From the Desk of Michelle van der Lugt... Do you know what's REALLY scary in the wine world? It’s not ghosts in the cellar... It’s the numbers we’re seeing across the industry. Sales are slowing. Clubs are shrinking. Margins are vanishing faster than you can say BOO! And too many wineries are still...

This month: Soft seas, more questions, and a consumer that’s anxious and cautious about tomorrow. October’s here, and the supply chain feels eerily quiet. Not calm exactly – just slow. There is movement, but it’s more drift than direction. Freight rates are down, not because we have gotten more...

Great wine brings people to your winery. Great service brings them back. And today, nothing elevates service like a Point-of-Sale (POS) that lets you meet guests anywhere, from the vineyard lawn to a bustling festival. In today’s DTC landscape, the tasting room is no longer the only in-person...

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...

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...

Free Up Capital. Fuel Growth. Stay Harvest-Ready Most wineries lock up hundreds of thousands in barrel inventory. But here’s the truth: The barrel isn’t the asset—the wine inside is. Legacy Barrel Services helps you unlock the capital trapped in your cooperage program. We finance the barrels so you...

It Takes 150 Years to Grow a Barrel. Let’s Make It Count It takes French oak trees 120 to 150 years to mature. American oak? Around 80 to 100. That’s how long it takes nature to produce the raw material. Each tree doesn’t go far- it only yields one or two barrels. American oak = 2 barrels per tree...

In recent years, US trade policy developments – including broad tariffs and anti-dumping/countervailing duties – have disrupted global supply chains and increased costs across multiple industries. The wine and spirits sector, in particular, continues to experience the ripple effects of trade...