It's July 1, which means you're about to start seeing "Christmas in July" everywhere.
Retailers are already thinking about the holidays—even if it still feels like the middle of summer. Smart wineries should be doing the same.
October, November, and December (OND) are your biggest sales months of the year. Holiday winery marketing doesn’t start in October—it starts now.
They’re sprinting through Q3—right now—while everyone else is still daydreaming about hot cocoa and watching Christmas movies… you’ve got rosé in your glass and wine bundles to plan.
Here's how to make the next 90 days count.
1. Clean Up Your Data — Because Bad Data Costs You Money
This isn’t just about removing bounced emails. Bad data quietly drains OND revenue by blocking you from segmenting, targeting, or even reaching your customers.
Your Move:
Export your full email list (now, not later).
Verify your SMS audience and make sure customer consent records are up to date.
Use ChatGPT to help spot typos like gmaii.com instead of gmail.com. Here's a simple prompt to try:
"Help me identify common email domain typos in my list (like gmaii.com instead of gmail.com) and give me a formula I can use in Google Sheets to flag them."
De-duplicate contacts between your CRM, POS, ecommerce store, and tasting room list.
Tag customers by behavior: past holiday buyers, corporate buyers, high spenders, gift purchasers, wine club members, and customers who prefer SMS.
Pro Tip:
Corksy makes audience segmentation simple — you can filter by last order date, wine club status, or purchase channel automatically.
Idea Spark:
Once your data’s clean, use it to create OND-specific groups like:
“Gift Givers” (those who shipped to others last year)
“Last-Minute Shoppers” (those who bought in late December)
“Corporate Buyers”
“Club Members Who Also Gift”
"Bundle Shoppers"
"Gift Card Purchasers"
"Thanksgiving Bundle Purchasers"
"Sparkling Wine Purchasers"
"Early Holiday Shoppers"
"Frequent Tasting Room Shoppers"
That’s how you build smarter campaigns before the holiday rush even begins.
2. Warm Up Your Audience — Early
By the time November rolls around, your customers will be flooded with promos.
If they’re already seeing you, they’ll pay attention.
Your Move:
Launch a “Fall Favorites” or “Holiday VIP Access” lead-gen campaign now.
Run a quiz, giveaway, or Holiday VIP waitlist for early access to limited wines, gift bundles, library releases, or seasonal experiences.
Share behind-the-scenes winery content to subtly nurture your list.
Don't rely on email alone. Start building excitement with SMS, too. Text messages can be a great way to announce early access, limited releases, holiday waitlists, or exclusive offers to your most engaged customers without getting lost in a crowded inbox.
Example Ideas:
“Which Holiday Wine Gift Matches Your Personality?” quiz
Instagram giveaway: “Win a Fall Tasting Pack”
Blog: “Behind the Barrel: How We Prep for Holiday Season”
Tip:
Corksy makes it easy to add a pop-up for these offers and start segmenting these leads automatically.
3. Reverse Engineer Your Holiday Winery Marketing Campaigns — With Creativity
Most wineries start with the discount, but that’s where they go wrong. Your holiday winery marketing campaigns should start with your customers and what they’re looking for at every stage of OND.
Once you've mapped out your key offers, build your calendar backward from inventory availability, shipping deadlines, and the biggest shopping moments of the season. Planning early gives you more time to create better campaigns—and less time spent scrambling once the holidays arrive.
Early gift buyer promotions
Thanksgiving hosting bundles
Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns
Corporate gifting pushes
Last-minute shipping reminders
Example Ideas:
“Buy Early, Save on Shipping” promo for planners
Friendsgiving bundle: “Wines to Win Over Your In-Laws”
Small Business Saturday local shopper push
“Final Call for Sparkling” email Dec. 26 targeting New Year’s Eve shoppers
Think about which campaigns belong in email versus SMS. Shipping deadline reminders, flash sales, low inventory alerts, and last-minute gift opportunities are often perfect for text messaging, while gift guides and longer-form storytelling tend to perform better in email.
AI Hack:
Prompt: “Give me holiday marketing campaign ideas for a winery targeting planners, last-minute shoppers, and gift buyers.”
4. Maximize Your Wine Club’s Holiday Power
Your club members aren’t just subscribers — they’re your best gift buyers, brand advocates, and repeat purchasers.
Your Move:
Plan exclusive offers just for club members, such as:
Early access to holiday bundles
Member-only library wines or magnums
Double loyalty points on gifts
Free shipping for orders over a certain amount
Create a “Wine Club Gifting Guide” — perfect for suggesting memberships as gifts.
Offer easy add-ons during club shipments (like gift bags, merch, or small-batch releases).
Offer members exclusive experiences alongside wine, such as private tastings, event tickets, or winery tours that make memorable holiday gifts.
Example Email Hook:
“Your Holiday VIP Perk: Shop Our Limited Library Wines Before They’re Gone.”
Tip:
Corksy’s club tools let you create segmented offers by tier, loyalty level, or other behaviors — fast.
5. Make Corporate Gifting a Revenue Driver
Most wineries treat corporate gifting as an afterthought. Big mistake. Companies start shopping for client gifts as early as August.
