One of the prevailing notions about the wine industry is that it is traditional and slow to change. With so many tectonic shifts in recent years, however, change is a must. COVID has upended the industry’s lackadaisical approach to ecommerce, for example, and geopolitical conflicts are mandating adjustments to our traditional supply chains. Change is happening, whether we like it or not and whether the industry is ready for it or not. 

Join us for a discussion about some of the wine industry’s most salient challenges of today, and how disruptors are working to adapt to new realities. How can small and medium-size wineries benefit from sophisticated technologies that seem out of reach? How are platforms like Drizly, Vivino and Wine-Searcher evolving to suit new and different audiences? What changes and updates has VinoShipper incorporated recently to adjust to supply chain and delivery issues? How do Enolytics’ partnerships and technology provide visibility into wineries’ DTC and wholesale sales, all at the same time? 

Please come with your questions about the current state of disruption, and what data says about the future 

  • Cathy Huyghe, Co-Founder and CEO, Enolytics LLC

  • Steven Harrison , President/CEO, Vinoshipper

Cathy Huyghe, Co-Founder and CEO, Enolytics LLC

Cathy Huyghe is an entrepreneur, writer and mindfulness proponent. She is the cofounder of Enolytics, a technology-centric disruptor and provider of business solutions for the wine industry. She writes about the business and politics of the wine industry in her column for Forbes online, and she also co-creates the content for A Balanced Glass, a community dedicated to wellness in the wine and spirits world. All three of those ventures have been recognized for their innovative contributions. In 2021 Huyghe was named one of the industry’s Most Inspiring People by the Wine Industry Network, and in 2022 she was nominated as Innovator of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Steven Harrison , President/CEO, Vinoshipper

Steven Harrison is President & CEO of Zero Link Markets (ZLM), the company that operates Vinoshipper and CompleteDTC, e-commerce, compliance, and CRM platforms for direct sales of alcohol products. The businesses facilitate small and medium-sized alcohol producers to sell and ship their products directly while connecting closely with customers. He has more than 30 years of experience working in finance and operations management and has been involved with several early-stage businesses, including software development, medical devices, and consumer products.

As the co-founder of ZLM, Steven had the vision to create a platform to help small producers comply with the complex, multi-jurisdictional regulations and reporting requirements involved in selling wine, beer, and spirits. In May 2022, ZLM acquired CompleteDTC for their CRM expertise. 

ZLM is at the forefront of the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) movement, helping to transform and modernize an industry which dates to the Prohibition era. With more than 2,500 producers around the country using the platform, Vinoshipper is one of the largest compliance platforms in the country.