The weather is shifting, trip-planning season is underway, and tasting room traffic is about to pick up. This is the good news. The bad news? If you're reading this and thinking "we'll get to our spring marketing when spring gets here," you're behind. The tasting rooms that stay full from April through June aren't the ones with the best wine or the prettiest views. They're the ones that showed up in someone's planning process three weeks before the trip happened. People don't stumble into wine country on a whim and wander from door to door the way they did fifteen years ago. They research. They scroll. They book. And if your winery isn't visible and compelling during that research window, you're invisible when it counts. The hotel industry figured this out years ago. Marriott doesn't wait until summer to market beach properties. They start running "book your getaway" campaigns in late winter, because they know the booking win

We are currently recruiting for a part-time Wine Educator to join our award winning team. The Wine Educator position will be responsible for enhancing the brand value of St. Francis Winery by creating positive customer relationships through exceptional guest experiences that exceed customers’ expectations, resulting in immediate wine sales and on continuing, long-term sales and customer relationships. See more details and apply here:https://www.wineindustry.jobs/jobs/53255863-wine-educator-pt-at-st-francis-winery-and-vineyards

As wineries across the country face softening tasting room conversion rates and increasing pressure on direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, a new episode of Expert Talks: Wine Industry Insights highlights practical strategies from one of the industry’s leading DTC educators. InnoVint recently sat down with Liz Mercer, Partner and Winery Coach at WISE Academy, to examine what the top 10% of tasting rooms are doing differently to consistently convert guests into wine club members and drive higher-margin sales. Drawing on more than 25 years of wine industry experience, Mercer outlines the operational disciplines, team training strategies, and guest experience enhancements that set apart high-performing tasting rooms from the rest. Rather than relying on aggressive sales tactics, the discussion focuses on intentional hospitality, empowered front-of-house (FOH) teams, and structured yet authentic club conversations. The episode offers actionable guidance for wineries looking to: Grow their

When we launched the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast in 2016, we weren’t sure where it would go. Now, 300 episodes later, it’s become a go-to resource for growers, researchers, educators, and wine industry professionals dedicated to sustainability. To mark this milestone, we flipped the mic around and interviewed our host, Craig Macmillan, PhD — long-time vineyard and winery professional, educator, and now podcasting veteran — to reflect on some favorite episodes, meaningful moments, and what’s ahead. From Zoom Recordings to Global Reach Craig began hosting when the podcast was just an idea sparked by the Vineyard Team’s goal to make sustainable winegrowing knowledge more accessible. “I wasn't a podcast listener at all,” Craig admits. “But I said sure, why not? Let's try it.” Since then, the show has featured scientists, growers, and innovators from all over the world, creating a ripple effect of conversations and c