Why Data Matters
By Susan DeMatei and Sara Redahan – Wine Glass Marketing Imagine you are on the marketing team for a direct-to-consumer (DTC) winery, dutifully sending out emails to your newsletter lists and club members, updating posts across social media channels, maybe even sending print notices through the mail. And yet, there ...
10 Tips for Making the Most out of Q4
By Susan DeMatei As harvest wraps up, you should be ready to pounce on Q4. There are several reasons OND (October, November, December) is a crucial period for Direct to Consumer Sales. First, it in the high point between the summer slump, where it is often too hot to ship ...
MANAGEMENT OF VINE BALANCE FOR BETTER WINE, AND FOR PROFIT
By Dr. Richard Smart, “the flying vine-doctor” This article will continue with the theme of the last one, that is vine balance. Here the emphasis will be on management of vine balance. The last article included my suggestion of how to measure vine balance at winter pruning by recording pruning ...
A Winery Roadmap for Data Capture
By Susan DeMatei If you’re trying to sell your wines through direct channels, your customer database is the most valuable tool in your marketing arsenal. Most wineries understand the importance of a database, but few have a documented list for which consumer data points should be collected, and why. In ...
Wine Label Branding: Stay True to Yourself
By Robin Dohrn-Simpson Imagine you’re a customer in a wine store, searching for your next bottle of wine. What would attract you beyond the style? Does a label displaying Jesus on the cross or an elderly Frenchman with a bulbous nose and colorful beret intrigue you enough to buy? Often, ...
Three Biggest Challenges Facing Small Wineries Today?
I think the real story in the Willamette Valley (and other small regions nationally) is that 75% of wineries produce fewer than 5,000 cases annually. It’s micro-production by any measure. They have survived because of so-called “Premiumization” and the recent fascination with their AVAs. What will happen when the next ...
Wine Labels 201: Protecting Your Design
By Brian D. Kaider In the July/August Issue, The Grapevine published an article by attorney, Lindsey Zahn, entitled “Wine Labels 101: Navigating TTB’s COLA Process.” The article described the information that must be contained on the label as well as how the label gets approved for use. This article will ...
Grape Purchase Agreements & Smoke Taint
By Brian D. Kaider, Esq. and Kenneth Y. Lo, Esq. As I traveled to Sacramento for this year’s Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, I began writing this article, intending to focus on key provisions of Grape Purchase Agreements (GPAs) that parties should negotiate. But, upon arrival at the symposium, I ...
Endorsements Unique to the Wine Making Industry
By Brian Kennon, Midwest Winery Insurance When I visit a winery for the first time, my number one priority is to first hand observe any exposures. I want to know the risks present for that particular winery. This is done by a number of steps, I meet with the owner ...
Wine Labels 101: Navigating TTB’s COLA Process
By Lindsey A. Zahn, Esq. The label approval process is unique to the alcohol beverage industry; most traditional foods (such as cookies, pasta, and sugar) are not subject to government pre-approval before being sold at market. Indeed, well before a wine reaches a store’s shelves or the hands of a ...
