Vineyards and wineries face new, growing and shifting challenges each year, whether from the continued pressure to stay ahead of the competition or the need to adapt to new environmental or market conditions. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, wine industry suppliers and service providers continuously work to create new ways of solving problems or seizing new opportunities, using ingenuity and technology to develop innovative solutions.
“Because of what we do here at Wine Industry Network, we have the privilege of seeing the newest products and services on a very regular basis, and we’re continually impressed by the level of innovation,” says Wine Industry Network President George Christie. “Industry suppliers, more often than not, are the change agents that help winery and vineyard operations drive quality or improve efficiencies. The WINnovation Awards are a way for us to acknowledge the efforts of these suppliers and their contribution to the wine industry.”
Here are the winners of Wine Industry Network’s 13th annual WINnovation Awards for excellence in wine industry innovation.
BottleShots.ai: Democratizing Wine Labels and Standardizing Product Imagery
SaaS (or Software as a Service) has come a long way in a short time, and BottleShots.ai has leveraged the technology for the wine industry, providing an easier and much more affordable on-ramp for would-be vintners to get their product to market. Dan Chapin, co-founder of BottleShots.ai, says “Our goal is to deliver professional, ecommerce-ready images in less than five minutes, all for just $20 per design.” —Kathleen Willcox
BevZero and Tomsa Destil: Redefining Quality, Efficiency and Sustainability in the
Lo-No Alcohol Space
For many, dealcoholized wine is wine in name, but not in form. In response, BevZero and Tomsa Destil have developed ClearAlc, a patented, single-pass deep vacuum distillation process that separates and preserves key aromatic fractions while gently reducing alcohol content down to 0.05% ABV, ensuring flavor integrity and flexibility. ClearAlc was also engineered for sustainability, optimizing heat pump designs, reducing energy consumption and lowering water use. —Kathleen Willcox
Harvest Watch by InnoVint: Turning Siloed Information Into a Collective Tool
Harvest Watch by InnoVint is a comprehensive regional dashboard that monitors harvest season progress in real time. It draws on anonymized production data from partner wineries, using InnoVint’s cloud-based management software to streamline workflows and communications for vineyard, cellar, office and sales staff. Bringing this vision to Harvest Watch lets wineries gauge where they stand relative to regional benchmarks, including varietal, Brix, TA, pH and even weather. —Laurie Wachter
WineSpot AI: Transforming Winery Consumer Communications with Next-Gen AI
Tailoring AI to a winery’s workflow is a breakthrough that helps wineries reduce team overload, shorten response time and elevate the customer experience (including emails, chats, texts and more). WineSpot AI’s omnichannel AI Agent reduces this workload by up to 70% by handling email, web interfaces and social media in one platform, making support teams more effective. —Laurie Wachter
WineWallet By Bottle360: Creating Community and Redefining DTC
WineWallet by Bottle360 is a loyalty, rewards and subscription platform that redefines the DTC experience with customizable rewards and loyalty points. It lets wineries create branded or white-labeled loyalty programs, offer subscription club memberships with lower price points and more frequent shipments or options for experiences, and establish mobile access to points and subscriptions. —Kathleen Willcox
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Meet this year’s innovators at the North Coast Wine Industry Expo (WIN Expo) on December 4, 2025 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.
Laurie Wachter
Laurie Wachter brings her expertise in consumer behavior, food & beverage marketing and direct-to-consumer sales to writing about innovation and challenges in the consumer packaged goods industry. She works with a global client base from her Northern California Wine Country home.
Kathleen Willcox
Kathleen Willcox writes about wine, food and culture from her home in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. She is keenly interested in sustainability issues, and the business of making ethical drinks and food. Her work appears regularly in Wine Searcher, Wine Enthusiast, Liquor.com and many other publications. Kathleen also co-authored a book called Hudson Valley Wine: A History of Taste & Terroir, which was published in 2017. Follow her wine explorations on Instagram at @kathleenwillcox
