The Blog

Smart thinking for wine brands that want to grow. From practical marketing strategies to bold takes on industry trends, our blog shares what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next in wine DTC. No nonsense. No filler. Just honest insights from the agency trusted by wineries around the world.

How to audit your winery’s digital marketing spend: Stop wasting money and get real results

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” This quote may be more than a century old, but for most wineries today, it still hits uncomfortably close to home. At a time when wine marketing is becoming harder every day, and customer acquisition costs are rising,…

A joyful woman with curly hair laughing in a vibrant setting, surrounded by a flurry of colorful floating balloons. she wears a floral blue shirt and exudes a sense of festivity and happiness.

Voice of Customer: The overlooked strategy that can transform your wine marketing

“Voice of Customer.” Yes, we know, it sounds like corporate marketing jargon (something we diligently try to avoid here at 5forests). Simply put, it means making a deliberate effort to listen deeply and systematically to your customers’ real thoughts, words, and feelings. If you’ve never heard this phrase, don’t worry; it’s neither as scary nor…

Gen Z, Accessibility & the New Rules of Wine Discovery

In this episode of The Wine Marketer’s Radar, we unpack the big shifts every winery needs to see coming: accessibility lawsuits, collapsing loyalty, Gen Z discovery habits, and Google’s latest cookie backtrack. Let’s start with a story that we’ve been tracking for some time… Accessibility Overlays are Dead: Why Wineries Must Build Real Compliance Last…

How to Set Goals and KPIs That Actually Grow Your Winery

Why winery growth needs more than good intentions How many times have you heard me say, “A goal without a plan is just a wish….” Growth is the number one reason people come to 5forests, and most of the time we find ourselves having to first work with our client to define exactly what that…

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Design Smarter, Sell More: Winery Website Tactics That Convert

It’s easy to fall in love with a beautiful winery website—sleek images, elegant fonts, even a splash of wine color theory. But aesthetics don’t pay the bills. If your site isn’t turning visitors into buyers, club signups, or bookings, it’s not doing its job. In this guide, we’re breaking down how data-driven design and conversion…

5forests Launches The Wine Marketer’s Radar

[Bordeaux | April 22, 2025] — 5forests, the award-winning marketing agency for the wine industry, has launched The Wine Marketer’s Radar, a new weekly series built to keep wine marketers ahead of the curve by spotlighting the consumer, tech, and business trends shaping how people buy, think, and connect with brands—whether the wine world is…

Graphic reads: the Wine Marketer's Radar, Google’s ad monopoly, Meta’s might lose Insta, and the harsh truth about premiumization

Is Premiumization Still Smart for Wine Brands?

Before we get into this week’s stories, a quick plug for something I’m really proud of. We’ve just dropped a brand new guide: The Strategic Winery’s Guide to Modern Marketing. It’s 34 pages of clear, actionable advice built specifically for winery teams — not generic marketing BS, but a roadmap to help you connect campaigns…

Graphic reads The Wine Marketers Radar, Abandoned cart videos, TikTok travel inspo, better personalization & a phone case that flips when you say “cheers.”

Wine DTC Trends: Cart Videos, TikTok, Personalization & Play

Alright, this week we’ve got a lot to talk about — from AI-powered storytelling and social-first travel behavior to YouTube’s media dominance and what personalization actually looks like in 2025. Let’s dive in. Let’s start with a campaign that’s equal parts brilliant and borderline dystopian. Abandoned Nights by AB InBev AB InBev — the world’s…

Graphic reads: the Wine Marketer's Radar, Search is changing. Culture is misunderstood. Strategy is underrated. Social is overrated.

What Wine Brands Get Wrong About Strategy, Culture & Social

This week, I’m recording from Verona! What better place than one of the world’s largest wine fairs to look at a few trends and tensions that wine needs to know but may be missing—from consumer expectations around search and relevance to the misuse of “culture” in strategy to a growing disconnect between what marketers say…

Graphic reads Data overload kills strategy, influencer budgets soar, Coke revives personalization, the funnel is dead.

Wine Marketing Trends: Data Overload, Influencers & Funnels

Today, four timely updates from outside the wine world, each with real implications for how we plan, influence, and connect with today’s wine buyers. First up from the Drum… Data overload is killing strategy. This is super important for wine. Too often, wine marketers have thought that data equals reports and dashboards. We track open…

Ai generated image of a metallic copper colored number 10 with metallic baubles in the background.

Celebrating a Decade of Innovation, Dedication & Growth

In 2015, 5forests was founded with a single goal: to help wine sellers navigate the complexities of the digital age. Ten years later, we’ve become the global wine marketing agency recognized for bridging strategy and execution, delivering measurable results, and empowering our clients to connect meaningfully with their customers. What started as a small, fully…

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Why Wineries Hire Fractional CMOs Instead of Marketing Staff

It’s no secret that the wine industry is in the middle of a rough patch. Consumer behavior is shifting. Younger generations aren’t picking up wine like we expected. Sales are sluggish. And while the internet is full of “hot takes” about what to do next, most of them overlook a basic truth: You can’t market…