In my experience, consumers LOVE to see, on a really basic human level, winemakers and growers being friends. One of my most successful Instagram posts last year was a collaborative post with friend winery owners expressing our shared values and suggesting folks visit both of our tasting rooms.
Likewise, as a small winery that self-distributes, the majority of my placements have come from word of mouth and in some cases direct referrals from other wineries. I am more than happy to share lists and make introductions, I think it builds a level of trust with the buyers I work with and an authentic feeling of community, rising tide etc. And in a small wine region and market that has been slow to embrace local wine, this has been extremely valuable. A restaurant pouring my friend's wine is a win!
Love these recaps, thank you for taking the time to share this. Are there examples of wineries/winemakers who are using Substack successfully you would recommend checking out?! And/or would you consider a strategy session on how to develop one?
Right now, the only wineries I've personally come across who are using Substack are Antica Terra and Massican. Tablas Creek does have a blog model that I think would lend itself well to Substack but they migrated their blog over to a different platform for some specific reasons.
All that said, I think there's a lot of potential for wineries to use Substack and am working on building a post about how I think wineries can use it and a brief rundown on how to set one up if that's an avenue you'd like to explore! I'm going on maternity leave in a few weeks, but when I get back I may consider doing some 1:1 work to help individuals set up their Substack accounts, so let me know if that's something you'd be interested in!
Ok, thanks! I like the idea of moving a blog over, I feel like mine is buried on our website. And I would love a 1:1 when you're taking those on again, I'm in no rush
I love reading these takeaways! As a Gen-Z wine writer I have come to many of the same conclusions - especially that wine is not a niche! Treating wine more like craft beer would do well for the industry. It's great to hear that the industry is headed in a more hopeful and innovative direction.
Love reading all these takeways - thanks for sharing, Heather!
What I'd like to read and learn more about is on the New Digital Terroir.
I'm sharing and saving this post to read again and again... untill it sinks. I really hope we can all start working together on this, on helping the wine industry bloom again 🫶🏼
The quote pulled from @Elaine Brown needs more context. Why? Because the largest 25 wine companies are competing in a different game than the other 10,000 wineries out there. They control 90% of the wine market and effectively control grocery, chain, big box nationally. The other 10% are regional and local blips (like me) where the game is zero-sum, if I get a placement, I keep another winery off the list. And I’m also competing against the largest 25 for placements by their wholesaler.
So how do 2 or 10 small wineries collaborate? They don’t. Some will survive and others won’t. Perhaps some get purchased by the likes of WarRoom Wines and its kind. You can’t collaborate if the game is zero-sum locally and controlled by the largest companies everywhere else.
Why would any winery share their client list? Do restaurants share their lists? Does the local bottle shop share their list with competitors?
So what makes a winery exempt or special from this level of competition? I’m sure there are one-off situations where this can work, but the exception does not prove the rule.
Sure, you can share a room, work with fellow winemakers at an event, even recommend their Pinot…as long as you don’t make one yourself.
David, I have to respectfully disagree here. Perhaps distribution is a zero-sum game at the grocery or chain level, but consumers on an individual level don’t behave the way you’re suggesting.
Wine isn’t like cell phones or even soda, where people are loyal to Apple or Android, or Coke or Pepsi products. People simply do not pick one winery and stick with it to the exclusion of all others (and thank goodness for that, drinking the same wine forever and ever is boring af)
Most engaged wine consumers buy, say, Pinot Noir from multiple wineries. Some even seek out specific vineyard sources (Bien Nacido is a great example) and intentionally taste wines from every producer working with that site. These consumers often belong to multiple wine clubs with overlapping portfolios. I’ve personally run into Foxen club members at Melville, Bien Nacido, and Carhartt—wineries that share vineyard sources and customer profiles.
If this weren’t true, the entire DTC system would collapse.
So when you ask how two or ten small wineries can collaborate, the answer is that they already are, and successfully.
Collaboration doesn’t have to mean handing over placements or “sharing lists,” though that is happening in some cases. Reciprocal wine club programs like The Wine Atlas Collective (with wineries like Tablas Creek, Brooks, and Ridge) exist precisely because consumers don’t think in singular loyalty terms. Month-long or multi-month reciprocal programs from wineries like Foxen, Bien Nacido, Cambria, and Carhartt work for the same reason.
In my experience (and here I’ll admit that this data is anecdotal), I’ve found that recommending another winery often means we end up staying top of mind as a trusted guide and keeping people engaged with wine culture as a whole.
I wish I had a recording of Elaine’s keynote because they discussed how in literally every headwind the wine industry in California has faced, the thing that kept it from disappearing altogether was innovation THROUGH collaboration.
Sure competition will always exist on some level, we are humans after all, but I’d bet that the wineries that stop with the fear based thinking of “oh no, I’m losing to my neighbor” and instead look at opportunities to collaborate not only within the wine industry but in other sectors of hospitality and drinks, are the ones that will come out of this latest headwind thriving.
In my experience, consumers LOVE to see, on a really basic human level, winemakers and growers being friends. One of my most successful Instagram posts last year was a collaborative post with friend winery owners expressing our shared values and suggesting folks visit both of our tasting rooms.
