As the wine industry continues to face headwinds and visitor numbers decline, some winery owners are turning to new revenue streams — including efforts to revitalize their wine clubs.
While wine club shipments have remained steady throughout this downturn, accounting for 48% of direct-to-consumer revenue, local wineries are now grappling with the dual challenge of acquiring new members and retaining existing ones, according to Chris Bitter, senior wine and grape analyst for Terrain (the market research arm of American AgCredit), who spoke at a recent wine marketing and sales symposium in Santa Rosa.
The reason? “About 90% of all wine club sign-ups occur in the tasting room,” said Bitter. And there’s been a drop in tasting room visits…