Happy Holidays and a Bright New Year

As Christmas rolls in,
Wine Country exhales,
this year had some wins…
and a handful of fails.

The wine biz is challenged,
and that is a fact—
it’s no longer Boomers
propping up all our stats.

Gen Z hunts for vibes,
not wine education.
They reach for cocktails
or beer for libation.

To find them, we must
go where trends now take hold,
in endless scroll tunnels
where stories unfold.

They find things online,
to TikTok they’re glued,
or Instagram scrolling
to find the right mood.

Millennials’ purses,
controlled by their hearts,
put values in front of
wine scores and rank charts.

They’re less swayed by products
than stories from brands.
(Be sure to share insights;
your hopes, dreams, and plans.)

They’re city-bound souls
in apartments and flats,
with no room for storage –
no clubs (and that’s that!)

They have jobs and have children,
a bustling life
with calendars full
as a free tasting flight.

Low-alcohol options
keep rolling in strong,
as if subtle buzz levels
are morally wrong!

But here we still stand,
our humor intact,
marketing smarter
to counter the fact

that most wineries’ sales
are south of ideal,
and the magic of wine country
has lost its appeal.

So we’ve taken the hint
(or the slap?) from this year:
If the visitors won’t come
to wine country… we’ll appear

in their neighborhoods, hallways,
or screens, and on feeds—
meeting customers wherever
attention proceeds.

We’ll craft smarter ads,
with precision and grace,
finding buyers online
like a digital chase.

We’ll rework the message,
we’ll polish the tone—
wine isn’t “exclusive,”
to be savored alone.

It’s culture, it’s craft,
it’s connection and play,
it’s dinner with friends
(and a Tuesday that slays.)

It’s vineyard tradition,
evolving with time—
no longer trapped
in an old-fashioned rhyme.

We’ll rethink the funnel
(again… and again),
we’ll segment, we’ll personalize—
yes, data’s our friend.

We test and retest
‘til our eyeballs go numb,
because “hope’s not a strategy,”
though tempting to some.

And even with shifting
demands and desires,
our love for this industry
still deeply inspires.

So here’s to the industry
whose journeyed the grind,
and the marketers shaping
the stories we find.

May the path ahead sparkle,
may our efforts align.
Happy Holidays to all,
and a toast to good wine!