We're thrilled to share that Encore Glass has been recognized by the Oakville Winegrowers for our role in producing the 2022 Oakville Cuvée — a rare, collector-caliber Cabernet Sauvignon that captures the spirit of Napa Valley's most storied AVA. Crafted from select lots contributed by member wineries, including names like Opus One, Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, BOND, Dalla Valle, and Heitz Cellar, the Cuvée was blended by winemaker Peter Heitz and cellared at Turnbull Wine Cellars. Production is extraordinarily limited: just 240 standard bottles, 100 magnums, and 20 double magnums in total. Each bottle is custom etched, and the large formats are individually numbered — designed to live in cellars and be remembered. Anne Sewell Briggs, DipWSET awarded the wine 97 points, describing a "velvety texture" and "exquisitely balanced" structure. We're proud that Encore Glass was chosen to help bring this vision to life. When winemakers of this caliber come together to create something sing

… And Why It Matters More Now Written by Jeanette Tan | Photo by Shutterstock Costs are going up. Labor, materials, compliance, shipping — the expense side of the business keeps climbing regardless of what's happening on the revenue side. And here's what that means in practice: every case of wine you produce needs to be accounted for correctly. Every bottle that moves — out of the tasting room, through the wine club, to a distributor — needs to land in your system the right way. Because when margins are already thin, the last thing you can afford is inventory errors quietly adding to the damage. Which brings us to one of the most common and quietly destructive problems I see in small winery QuickBooks files: inventory errors. The biggest myth I hear is: "QuickBooks can't really handle inventory." It can. But if it's not set up correctly, it creates a mess that spreads far beyond inventory — into your cost of goods sold, your margins, your reports, and your ability to make decisions w

Five years ago, running a winery on Shopify meant duct-taping a lot of things together. Great for e-commerce. Okay for DTC. Difficult for wine clubs. Not really designed for tasting rooms. That's changed. The combination of Shopify's platform investments and a handful of wine-specific apps has created something genuinely new: a single operational stack that connects your tasting room, your wine club, your online store, and your loyalty program under one customer record. That convergence has real operational consequences — and it's why an increasing number of wineries are consolidating everything onto Shopify. Here's what's actually different. Your Card on File, Finally Done Right One very frustrating limitation of running a winery business on Shopify used to be simple: Shopify didn't let you vault a customer's payment card and charge it later for anything other than a subscription — not from your POS or your back office or sales team for one-tim

For years, discounting has been the default lever wineries pull to spark sales and reward loyal customers. But in today’s crowded marketplace, deep discounts can erode brand value and condition customers to buy only when the price drops. There’s a better way: loyalty points programs. Retention, without discounting, comes from making customers feel known, valued, and part of something special. They’ll stay not because it’s cheaper, but because it’s theirs. Instead of discounting away margin, wineries can encourage repeat visits and purchases by offering rewards that feel aspirational, personalized, and memorable. Loyalty points add up over time, giving guests a reason to come back again and again, all the while protecting your brand’s premium image. 10 Reasons Why Loyalty Points Work Shift from price to experience. Points reward frequency and engagement, not bargain hunting. The program should reinforce experience, access, and emotional loyalty, not

Wine clubs have long been the backbone of direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. But with shifting consumer expectations and the rise of subscription culture, from streaming services to meal kits, wineries are rethinking the traditional club. Subscription models promise flexibility for customers, stability for wineries, and in many cases, less operational strain. We asked four leading technology providers (Awtomic, Commerce7, OrderPort, and VinSuite) to share their insights on how wineries can successfully add or adapt subscriptions. We also gathered a few winery examples to show how creative models are being used today. This list is in no way exhaustive, there are many winery DTC software/SaaS providers with options, and the landscape is continuously evolving. For a deeper dive, check out this article by WineBusiness Monthly with all the providers, trends, and a very helpful comparison chart. What Are Wine Subscriptions? At their core, wine subscriptions are a modern twist on the tradi