Category: Wine Technology

Miller Family Wine Company (California) Unveils AI-Powered Sommelier Technology

The Miller Family Wine Company recently introduced AI-powered sommelier technology on its website. This advancement underscores the company’s digital vision and solidifies its role as a pioneer in the application of artificial intelligence within the wine industry.

MFWC’s AI Sommelier represents a transformative development, fundamentally altering how consumers browse and purchase wine. Utilizing state-of-the-art autonomous AI-powered agents, the AI Sommelier provides fast, personalized recommendations tailored to individual palates. It delivers detailed tasting notes, comprehensive accolades, and expert reviews directly to users. Available 24/7, this innovative tool offers an unparalleled shopping experience, enabling wine enthusiasts to explore and acquire wines with unprecedented ease and confidence.

“We are thrilled to announce the launch of our AI-powered sommelier—the fastest, most intuitive way to learn and shop for wines,” shares Nicholas Miller, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at MFWC. “Using advanced technology, the AI Sommelier takes the complexity out of choosing the perfect wine, providing detailed comparisons, reviews, tasting notes, and even pairing suggestions so everyone can make informed decisions effortlessly—anytime, anywhere. It’s primed to set a new standard for digital wine retail, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this innovative technology with consumers.”

MFWC’s AI Sommelier is available online at www.millerfamilywinecompany.com, accessible via the small icon in the bottom right corner.

Silicon Valley Bank Releases 24th Annual State of the US Wine Industry Report

The Wine industry reset is here, fueled by a generational shift to younger consumers redefining consumption patterns

Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, today released its 2025 State of the US Wine Industry Report. Widely regarded as the leading source of market trends in the premium wine sector, SVB’s annual report provides an analysis of current market conditions and forecasts for the year ahead.

The report uncovered several positive market indicators, despite an overall decline in global wine demand in the last year. The premium wine segment once again demonstrated resilience with small, single-digit sales declines overall, and the top quartile of wineries producing average sales growth of 22%. With total wine consumption decreasing by volume, wine supply is backed up throughout the production and sales channels. While challenging for industry players, the market environment is poised to create some of the most accessible bottle pricing of the last 30 years, a golden era for wine consumers in search of value.

“The wine industry is undergoing a significant change, marking the first demand-based correction in three decades,” said Rob McMillan, Silicon Valley Bank Wine Division founder and author of the report. “We have been predicting a generational shift for many years, and the 2025 report data solidifies the wine industry is now living that reality. Different parts of the industry will heal at different times, but we can expect a continued downturn for some time before we reach flat growth.

No- and low-alcohol wine, white wine and prosecco experienced positive growth, with white wine outpacing red wine sales for the first time in many years. According to the report, varietal shifts from red to white could be a forward indicator that a rotation to younger consumers is underway. More broadly, the youngest consumers are increasingly abstaining from wine altogether or choosing alternatives, all trends expected to persist into 2025 and beyond.

“Consumers are not changing their minds about wine. Older, 60+ year-old consumers who historically index higher for wine purchases are sunsetting, replaced by younger consumers who index lower for wine and prefer other drink categories,” said McMillan. “To restore the balance between demand and supply, growing consumption share with consumers in the 30-45 segment is critical. The industry can shorten the recovery by evolving marketing and promotion strategies to meet that consumer at their value points.”

The 2025 SVB report examines the latest consumption, pricing and sales data as well as the most promising wine industry marketing strategies. It provides an in-depth analysis of the key trends and data impacting the US wine industry:

  • Total wine category sales will end 2024 with negative volume growth, between minus 3% and minus 1%.
  • The weighted average of wineries produced a 3.4% revenue decline, with the top quartile seeing an average of 22% revenue growth, and the bottom quartile seeing a 16% revenue decline.
  • Wholesale-heavy wineries fared worse than direct-to-consumer-focused brands.
  • Tasting room visitation is predicted to be slightly lower in 2025 compared to 2024.
  • California- and Washington-planted acreage exceed demand while Oregon is closer to being in balance with demand.
  • 42% of winery survey respondents said they will take a small price increase in 2025, which may prove difficult in an over-supplied market with prevalent discounting.

Read the full 2025 State of the Wine Industry report here: www.svb.com/trends-insights/reports/wine-report.

