Wine Sales Symposium:
Media Coverage, Tasting Room/Wine Club Strategies, & Customer Growth Tactics 

New Customers. Loyal Members. Boost Sales by Leveraging Media & Creating Memorable Tasting Room Experiences with Smarter Wine Sales Strategies. 

Today’s wine market demands fresh thinking—whether you’re looking to expand your customer base or reimagine your wine club strategy. At this year’s Wine Sales Symposium, taking place on May 14th, you’ll get the tools and insights you need to adapt, innovate, and drive real results. Below, explore two can’t-miss sessions designed to help wineries reach new audiences, increase loyalty, and grow smarter in a shifting landscape.

Getting press is only part of the equation—knowing how to turn that attention into real business impact is what sets successful brands apart.

Wine media has changed, and this session will help you keep up. Join leading wine journalists and PR experts as they reveal what makes a story pitch-worthy, how to navigate today’s media landscape, and how to turn coverage into tasting room traffic, club sign-ups, and real sales. Whether you manage PR in-house or work with an agency, you’ll walk away with actionable strategies to boost visibility and drive measurable results.

Is your tasting room turning guests into loyal customers? Your tasting room should be more than a visit—it should be a conversion.

Great wine alone isn’t enough—your tasting room should turn first-time guests into loyal customers. In this session, guest experience expert Karen Wetzel shares insights from over 30 years in the wine industry, including her work as a secret shopper across California, to help you create more engaging, profitable visits. Discover what today’s consumers expect and how small, strategic changes can lead to big gains in club sign-ups, repeat visits, and long-term customer retention.

Are you doing everything you can to reach today’s evolving wine consumer? 

In this high-impact session, Honore Comfort, Vice President of International Marketing at Wine Institute, will share real-world strategies for expanding your brand’s reach and reputation—both globally and domestically.

Drawing on fresh insights from Wine Institute’s proprietary global tracking study and market trend data, Honore will walk attendees through step-by-step tactics to prime your brand for success in new and emerging markets. From knowing what buyers and distributors are looking for, to how to get your wines in front of them, this session is packed with actionable takeaways.

Outdated Wine Club Tactics Won’t Cut It Anymore.

The wine club model is shifting—and to stay competitive, your strategy needs to evolve with it. In this data-driven session, you'll hear from a panel of experts who will break down what’s working now when it comes to building high-performing wine clubs. From falling tasting room traffic to changing consumer expectations, the challenges are real—but so are the opportunities.

You'll gain insights into modern recruitment tactics that attract qualified members, engagement strategies that keep your wine club top of mind, and proven methods for increasing retention and maximizing customer lifetime value.

Learn more about these sessions and view the full event details now!