After 30 years of moving up and to the right, the American wine industry hit a wall. Not a temporary slowdown or a soft patch. A structural shift that requires a fundamentally different marketing playbook. 2025 was the reality check. 2026 is the year wineries either adapt or watch their customer...

Every member of your club is not exactly the same. So why are you treating them that way? The typical winery sends identical emails to every member of their club, from the first-time joiner who discovered you last weekend to the loyal patron who's been with you for a decade. The result? Generic...

In the competitive world of wine retail, standing out on the shelf is all about grabbing the consumer’s attention. Wineries have experimented with catchy logos, bold lettering, textured paper and whole-bottle labels and many other packaging options to make their wine’s appearance unique. One of the...

Adaptation & Innovation by Steve Fredricks We began documenting the excess of the early 2000s in 2001. In 2002, we noted the debut of Charles Shaw (a.k.a., “Two-Buck Chuck”) at Trader Joe’s. By the end of that year, the brand and the competitors it spawned brought innovation to the bulk wine and...

Wine shipping and order fulfillment is a logistics game. And while the word “logistics” might conjure images of order picking, shipping tables, and trucks hitting the highway, it is often much, much more. The human element is what makes the difference between a frustrating brand experience, and an...

How the Coronavirus, Wildfires Are Changing How California Fine Wines Are Sold: The North Coast wine business had been facing slowing sales growth and increasing competition from other premium adult beverages even before this year’s coronavirus pandemic response led to months-long stretches of...