US Treasury Proposes New Alcohol Label Rules

The United States Department of the Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has proposed new regulations requiring alcoholic beverage labels to include detailed information on alcohol and nutritional content. This proposal aims to introduce an “Alcohol Facts” label, akin to the “Nutrition Facts” label found on food products, to provide consumers with comprehensive information about the beverages they consume.

The proposed “Alcohol Facts” label would include disclosures on the alcohol percentage by volume, alcohol content in fluid ounces, calories, carbohydrates, fat, and protein for wines, distilled spirits, and malt beverages such as beer. Additionally, the TTB has proposed a rule mandating the listing of major food allergens on alcoholic beverage labels. These proposed regulations align with the recommendations from the February 2022 Treasury Department report titled “Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and Spirits,” which suggested revisiting labelling requirements to include alcohol content, nutritional information, and serving sizes.

References:

  1. S. Department of the Treasury. (2022). Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine, and Spirits.
  2. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). (2023). Proposed Regulations on Alcoholic Beverage Labeling.

Unlocking the Digital Future: Liz Palmer’s Insights at the 8th UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism

Liz Palmer Presents at the 8th UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism: Strategies for Crafting and Preserving a Strong Digital Brand for the Wine Tourism Industry

The 8th UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism, held in Yerevan, Armenia, from September 11 to 13, 2024, hosted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization in partnership with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, stands as a landmark event in the wine tourism industry. The conference theme, “Heritage in Every Bottle: Crafting Authentic Wine Tourism Experiences,” highlights the essential balance between modernizing wine tourism and preserving cultural heritage.

The conference provided an unparalleled platform for experts in the burgeoning field of wine tourism to collaborate on finding tangible solutions to make tourism a driver for a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future for communities. Attendees included renowned producers, tourism professionals, government officials, and representatives from international organizations.

I was thrilled to be asked to be a keynote speaker on Digital Branding in Wine Tourism. My presentation, titled “Strategies for Crafting and Preserving a Strong Digital Brand for the Wine Tourism Industry,” covered several key topics:

  1. What is Digital Branding?
  2. Evolution of Digital Branding
  3. Key Trends (2020-2024)
  4. How Digital Branding Drives Success in Wine Tourism
  5. Current Trends in Digital Branding for Wine Tourism
  6. 10 Key Elements for Structuring an Effective Digital Brand Strategy

I’m also delighted to share my presentation from the 8th UN Tourism Global Conference on Wine Tourism in Armenia, 2024

Here it is on Slideshare + available to download: https://tinyurl.com/4peyfrye

Wine Industry Study Finds Growing Use of SMS, Online Chat & Age Gates in 2025

VinterActive, a leader in direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing within the wine industry, has published its latest research report, VinQuest™ 2025: Adoption of SMS Marketing, Online Chat & Age Gates by U.S. Wineries. This rigorous study, utilizing a methodology with a 3% margin of error at a 95% confidence level, presents pivotal benchmarks in contemporary wine marketing practices:

  • 20% of U.S. wineries have implemented online age gates to prevent underage website visitors.
  • 13% of U.S. wineries offer an option for website visitors to engage via text messaging.
  • 3% of U.S. wineries provide an online chat feature.

Bryan St. Amant, Founder & CEO of VinterActive, underscored the significance of these findings: “As competition evolves, wine marketing benchmarks help merchants make better business decisions. Since the impact of email and social media is well documented in the wine industry, it’s time to look ahead by focusing on emerging digital marketing tools.”

Key Research Findings

This study involved detailed surveys of 500 winery websites, randomly selected from the top nine U.S. wine-producing states. It revealed critical insights into:

  • The variability of digital wine marketing tactics across different U.S. wine regions.
  • The types of online age gates currently deployed by U.S. wineries.
  • The nature of consumer consent is collected when visitors opt-in to receive SMS messages.

Implications for U.S. Wineries

The complete report, VinQuest™ 2025: Adoption of SMS Marketing, Online Chat & Age Gates by U.S. Wineries, further delves into how these findings translate into opportunities and risks for individual wine brands, wine regions, and the broader U.S. wine industry in 2025.

For more information or to request a complimentary copy of this research report, visit  VinterActive Research.