Likewise, as a small winery that self-distributes, the majority of my placements have come from word of mouth and in some cases direct referrals from other wineries. I am more than happy to share lists and make introductions, I think it builds a level of trust with the buyers I work with and an authentic feeling of community, rising tide etc. And in a small wine region and market that has been slow to embrace local wine, this has been extremely valuable. A restaurant pouring my friend's wine is a win!
Hear, hear!
Love these recaps, thank you for taking the time to share this. Are there examples of wineries/winemakers who are using Substack successfully you would recommend checking out?! And/or would you consider a strategy session on how to develop one?
Right now, the only wineries I've personally come across who are using Substack are Antica Terra and Massican. Tablas Creek does have a blog model that I think would lend itself well to Substack but they migrated their blog over to a different platform for some specific reasons.
All that said, I think there's a lot of potential for wineries to use Substack and am working on building a post about how I think wineries can use it and a brief rundown on how to set one up if that's an avenue you'd like to explore! I'm going on maternity leave in a few weeks, but when I get back I may consider doing some 1:1 work to help individuals set up their Substack accounts, so let me know if that's something you'd be interested in!
Ok, thanks! I like the idea of moving a blog over, I feel like mine is buried on our website. And I would love a 1:1 when you're taking those on again, I'm in no rush
A lot of food for thought here!
Definitely! I feel like I’ll have something to write about for the next three months at least with these deep dives!
Fantastic recap, Heather! Always appreciate your insights and takeaways.
Thanks Warner! You were missed!
Great high-level takeaways!
Thanks, Marshall!
I love reading these takeaways! As a Gen-Z wine writer I have come to many of the same conclusions - especially that wine is not a niche! Treating wine more like craft beer would do well for the industry. It's great to hear that the industry is headed in a more hopeful and innovative direction.
Love reading all these takeways - thanks for sharing, Heather!
What I'd like to read and learn more about is on the New Digital Terroir.
I'm sharing and saving this post to read again and again... untill it sinks. I really hope we can all start working together on this, on helping the wine industry bloom again 🫶🏼
This is very in helpful
Helpful*
The quote pulled from @Elaine Brown needs more context. Why? Because the largest 25 wine companies are competing in a different game than the other 10,000 wineries out there. They control 90% of the wine market and effectively control grocery, chain, big box nationally. The other 10% are regional and local blips (like me) where the game is zero-sum, if I get a placement, I keep another winery off the list. And I’m also competing against the largest 25 for placements by their wholesaler.
So how do 2 or 10 small wineries collaborate? They don’t. Some will survive and others won’t. Perhaps some get purchased by the likes of WarRoom Wines and its kind. You can’t collaborate if the game is zero-sum locally and controlled by the largest companies everywhere else.
Why would any winery share their client list? Do restaurants share their lists? Does the local bottle shop share their list with competitors?
So what makes a winery exempt or special from this level of competition? I’m sure there are one-off situations where this can work, but the exception does not prove the rule.
Sure, you can share a room, work with fellow winemakers at an event, even recommend their Pinot…as long as you don’t make one yourself.
David, I have to respectfully disagree here. Perhaps distribution is a zero-sum game at the grocery or chain level, but consumers on an individual level don’t behave the way you’re suggesting.
Wine isn’t like cell phones or even soda, where people are loyal to Apple or Android, or Coke or Pepsi products. People simply do not pick one winery and stick with it to the exclusion of all others (and thank goodness for that, drinking the same wine forever and ever is boring af)
Most engaged wine consumers buy, say, Pinot Noir from multiple wineries. Some even seek out specific vineyard sources (Bien Nacido is a great example) and intentionally taste wines from every producer working with that site. These consumers often belong to multiple wine clubs with overlapping portfolios. I’ve personally run into Foxen club members at Melville, Bien Nacido, and Carhartt—wineries that share vineyard sources and customer profiles.
If this weren’t true, the entire DTC system would collapse.
So when you ask how two or ten small wineries can collaborate, the answer is that they already are, and successfully.
Collaboration doesn’t have to mean handing over placements or “sharing lists,” though that is happening in some cases. Reciprocal wine club programs like The Wine Atlas Collective (with wineries like Tablas Creek, Brooks, and Ridge) exist precisely because consumers don’t think in singular loyalty terms. Month-long or multi-month reciprocal programs from wineries like Foxen, Bien Nacido, Cambria, and Carhartt work for the same reason.
In my experience (and here I’ll admit that this data is anecdotal), I’ve found that recommending another winery often means we end up staying top of mind as a trusted guide and keeping people engaged with wine culture as a whole.
I wish I had a recording of Elaine’s keynote because they discussed how in literally every headwind the wine industry in California has faced, the thing that kept it from disappearing altogether was innovation THROUGH collaboration.
Sure competition will always exist on some level, we are humans after all, but I’d bet that the wineries that stop with the fear based thinking of “oh no, I’m losing to my neighbor” and instead look at opportunities to collaborate not only within the wine industry but in other sectors of hospitality and drinks, are the ones that will come out of this latest headwind thriving.