I've Always Thought Spring Was the Start of the Year Anyway
A Case for Treating Spring as Your Winery's New Year
January was chaotic. It was too heartbreaking, frustrating, and ugly for any of us to have had any clarity or momentum.
February didn’t feel like a new beginning, either. Though growth was up compared to last month, it wasn’t significant, and engagement was only so-so. It was a strange, in-between month—not quite winter, not quite spring, just this liminal space where everything felt slow and unfocused.
So… March. Or rather, the end of March (lest we forget that March is, like, 70% winter as evidenced by the last several days of rain here in California), I think this is where it’s at.
There’s a certain zest to springtime. A feeling of momentum, of clearing out the old, of finally beginning. I’m possibly biased, having been born the day before Easter in March 1989, but I genuinely believe that spring carries a unique kind of energy—one that nudges us toward renewal, creativity, and bold new steps.
Spring also makes me crave stories about growth and transformation, so every March, I commence my annual re-read (or in my case, re-listen), of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, a book that perfectly captures the rhythms of the seasons and the slow, deliberate cycles of growing something from the ground up. And every year, it fires me up—especially about gardening (Woe betide any weed that dares cross my path after my annual reread 😂).
That book is my reminder that everything moves in cycles—growth, dormancy, renewal. And in the wine industry, we follow that same rhythm. Winter is for resting, planning, and preparing. But spring is when everything actually starts moving. The vines wake up, people return to tasting rooms, there are a million and one conferences and festivals, and the business of wine finally feels alive again.
The New Year That Makes Sense
I feel like January 1st has never really made sense as a time for us in the wine industry to start fresh. Why should we feel energized for goal-setting in January when we’re still exhausted from the holiday rush? When weather, winter illness, and consumer fatigue make it hard to gain any real traction? Why can’t we take a lesson from our vines and use the winter to reflect, regroup, and recharge, then enter springtime with fervor and zeal?
Maybe this is why I’ve always been skeptical of New Year’s resolutions. They ask us to sprint when we should be resting. They demand transformation at the worst possible time.
But the energy of spring is where it’s at. Visitor numbers (hopefully) start to climb. Budbreak and the flowers in our cover crop turn our vineyards from literal sticks in the mud to glorious oases. There’s movement again, both in the vineyard and in the way we think about what’s ahead.
There’s a word that I think is perfect for this time of year: apricate—which means to bask in the sun, particularly on a cool day. That moment when you step outside, tilt your face toward the light, and feel, for the first time in months, the warmth of what’s coming next.
I Repeat: Spring is a Better Time to Set Goals Anyway
This year, I’ve been thinking about how wineries (and really, all small businesses) can embrace spring as their real fresh start instead of forcing things in January. What would happen if you:
Use March and April to refresh and refine your marketing strategy instead of trying to power through in the winter slump?
Treated spring as the launchpad for new engagement—new content, new events, new ideas—when people are actually paying attention again?
Built momentum now instead of waiting for summer or harvest season to figure out what’s working?
If you’re feeling stuck in the same old patterns, here are a few ways to shake things up and prep for the “new year”:
Audit your online presence – Look at your website, Instagram bio, and email automations. Is everything current, clear, and aligned with your brand? If not, update it. (P.S. I offer free Instagram Profile Audits to my Paid Subscribers 😘)
Declutter your content strategy – Stop posting just to post. What’s working? What’s not? What feels valuable to your audience? Drop anything that isn’t serving your business.
But don’t forget to try new things - Take the energy of spring to heart and try something new in your content or marketing.
Test a new content format. Haven’t tried Reels or carousels yet? Start with one per week and see how your audience responds. (But please stick with it for a few months—don’t just give up if it doesn’t work the first few times)
Try a new posting cadence. If you usually post once a week, try bumping it to twice—alternatively if you post a lot but aren’t seeing good engagement, try scaling back and focus on quality over quantity.
Test a new call to action. Swap out the direct CTAs like “link in bio” or “shop now” with something more engaging like “Tag a friend who you want to share this wine with” or “Comment what you’re eating for dinner tonight and we will tell you which of our wines we’d pair it with”
Evaluate your guest experience – If you run a tasting room, visit your own space like a guest (or better yet, ask a friend to secret shop). How’s the hospitality? Are there any friction points in the customer journey?
Refresh your email list – Clean up inactive subscribers, update segmentation, and ensure your welcome sequence is actually doing its job.
Plan the next three quarters – Use my Year at a Glance Templates to plan out the rest of your year.
Spring is the perfect time to build momentum. We are motivated as fuck this time of year! If you want help making sure your social media strategies are working for you—not against you—I can help. Book a 1:1 social media strategy session with me.
P.S. If you’re still doing the math of when my birthday is… it’s today 😘
Happy Birthday!