Writing

Blog

Notes on hospitality tech, DTC strategy, wine club operations, and building useful things.

June 3, 2026

Ohio Wine Bars and Tasting Rooms Are Invisible on Google. Here's Why - and What to Fix.

Most Ohio wine bars and tasting rooms have a Google problem they don't know about. Stale Facebook pages, 'permanently closed' GBP listings, and a misplaced faith in Instagram are costing real guests before they ever walk in the door.

May 24, 2026

What a Digital Operations Partner Actually Does for a Tasting Room

The role, the scope, and the difference between owning a digital operation and maintaining one — written for independent tasting room operators who want to understand what this engagement actually looks like.

May 20, 2026

Why Your Tasting Room Email List Isn't Driving Repeat Visits (And How to Fix It)

Most tasting rooms collect email addresses and then wonder why nobody comes back. The problem isn't your list size — it's what happens after someone signs up.

May 18, 2026

Wine Club Email Automation: What Independent Wineries Can Learn from Enterprise Marketing

A practical breakdown of the five automated email sequences that reduce wine club churn, improve renewal rates, and increase repeat visits for independent wineries.

May 11, 2026

I Didn't Go to Portugal for Work. That's Exactly Why It Made Me Better at My Job.

A full day tasting through the Douro Valley — and what quintas, Vinho Verde, and a port lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia taught me about the systems independent tasting rooms are missing.

April 28, 2026

You Can't Build a Bar on Rented Land

Most tasting rooms quietly lose 15% of their repeat revenue between visits. Here's the three-channel digital stack that stops the leak — built for independent taprooms and wineries.

April 2, 2026

What a Companion App for Your Tasting Room Should Actually Do

Most tasting room apps are glorified websites with a home screen icon. Here's what a companion app needs to do to earn a place on your guests' phones — and drive real retention.

March 16, 2026

From Platform to Partner: How My Pub Marketing Started — and Why It Changed

My Pub Marketing began in 2021 as a website platform for craft breweries. Here's how it evolved into an outsourced digital operations practice for tasting rooms and DTC wine businesses.

March 12, 2026

How to Choose the Right CRM for Your Wine Club

Most wine clubs run on spreadsheets or point-of-sale bolt-ons. Here's how to evaluate CRM tools built for DTC wine operations — and what actually matters for member retention.

November 19, 2025

Vibe Coding: How I Used AI to Build a Mobile App — Until Compliance Broke the Flow

A firsthand account of building the My Head Chef mobile app using AI-assisted coding — and the moment app store compliance requirements forced a rethink of the entire architecture.