My predictions for 2026: How wineries will change with the times

Predicting the future is never easy. Most attempts either miss the mark entirely or succeed only in hindsight, when the outcome already feels obvious.

That said, there are clear trends already in motion. Shifts in consumer behavior, business priorities and investment areas point to a very real direction of travel for the wine industry. What follows is my view on how these forces will translate into action in 2026, and the changes wineries will prioritise as they respond.

These predictions are not theoretical. They are grounded in dozens of conversations I have had over the past year with marketing, sales, operations, and executive teams across wineries of all sizes. Collectively, these discussions reveal where wineries are placing their attention today and what they are preparing to do more of in 2026.

The reality wineries face

Before looking ahead, it is important to recognise the reality many wineries are facing today.

For a growing number of producers, the challenge is no longer about optimising growth. It is existential.

Wine consumption is declining in several key markets, while younger generations are drinking less alcohol overall and engaging very differently with wine brands. At the same time, customer acquisition costs continue to rise, margins are under sustained pressure, and reliance on wholesale channels limits both growth and customer insight.

These external pressures are compounded by internal challenges. Layoffs have reduced capacity and led to loss of institutional knowledge just as change is most urgently required.

Organisational structures, fragmented data, and legacy processes continue to slow decision making. In many cases, there is a lack of clarity around vision and where to invest in technology, people, and change to drive real business impact. Even where a clear vision and roadmap do exist, a lack of skills, curiosity, and a resistance to change remain significant barriers – a common theme I heard repeatedly last year.

The result is an industry under pressure to do more, faster, with fewer resources, while still operating models designed for a very different era. This is the context in which the following predictions should be read.

My predictions for 2026

• Take back control of the customer relationship: More wineries will prioritise direct relationships with consumers, reducing reliance on intermediaries where possible. This is not about abandoning distribution, but about regaining visibility, insight, and influence over the end customer journey.
• More attention on brand: Wineries will reassess how they are perceived by consumers, changing how they position themselves in the market, from selling great wine to offering customer first experiences enabled by great wine.
• Rethink wine discovery through GEO: In 2026, wineries will invest more in making their wines easier to discover online. This means building and optimising websites for Generative Engine Optimisation, so wineries can be found through location based and intent driven discovery, not just traditional search engine optimisation. As consumers increasingly discover (and purchase) wine through maps, conversational search, and AI driven recommendations, wineries that are visible at the moment of intent will win attention and demand.
• Monetise existing customers: Wineries have invested heavily in building customer databases, but many have failed to turn this investment into meaningful revenue. One of the fastest and most cost effective ways to grow in 2026 will be increasing customer lifetime value. This means shifting focus from constant acquisition to activating existing customers through smarter, more consistent marketing using data already sitting in CRM systems, especially at a time when acquiring new customers is more expensive than ever.
• Double down on customer loyalty: Customer loyalty will move from being a marketing ambition to a core business priority. Wineries will invest more time, budget, and tooling into retaining customers and staying top of mind. This requires a far deeper understanding of individual customers, collecting, connecting, and using data to deliver relevant and personalised communications rather than generic campaigns.
• Shift from campaigns to always on engagement: In 2026, wineries will move away from one off campaigns toward continuous, always on engagement. Rather than periodic email blasts or seasonal pushes, customer interaction will become ongoing, responsive, and driven by real time behaviour and readiness to buy.
• Proactively create buying moments: In a market where consumers have endless choice, expecting customers to purchase organically is no longer enough. Wineries will increasingly need to proactively create buying moments, using data, timing, and context to prompt purchases when customers are most likely to buy online, in the tasting room or at retail.
• Rethink experiential marketing: What worked last year to acquire and retain customers will not automatically work next year. Too many wineries are following the same growth playbook, resulting in little differentiation. The leaders will do things differently, embracing new ideas and experiences that stand out in a crowded market. This may include enabling customers to buy wine socially together online, turning purchasing into participation, or partner with organisations that market and sell to your customers.
• Build community not just audience: Wineries will invest more in turning customers into communities. Social buying, shared experiences, and peer influence will become powerful growth drivers as trust shifts from brands to networks.
• Treat data as a revenue asset: Wineries will stop viewing data as something to store or report on, and start treating it as a commercial asset. Customer, product, and behavioural data will increasingly be used to drive pricing, promotions, allocation strategies, and demand forecasting. The winners will be those that operationalise data rather than admire it.
• Invest in insights and analytics: Gut instinct will continue to be replaced by insight driven decision making. Wineries will invest more in analytics to understand customer behaviour, predict demand, and identify revenue opportunities already hidden in their data, turning insight into action rather than just reporting.
• Embrace AI enabled email marketing: Email will remain one of the highest ROI channels, but only when powered by AI. Wineries will move away from generic broadcast campaigns toward hyper personalised, and real time communications driven by customer behaviour, readiness to buy and product recommendations.
• Invest seriously in AI: If your winery is not actively using AI across marketing, sales, operations, and customer engagement, you are already at a disadvantage. In 2026, wineries will need a clear AI strategy for every part of the business, even if it is a placeholder. The same applies at an individual level. Professionals who are not using AI in their daily work will struggle to remain competitive.
• Train and upskill teams: Technology alone does not create value. As tools, data, and customer expectations evolve, wineries will need to invest consistently in upskilling teams to work effectively with AI, analytics, and modern marketing solutions. Just as importantly, they must create safe environments that encourage curiosity, experimentation and risk taking. Wineries that fail to train their people or suppress learning and innovation will not grow. Full stop.
• Hire on demand skills: Future competitiveness will require access to specialist skills when they are needed. With revenue harder to predict, wineries will increasingly favour flexible, project based expertise, bringing in specialists without long term cost or risk, especially as a war for talent emerges such as for modern marketers, data scientists and AI engineers.
• Simplify technology with composable plug in ecosystem: After years of adding tools, wineries will shift their focus from accumulation to simplification. In 2026, they will favour composable, plug in technology systems that integrate easily, share data seamlessly, and can be adapted as needs change. Fewer platforms, clearer ownership, and easier integration will replace fragmented stacks that slow teams down, confuse users, and dilute value.
• Focus on speed to value: Large transformation projects will give way to initiatives that deliver measurable incremental impact quickly. Wineries will look for technology and partners that can show results in weeks or months, not years.
• Form strategic partnerships: No winery can do everything alone. In 2026, more wineries will form partnerships with technology providers, marketing specialists, and commerce innovators to move faster, reduce risk, and access capabilities they cannot build internally. Increasingly, these partnerships will be shaped by deeper customer insight, including geolocation, purchasing history, and demographics, enabling wineries to deliver richer experiences and value that go beyond wine alone.

A pivotal year ahead

Whether or not the toughest times are behind us, 2026 will be a defining year for wineries.Success will come to those who act, investing in people, simplifying processes, adopting the right technology, and being willing to change. Not as a one off initiative, but as a mindset.

For wineries prepared to move with intent, 2026 is not just about survival. It is an opportunity to build stronger customer relationships, unlock hidden value in data, and create businesses that are fit for the future that serves everyone.