The highest-performing winery teams don’t wait for problems to coach. They coach so problems happen less often. For many leaders, coaching has become synonymous with difficult conversations. An employee misses a goal. A guest leaves unhappy. A policy isn’t followed. Sales decline. Only then does the coaching begin. That’s not…
One of the biggest mistakes we see wineries make isn’t during a wine tasting experience at the winery. It’s what happens after the tasting. A guest visits, they enjoy the experience, perhaps they buy a few bottles, but they aren’t quite ready to join the wine club. Then they leave…and…
Not Pushy. Just Helpful: Reframing the Wine Club Conversation There’s a quiet shift happening in tasting rooms right now, and it’s costing wineries more than they realize. A guest walks in. The experience is warm, engaging, and thoughtful. The wines are poured with care. There’s connection, conversation, even enthusiasm. And…
Train Like It’s the Championship Season (Because It Is) When the Super Bowl and Olympics approach, we celebrate the performance we see on the field. What we don’t see is the year-round conditioning, repetition, and skill-building that made that performance possible. Winning teams don’t train only when the lights are…
Beyond Discounts: How Loyalty Points Drive Customer Retention for Wineries 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…
For years, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) model for wineries was built in clear, separate silos: the Tasting Room team poured and sold wine, the Wine Club team managed membership and retention, and the Marketing team focused on email, text campaigns, and social media engagement. Each department had its own set of…
Perspective is Everything: Are You Waiting or Winning? There are two ways to look at today’s tasting room traffic rollercoaster: You can dwell on empty seats, tight budgets, and yesterday’s numbers—or you can embrace uncertainty as the spark that ignites innovation, focus, and results. At WISE, we believe this is…
In the world of hospitality, there’s a misconception that offering service is just a job—something anyone can do with minimal training or effort. Yet, anyone who has truly excelled in this profession knows the truth: hospitality is a noble calling. It requires a combination of innate qualities and cultivated skills…
Take a look at any number of Tasting Room Associate job ads, and it becomes apparent we need to hire unicorns – rare, mystical, and never seen in the wild except by a chosen few. We are seeking that blend of hospitality heart, wine knowledge, and hopefully sales skills. Every…