Direct Wine Sales Blog


Developing All-Star Hospitality Teams

[Sandra Hess – July 27, 2021 – San Francisco, CA] As the US wine industry continues to recover from the 2020 pandemic, most of our clients are struggling to find qualified talent for both front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house-positions. We have spent quite a bit of time updating job descriptions and training […]


Three Pillars of DTC Wine Sales Success

[June 8, 2021 – Santa Rosa, CA] On May 26th, Sandra Hess, Consumer Engagement Specialist and founder of DTC Wine Workshops, moderated an insightful discussion, for Wine Industry Network at the virtual Wine Industry Symposium. She brought together Efrain Barragan – Director of Digital Marketing, Cliff Family Winery St Helena, […]


Tasting Room Tip Lines – YEA or NAY?

[May 7, 2021 – Sandra Hess, DTC Wine Workshops Expert Editorial] Greetings wine industry friends! I have been asked to develop an article best approaches to developing tasting room tip policies. This question has come up quite often during the past five years as we have helped winery teams across […]


DTC Wine Sales Health Check – 3 FREE TIPS

March 24, 2021 – This spring, we encourage our clients and direct-to-consumer teams to carve out some time to conduct a DTC Wine Sales Health Check. Now, is the time to analyze performance across all direct sales channels, reward for success and, course-correct where needed. Many hospitality teams have learned […]


DTC Wine Leadership Forum Launches Spring 2021

Winery Leaders and Trend Setters Across the Nation Join this Private Group for a Monthly Problem-Solving Session in the Virtual Space [February 3, 2021 – Northern California] Members of the DTC Consultant Network, a division of DTC Wine Workshops, have been serving winery teams in almost every major wine region […]


Top 3 Tips for Slaying DTC Wine Symposium this Week!

#WineBiz Winery Owners & Direct to Consumer Managers can get the most out of this year’s DTC Wine Symposium with these top tips. The DTC Wine Symposium is presented by Free the Grapes! This annual fundraising event has raised more than $1 million for Free the Grapes’ PR campaign, and […]


2020 DTC Wine Sales Review: POWER OF THE PIVOT

January 12, 2021 – Sandra Hess, DTC Wine Workshops [20-30 minute read] Many direct to consumer teams in wine regions across the nation have been pivoting and adjusting to life’s catastrophes for several years now. From devastating fires that repeated seasons to floods and now a pandemic. Whether iconic wine […]


How to Leverage “At-Home Winery Experiences” this Holiday Season!

Winery teams prepare to entertain guests from the comfort of their homes this holiday season due to pandemic. [October 6, 2020] Sandra Hess, founder DTC Wine Workshops #1 Let’s take look at what the wine industry learned since mid-March as we prepare for the “At-Home Holiday Season”: This year, the […]


Top 5 Wine Consumer Engagement Strategies 2020 and Beyond

On September 3, 2020 Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops and Consumer Engagement Specialist, moderated a panel discussion for the Wine Industry Network Symposium featuring three members of the DTC Consultant Network. In this roundtable discussion, these four specialists uncover the Top 5 Wine Consumer Engagement Strategies high-performing wine […]


What is the true ROI of Virtual Winery Tastings & Events? [Video Recording]

Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops and Consumer Engagement Specialist moderated a discussion with three winery clients who shared Virtual Winery Program Case Studies. July 8, 2020 – Wine Industry Advisor and DTC Wine Workshops joined forces to provide wine industry members with a first of its kind, “Virtual […]


Reopening Tasting Rooms also Opens Opportunities for Winery Hospitality Teams

Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops and Wine Consumer Engagement Specialist Shares Top Tips June 10, 2020 – San Francisco Bay Area After nearly three months of Shelter in Place for many, tasting room teams are welcoming back guests and preparing for safe visits. Consumers are craving exploration, focused […]


Ready to Up your Virtual Winery Experience Game? Top 5 Things to Do NOW

Leverage recorded video content before and after virtual events to reach new audiences and educate key contact groups! May 26, 2020 – Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops We have helped about 400 winery teams get setup with Virtual Winery Experiences since mid-March. A lot of time and effort […]


Heidi Dittloff, Winery Marketer, Joins the DTC Consultant Network [INTRO VIDEO]

May 22, 2020 Sandra Hess, founder of DTC Wine Workshops welcomes Heidi Dittloff to the DTC Consultant Network in this Introductory Video! Heidi Dittloff comes to the DTC Consultant Network with over 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the industries of direct to consumer wine, real estate, banking, […]


Tasting Rooms Reopen & Winery Teams Balance Virtual with Onsite Experiences

Winery teams across the US have many decisions to make today as tasting room reopening phases roll out across each state. DTC Wine Workshops Consulting Agency launches the first of its kind, “US Virtual Winery Summit Series: Doing Business in a Changing Landscape” kicking off on May 19th at 10:00-12:00 PDT. This […]