Wine Industry Sales Education (WISE), the leading provider of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) sales education, leadership coaching, and certification for the wine industry, today announced the launch of WISE Public Speaking Pathways, a new suite of live, practice-based public speaking courses developed in partnership with Clear Communication Academy (CCA). Designed specifically for winery professionals, WISE Public Speaking Pathways delivers role-based communication training across every level of the organization, from frontline tasting room staff building confidence with guests, to managers and winemakers representing the winery publicly, to executives speaking with influence and authority. With both live Zoom and in-person options, the program offers flexible access for individuals and organizations to select the experience that best aligns with their goals, team structure, and growth initiatives. “Strong communication is not a ‘nice to have’ in today’s DTC envi

Wineshipping is excited to co-host an exciting virtual conversation with Community Benchmark and the WISE Academy. Join founder John Keleher and member executive Nick Rood for a data-driven and lively conversation. In addition to discussing current trends and opportunities for growth, we will share how wineries are succeeding in the current economic and social environment. Discover an inside perspective and Top Performer results in the first 4 months of 2021 including: Visitation – Unique trends by region… are we back to 2019 levels? Average Order Volume – Trends you should see and how to respond. Club Revenues – Where we are seeing growth, and effective best practices Digital Sales – Is the growth holding? Where are the opportunities? Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsf-GgqDsrGNStxBjck-2WkrkZFva3T0bN 

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

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

Wine Club Symposium — Session 1 State of the Industry: Why Wine Clubs?  Watch the full recording of vinSUITE’s opening keynote to see how leading wineries are growing clubs in a softer market—by reducing sign-up friction, making commitment flexible, and keeping members engaged between shipments. The panel shares field examples from tasting rooms and clubs, then maps them to simple operational changes you can test this quarter. You’ll leave with practical ways to shorten the join flow, add flexible commitment (pause/skip/swap or prepaid), and build habit-keeping touches between shipments—plus the metrics that show it’s working. What you’ll learn Reduce tasting-room friction: capture contact earlier and streamline the join flow. Flexible commitment: pause/skip/swap and prepaid balances convert “almost” members and save cancels—without discounting. Between-shipment engagement: one planned touch + a simple cancel-save step k

vinSUITE has announced the full agenda and speaker lineup for the 3rd Annual Wine Club Symposium, the leading virtual event for winery professionals focused on driving wine club growth, boosting member retention, and leveraging AI in direct-to-consumer (DTC) operations.  Taking place online on Tuesday, July 15, and Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the Symposium features six sessions, more than a dozen speakers, and data-backed content designed to give attendees clear, tactical steps for immediate application. The event is free to attend and begins each day at 9:00 AM PDT. Register at wineclubsymposium.com or directly via GoToWebinar. With wine clubs generating as much as 60% of DTC revenue for top-performing wineries, this year’s agenda focuses on increasing profitability through strategic customer targeting, member experience innovation, and operational efficiency. 2025 Wine Club Symposium Agenda Day 1 – Tuesday, July 15 9:00–9:50 AM PDT— State of the

This two-day virtual symposium brings together leading voices in wine club management, marketing, technology, and data to equip wineries with actionable ideas to grow membership, improve retention, and increase lifetime value.  Topics Include: State of the Industry – Wine Clubs Top 5 Customer Segments to Target Now, Proven to Drive Revenue WISE Academy Presents: Roadshows and Member Travel Beyond the Bottle: What Really Drives Wine Club Retention Start to Finish: Crafting the Ideal Wine Club Texting Strategy AI Panel Register here.

Traffic is likely to not be up this year, so what are you doing to make the most of the guests that are coming?  In this session, get tips and tricks to help the team get more club signups, more sales conversions and higher average order sizes. Learn about tasting room best practices and ideas to grow more revenue with less traffic.  Presented by Jennifer Warrington of Wise Academy on Tuesday, March 12th @ 10:00am  PST. Click here to register to attend!

Join Wineshipping on Thursday, June 3rd at 10:00am PT for… State of 2021: A Compass to Grow Direct-to-Consumer Sales Wineshipping is excited to co-host an exciting virtual conversation with Community Benchmark and the WISE Academy. Join founder John Keleher and member executive Nick Rood for a data-driven and lively conversation. In addition to discussing current trends and opportunities for growth, we will share how wineries are succeeding in the current economic and social environment. Discover an inside perspective and Top Performer results in the first 4 months of 2021 including: Visitation – Unique trends by region… are we back to 2019 levels? Average Order Volume – Trends you should see and how to respond. Club Revenues – Where we are seeing growth, and effective best practices Digital Sales – Is the growth holding? Where are the opportunities? We can’t wait to see you there! REGISTER HERE