Less Than Two Weeks Until the 2026 Wine Club Symposium: Here's What's Happening on Day 1 The countdown is on. In less than two weeks, winery professionals from across the industry will come together for the 2026 Wine Club Symposium, two mornings dedicated entirely to growing, retaining, and strengthening wine clubs. Whether you're a winery owner, DTC manager, wine club manager, or tasting room leader, Day 1 is designed to help you understand where the industry is headed and what you can do today to improve your club's performance. Session 1: State of the Industry: What the Data Says About the Future of Wine Clubs The symposium opens with an industry outlook from Rob McMillan, EVP & Wine Division Founder at First Citizens Bank, joined by Jimmy Wu, President of vinSUITE. Together, they'll examine current market trends, changing consumer behavior, and the data shaping winery DTC strategies. Expect practical insights into what's driving successful wine clubs today and where wineries sh

Retention Is the New Growth: Inside the 2026 Wine Club Symposium You can feel it on a quiet Saturday. The floor is not as busy as it used to be. The people who come in are lovely, but there are fewer of them, and the tasting room is no longer carrying the year the way it once did. Meanwhile the club keeps sending wine, keeps posting revenue, and keeps quietly holding the whole business together. That shift is why we built this year's Wine Club Symposium around a single idea, and why we moved it up to September. For most wineries, the club has become the most dependable recurring revenue they have, right as it comes under real pressure. Long-time members are aging. Younger members want something different. And growing the club by simply adding names is not the lever it used to be. For years, the job was growth. Sign more members, and the numbers took care of themselves. That math has quietly flipped. Net club growth has cooled from its peak, while the value of each member you keep has n

Hosted by vinSUITE, the free two-day event brings specialists from across the wine industry together to answer one question: what’s working for wine clubs right now. vinSUITE, the software platform built for winery direct-to-consumer and wine club operations, today announced its annual Wine Club Symposium, a free two-day virtual event taking place September 15 and 16. The event, which drew 550 registrants in 2025, brings the direct-to-consumer community together to learn from one another and strengthen the wine club. The Symposium exists because the wine club matters. It is the most dependable recurring revenue a winery has, and it is under real pressure. Tasting rooms, still the main way wineries sign up new members, are seeing softer traffic, which makes acquisition harder. Retention is getting tougher too, as long-time members age and shifts in drinking habits, including the effect of newer medications, change how much they buy. vinSUITE hosts the Symposium each year to help wineri

November 13, 2025 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Soper Reese Theater 275 S. Main St., Lakeport Join us for an engaging afternoon that brings together growers, winemakers, and industry professionals to explore what makes Lake County winegrapes truly distinctive. Through guided tastings, insightful discussions, and expert-led panels, this event will highlight the character, variety, and innovation that define our region. Register now to secure your seat for this special half-day tasting and learning experience. Program highlights: Aromatic Whites – Explore how Lake County’s high elevations and varied microclimates shape these fragrant, expressive wines. Sauvignon Blanc Comparison – Side-by-side tastings that reveal how Lake County terroir and grower–winemaker collaboration define the region’s signature variety. Alternative Reds – Discover lesser-known reds that thrive in Lake County’s volcanic soils and diverse vineyard sites. Cabernet Sauvignon Co

76 Restaurants from across the country and Mexico receive inaugural ‘Magnum Award’  SANTA ROSA, Calif. (September 2, 2025) – Seventy-six restaurants spanning from Graton, California, to Greenwich, Connecticut, are being honored with the 2025 Sonoma County Magnum Award for their exceptional support and promotion of Sonoma County wines.  Earlier this year, Sonoma County Winegrowers launched this new initiative to recognize restaurants that demonstrate outstanding support for Sonoma County wines and showcasing Sonoma County as a world-class wine region. Each restaurant will receive a uniquely etched magnum bottle, symbolizing their role as an ambassador for Sonoma County’s farmers, winemakers, and wines. During the year, Sonoma County wineries submitted nominations of restaurants they felt were deserving of recognition. Input was also provided by partners, trade, and sommeliers from throughout the country. Restaurants were selected based on key crit

Obsidian Wine Co. and Brassfield Estate recently hosted a webinar with Somm Journal to discuss volcanic wines. Somm Journal VP of Education moderated the panel with Jonathan Walters, GM of Brassfield Estate; Arpad Molnar, co-founder of Obsidian Wine Co., Dr. Seth Burgess, renowned research geologist; and Katharine & David Desante, winemaking consultants at Brassfield.

Hall Unveils Partnership with Prestige Wine Group to Introduce Its Luxury Wine Portfolio within the U.S. & British Virgin Islands

NAPA VALLEY, CALIF. (April 3, 2024) – HALL, a family-owned winery in Napa Valley that produces  award winning, distinctly sourced, and expressive wines, for their three labels – HALL, WALT […]

Lula Cellars 2020 Rescue Block Pinot Noir Takes Top Honors November 17, 2023 — Winners have been announced in the 2023 Harvest Challenge Wine Competition. After two spirited days of judging, Lula Cellars 2020 Rescue Block Pinot Noir took the top prize. It was also awarded Best Red Wine and Best of Anderson Valley AVA (Mendocino County, Calif.). Coming in at 98 points, judges praised the wine as “rich, ripe” and for its “Bing cherry,” and “hint of orange peel.”  Lula Cellars is a boutique winery located in California’s Anderson Valley. Its focus is on world-class Pinot Noirs both from its estate and across Anderson Valley, as well as other single-vineyard offerings from the greater Mendocino County. When preparing to plant their own vines, Lula owners discovered some-1,000 old vines “literally lying down, as if waiting to be rescued.” Lots of TLC later, these mystery Pinot Noir grapes have thrived. There’s no in

Afternoon Brief, January 5th

Land Trust of Napa County Agrees to Buy Controversial Walt Ranch Property from Hall Wines: Attempts by owners Craig and Kathryn Hall to transform the wooded ranch into a vineyard were at the epicenter of a wider battle between open space and grape growing in Napa County...

Afternoon Brief, August 30th

California's Newest AVA Ready to Roll: The new appellation won't be widely used, but it's not even California's most obscure sub-region...