One of the hardest things for a business owner is trying to predict what will happen in the future—and that seems to go double for wine and spirit sales. The holiday season is where things get busy, and so there are naturally a lot of questions: What will sell well? How do we avoid getting “stuck” with inventory at the end of the year? How far out in advance do we need to plan?

Those questions are important, but they shouldn’t keep you up at night guessing. Our team of experts can help. While we don’t have a crystal ball here at Copper Peak, we have seen our share of OND seasons come and go, and there are some trends that we can see. These trends can hopefully help inform your approach to the holiday season this year.

#1: Doing Something Extra Special Will Go Over Well

Some wineries are hesitant to do something creative with their gift sets, worrying that they might overbuy novelty items. In our experience, this rarely happens—in fact, we are much more likely to run out of stock for popular gift items!

So go ahead, get creative and brainstorm what you can add to offerings that are a little extra special. Some things that we’ve seen include:

• An exclusive wine glass
• A monogrammed leather carrying case
• A shelf-stable food item (think honey, olive oil, or pasta) together with a recipe
• An aerator
• A chill stone

Remember, a gift is supposed to make the recipient feel a certain way, and the gift giver knows this. The more “special” a gift seems, the more special that recipient will feel…which means that your gift set will fly off the shelf.

#2: Super Premium Brands Are Going to Continue to Do Well

Premium wine brands have weathered the past few years like champs. We feel that consumer trends, together with DTC shopping in general, will make it a good season for wine generally, and a great season for those premium brands.

There especially seems to be pent-up demand for “celebration” wines—think sparkling wines, like Champagne and Prosecco. These wines seem to appeal across generations, and they are often bought for holiday get-togethers (as well as weddings, work celebrations, etc.).

#3: It’s Going to be a “Last Minute” Kind of Year…So Be Ready!

Every family has that one person who puts off buying holiday gifts until the very last minute. This year, most people might be doing that. On the one hand, inflation has people balancing their budgets very carefully; on the other hand, many of the problems in the supply chain have started to sort themselves out, so most folks are not as worried about availability and shipping delays. We saw in 2022 that last-minute shoppers soared, and we see no reason why that won’t happen again this year.

When consumers shop last-minute, you need to be doing the opposite. Plan ahead, and don’t assume that the numbers coming in early in the season are setting the pace for the late season. You can get ready by:

• Reviewing all the needed elements
• Ordering in advance, including extra stock
• Having kits pre-assembled and ready-to-go
• Be ready for weather holds
• Communicate early and often with your fulfillment partner

Need More Help Getting Ready for the Holiday Season?

The holidays can be a very lucrative time for wineries, especially with increased corporate gifting and easy online sales of wine. But everyone—the gift receiver, the gift giver, and the winery providing the gift—will either have a great experience or a frustrating one, depending on how well the “little details” are handled.

Again, this isn’t our first rodeo here at Copper Peak. We can help you plan out your OND season requirements and ensure that you have enough items on hand to meet demand. And when the season is done, we’ll even help you go over your data and do your post-mortem.

If that sounds like the kind of close partnership you want with your third-party logistics partner, contact us—and do it well before the holiday season hits!