Should my winery discount to move wine?

Pricing, discounts, and margin

Usually not on the bottle price. Discounting trains your best customers to wait for the next sale, so if you need to move wine, discount the shipping, bundle a few bottles, or add a surprise bottle to a case instead.

The wineries pulling ahead aren't the ones cutting price. In Silicon Valley Bank's 2026 report, low performers were twice as likely to lead with discounts, and high performers were 60% more likely to raise prices.

Price still has a ceiling. Direct-to-consumer shipments went from 8.7 million cases at a $38 average bottle to 5.3 million cases at $57. Raising prices hasn't brought new drinkers in.

The plays here protect the price on the label and change the offer around it: shipping, bundles, a gift, an entry-level bottle under a second label. The discount the shipping, not the bottle play is the short version.

Before your next sale, do the math on how many extra bottles it has to sell just to break even. The Discount Break-Even Calculator on this site does it in a minute.

Plays

Every play

Steal This PlayTurn your best customers into hosts of a wine nightOffer current customers 50% off a 3-pack or 6-pack if they host friends for a wine night within 30 days. New drinkers try wine in living rooms, not tasting rooms, and a friend is the most credible salesperson you have.From the May 27, 2026 issue Wrong TakeDon't cut the bottle price. Discount the shipping insteadLow-performing wineries are twice as likely to lead with discounts, and high performers are 60% more likely to raise prices. Protect the price on the label and change the offer around it.From the Jun 9, 2026 issue

Numbers

Every number

15.5%15.5% of wineries cut their tasting fees, and most saw little changeSilicon Valley Bank, Jun 9, 2026 2xLow-performing wineries are twice as likely to lead with discountsSilicon Valley Bank, Jun 9, 2026 8%Top-quartile wineries grew sales 8% while the bottom quartile fell 10.2%Silicon Valley Bank, May 7, 2026 $57Direct-to-consumer wine shipments fell to 5.3 million cases at a $57 average bottleSovos ShipCompliant, May 27, 2026

Prompts

Every prompt

Sales promptThe winery negotiation strategistPrep for a distributor review, a national account pitch, or a fruit contract with a tactical plan that protects your margins.Sales prompt10-slide distributor pitch outlineGet a data-driven outline for pitching a new distributor, then turn it into a finished deck with Gamma.Strategy promptInversion: list every way this could failCharlie Munger's tool: find every realistic way an initiative dies, then turn each into a preventive action.Operations promptSupplier negotiation prepGet ready to renew a glass, grain, or logistics contract with the questions, benchmarks, and script a procurement expert would bring.

Tools

Every tool

Free to startClaudeAn AI writing and strategy partner for copy, analysis, and thinking through business problems.

Apps

Every app

Free app, October 27, 2026Discount Break-Even CalculatorType in your price, cost, and the discount you have in mind, and see how many extra bottles the sale has to move before it earns a dollar.

Issues

Every issue

Work with Jeremy

Reading the plays is the easy part.

Changing what your team does on Monday morning is harder. Book a 30-minute strategy session with me, and we'll work out what to change first and how we could work together.

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