Business of Drinks 96: Millennial Wine Marketing: What Actually Worked at Wente Family Vineyards - Business of Drinks
This holiday re-broadcast brings back one of our most downloaded episodes — and one of the clearest real-world playbooks for how a traditional winery can modernize its marketing without spending more money.
In this episode, Aly Wente, fifth-generation vintner and SVP of Marketing and Customer Experience at Wente Family Vineyards, breaks down how America’s oldest continuously operated family-owned winery (founded in 1883) successfully reoriented its marketing toward Millennials and Gen Z — while keeping its legacy consumers and staying true to its heritage.
The headline insight for winery leaders: Wente didn’t increase its marketing budget. It reallocated it — away from low-ROI tactics and toward channels, content, and messages that could be measured and optimized.
🔶 Stop marketing to the trade when you think you’re marketing to consumers Wente made a clean distinction between what distributors and gatekeepers need versus what actual buyers care about. For consumers, technical language like clones, appellations, and scores created friction — not confidence.
🔶 Three-second shelf ruleIf a message can’t be understood in three seconds at retail, it doesn’t belong on shelf or POS. Wente shifted from insider language to cues centered on flavor, lifestyle, and trust.
🔶 Reallocate, don’t inflate, the budgetWhen Aly arrived, roughly $500K a year was going into printed POS — much of it sitting unused in distributor warehouses. That spend was redirected into digital, where performance could be tracked and optimized in real time.
🔶 Authenticity beats polish Wente replaced stock photography with real people, real places, and real moments — family members, winemakers, vineyard teams, tasting room life.
🔶 Lifestyle is not fluff — it’s strategyWine was repositioned as part of everyday life: recipes, casual occasions, behind-the-scenes videos, and even imperfect, playful content. Engagement surged — including thousands of views on zero-budget Instagram Lives during COVID.
🔶 Consumer voices outperform criticsA simple paid ad using a real Vivino review delivered a ~10% purchase intent rate, compared to ~2% on typical awareness campaigns — a powerful signal that peer validation now drives trial.
🔶 The results were measurableIn just a few years, Wente flipped its consumer base. Today, roughly 60% of its buyers are ages 21–45, compared to a majority 55+ audience in 2020 — without abandoning its core brand identity.
This episode is essential listening for any traditional winery asking:How do we modernize our marketing, speak to new consumers, and prove ROI — without losing who we are?
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Erica Duecy, co-host: Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs the consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.
Scott Rosenbaum, co-host: Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. Most recently, he was the Portfolio Development Director at Distill Ventures. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor.
Caroline Lamb, contributor: Caroline is a producer and on-air contributor at Business of Drinks and a key account sales and marketing specialist at AHD Vintners, a Michigan-based importer and distributor.
SPONSOR: SWIG Partners is exclusively offering $100 off their supplier-distributor matchmaking fee when you mention the Business of Drinks podcast, or inquire via this link: https://www.swigpartners.com/businessofdrinks
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