Your Move:
Create high-end gifting options at different price points, ready to ship in bulk.
Build a polished one-pager or page on your website showcasing options, fulfillment deadlines, and white-glove service.
Personally reach out to past corporate buyers and VIP customers with connections.
Example Ideas:
Gift sets with handwritten cards, logo glasses, or custom labels.
“Corporate Holiday Hosting Packs” — wines plus pairing guides.
Partner with local food artisans for luxe regional bundles.
Include digital gift cards for shoppers who miss shipping deadlines.
Create corporate gifting pages that make ordering simple with downloadable catalogs, easy inquiry forms, and clear ordering deadlines.
6. Operational Readiness: The Hidden OND Multiplier
You could run the world’s best campaign — but if you’re out of wine, supplies, or staff, it won’t matter.
Your Move:
Audit inventory, merch, and packaging supplies by August. Order early.
Cross-train staff to handle multiple roles—tasting room, fulfillment, gifting, and customer service.
Test shipping timelines now by doing a “mock” bulk order fulfillment.
Set shipping cutoff dates and stick to them.
Test your website, checkout flow, shipping integrations, and order notifications before holiday traffic ramps up. Small issues become expensive during your busiest season.
Operational Extras That Move the Needle:
Gift-ready packaging and bags
Easy in-store pickup for locals
Pre-packed bundles for rapid fulfillment
Mobile POS setups for holiday events
Tip:
Corksy lets you track inventory, orders, and fulfillment all in one dashboard — no spreadsheet juggling.
7. Build Your OND Content Vault (Don’t Wing It)
Marketing fatigue is real in Q4. If you wait too long to create content, it’ll feel rushed and ineffective.
Your Move:
Batch-create your entire OND content calendar now:
Email sequences (gift guides, shipping deadlines, last-chance promos)
Instagram and Facebook posts (behind the scenes, bundles, countdowns)
Blog content (holiday pairings, gifting ideas, staff picks)
Ad copy for retargeting
Ideas to Include:
“Shop the Winemaker’s Gift Picks”
Countdown graphics for shipping deadlines
Video tours of holiday winery décor or tasting room events
“12 Days of Wine” email countdown
Don't Forget AI Search
Customers are increasingly discovering wineries through Google AI Overviews and AI assistants like ChatGPT. Helpful content—such as holiday gift guides, food pairing recommendations, FAQs, and educational articles—has a better chance of being surfaced when it's clear, useful, and answers real customer questions.
Think beyond keywords and focus on creating genuinely helpful content your customers will actually want to read. If you want to go deeper on how to optimize your winery for AI-driven search, check out our guide to Winery AI Search & SEO (AIO) Strategies.
8. Tighten Up Your Tech Stack for Holiday Traffic
Your systems should work for you, not create more work.
Your Move:
Ensure your ecommerce site is fast and easy to use on mobile.
Test your checkout process from start to finish—including gift orders.
Make sure Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other accelerated payment options are working properly.
Set up abandoned cart, post-purchase, and shipping notifications across both email and SMS so customers stay informed throughout their buying journey. Timely text messages can also help drive last-minute holiday sales and remind customers before important shipping deadlines.
Confirm order notifications, shipping updates, and tracking emails are functioning correctly.
Make it easy for customers to add gift messages, gift cards, or complementary products to their orders.
Verify your wine club, POS, CRM, and ecommerce systems are working together before the holiday rush begins.
Why This Matters:
If a customer has a good experience — from browsing to buying to shipping — they’re likely to spend more… and come back in January.
Corksy Advantage:
Holiday marketing works best when your systems work together. With Corksy's integrated ecommerce, CRM, POS, wine club, and fulfillment tools, you can create coordinated email and text campaigns that keep customers engaged from their first visit through delivery.
9. Think Beyond the Bottle
Holiday shoppers aren't always looking for another bottle of wine—they're looking for memorable gifts and experiences.
Expand your holiday offerings with products that appeal to a wider range of buyers:
Gift cards
Wine club memberships
Private tastings
Winery experiences
Merchandise
Glassware and accessories
Food pairings
Limited-edition gift bundles
Giving customers multiple ways to purchase doesn't just increase holiday revenue; it also helps capture shoppers who may not be ready to commit to a full case of wine.
You’ve Got 90 Days. Start Sprinting.
Here's the reality: by October, the best holiday campaigns are already in motion.
The wineries that have the strongest OND don't spend October figuring out what to do. They spend it executing the plan they built during Q3.
✔️ Clean your data
✔️ Grow and warm your audience
✔️ Plan creative, segmented campaigns
✔️ Engage your wine club beyond shipments
✔️ Lock in corporate gifting offers
✔️ Get your operations dialed in
✔️ Build your content before the holiday crunch
✔️ Make your tech stack seamless
Wineries that start in Q3 don’t just survive OND — they dominate it. Otherwise? Well…
Need help mapping out your OND sprint?
👉 Book a free 1:1 strategy call with a Corksy expert — we’ll help you turn this into an actionable plan.