and retention—and deepens relationships. You control cadence, format, and data capture instead of waiting for foot traffic. Three roadshow formats that work Winery-hosted dinners: Co-plan with a restaurant or country club; keep pricing all-inclusive; align the menu to make your wines shine. Partner-hosted events: Team up with lifestyle brands (e.g., premium appliance showrooms, private social clubs) to co-mingle audiences and scale. Champion-hosted gatherings: Member-home tastings done

In Session 3 of the Wine Club Symposium, Liz Mercer (WISE Academy) made a clear case: tasting-room traffic alone is too volatile to power sustainable DTC growth. Wineries that take their brand to their members, through roadshow events and member travel, are winning sign-ups, sales, and loyalty in the markets where fans already live. Why this matters now Weather, travel patterns, and local disruptions make tasting-room demand unpredictable. Taking the winery on the road diversifies acquisition and retention—and deepens relationships. You control cadence, format, and data capture instead of waiting for foot traffic. Three roadshow formats that work Winery-hosted dinners: Co-plan with a restaurant or country club; keep pricing all-inclusive; align the menu to make your wines shine. Partner-hosted events: Team up with lifestyle brands (e.g., premium appliance showrooms, private social clubs) to co-mingle audiences and scale. Champion-hosted gatherings: Member-home tastings done

The COVID-era shift to remote and hybrid work brought many benefits: flexibility, broader talent pools, and increased autonomy. But it also came with a major cost—especially for those in the DTC wine world: we lost the spontaneous learning and camaraderie that happened naturally when we shared the same space. Gone are the days of overhearing a colleague crush a club sales call or brainstorm a great pitch for a wine event. We don’t gather in the break room to compare Survivor predictions or poke our heads over a cubicle to troubleshoot a customer issue. Those moments—informal, unscripted, and deeply valuable—were how culture was shared, best practices spread, and new team members learned the ropes. Now, our teams are spread across time zones and working from home. Our phone sales specialists might be in Oregon, our club manager in Omaha, and our fulfillment team hours away. How do we recreate that sense of connection and community when we don’t bump i

July 15, 2024 — RedChirp, the wine industry’s leading text messaging platform, and Tock, the leading all-inone solution for reservations and table management, proudly announce an enhanced integration between their two platforms. This strategic upgrade aims to streamline and elevate how wineries manage reservation communications, improving both customer experience and operational efficiency.  The new, second-generation integration still allows wineries, and other hospitality businesses, to send automated reservation texts directly from the same platform they use for other SMS strategies. This consistency enhances the customer journey, whether the communication pertains to a visit, membership, purchase, promotion, shipment, or other interaction.  Wineries can use this integration to enable various automated text messages through RedChirp to keep guests informed and engaged. These messages include confirmations of new reservations, updates, and cancellations, as

Vineyard Team is excited to announce that exhibitor booths for the 2024 Sustainable Ag Expo (Expo) are officially sold out, underscoring the event's standing as a premier gathering for the sustainable winegrowing community. This year, the Expo is set to showcase an impressive lineup of 63 sustainable agriculture vendors, each bringing innovative solutions and products aimed at advancing sustainable practices within the industry. In addition to the comprehensive vendor showcase, the 2024 Sustainable Ag Expo offers an enriched educational program. Attendees can look forward to an array of trending topics presented by leading experts in the field from Oregon State University, UC Davis, CDFA, and more. The program is designed to not only impart knowledge but also to spark discussions that propel the industry forward.  Some of the topics covered at  year’s event include: High-resolution vineyard nutrient management Red blotch virus management Using biochar to combat c