Spring has sprung, and it’s time to transition from the slow season to the busy season.
Okay, we know there’s never really a slow season at a winery… but you’re likely expecting more guests on site during the summer and fall months than in the winter and early spring. First thing’s first: Make sure you take care of any leftover tasks from the winter you didn’t have time to accomplish:
- Final purchases of bottles (or cans), labels, and closures for packaging (and updating these numbers in your inventory management software)
- Review of sales history by channel and barreled down/in-tank production numbers from the most recent harvest to set new sales and production goals for the year
- Decisions about new technology solutions that could help you ease pain points from the previous year
- Marketing strategy for wine allocations and club campaigns for the year, at least at a high level
Want a harvest planning to-do list for the rest of the year? Check out this free guide.
Spring Must-Do: Get Ready for Busy Season
Once you’ve completed those initial 2021 planning tasks, it’s time to get moving on prep for summer events and increased tasting room visits. With many wineries slowly reopening to on-site consumption (finally!), you’ll want to make sure both you and your staff are prepared for the major uptick in traffic.
Start by making a list of all the marketing and sales campaigns you need to put together to promote summer events at the winery, major product releases, and your DTC endeavors. If you need to loop in third-party vendors for promotional materials or technical assistance, contact them soon so that you have plenty of time to troubleshoot and avoid delays.
Similarly, if you hope to collaborate with other businesses on products or initiatives over the next few months before harvest, get these plans set in stone. You don’t want to be rushing through the process of starting a new partnership with a local brewery or restaurant just as things are getting hectic at your winery.
Perhaps most important this time of year is implementing new software and training your team to use it correctly. Whether you switched POS systems, added an online store, or finally invested in winery management software, you want to get your team bought in and feeling comfortable before they’re too busy to learn.
Tackle Your 2021 Wine Harvest Planning With This Guide
With the first quarter of the year in the books, harvest season is just around the corner. Make sure your team is ready with our 2021 Harvest Countdown Planner.
This concise but actionable guide includes:
- Recommendations for relevant cellar activities for each season of the year
- Tips for maximizing efficiency of inventory, production, and sales processes
- Best practices for setting goals and staying on track year-round
