Behind every great bottle of wine is a long list of people whose names rarely appear on the label.
The cooperage that engineered a new toasting profile. The software company whose platform finally made compliance manageable. The equipment manufacturer who redesigned a pump to use a fraction of the water. The lab that developed a faster, more accurate way to detect smoke taint. The packaging supplier who figured out how to reduce a bottle’s carbon footprint without sacrificing shelf appeal.
These are the people who quietly push the wine industry forward, and for 14 years, the WINnovation Awards have made it their job to put a spotlight on them.
Why the Awards Exist
Wine Industry Network launched the WINnovation Awards program to identify and honor the most innovative suppliers and service professionals working across the industry. The program recognizes a simple truth: wineries and vineyards don’t innovate in isolation. The vendors, suppliers, and service providers they work with are often the ones bringing forward the new tools, technologies, and ideas that make better winemaking, better farming, and better business possible.
“WINnovation Awards are a way for us to highlight and celebrate the many innovative industry suppliers and to recognize that their efforts continue to propel the entire industry forward,” says George Christie, President of Wine Industry Network.
“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,” Christie adds. “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.”
A Legacy of Industry-Defining Innovation
Many past WINnovation Award winners have gone on to set the highest standard in their field, continuing to push forward innovations that advance the industry as a whole. Looking back across 14 years of honorees is, in many ways, a tour through the ideas and technologies that have reshaped how modern wine gets made, marketed, packaged, and sold.
It’s also a reminder that innovation in this industry rarely arrives with fanfare. More often, it shows up as a quiet improvement that makes someone’s job easier, a product safer, or a process more sustainable, and only later do we realize how much it changed.
Nominations Are Now Open
Nominations for Wine Industry Network’s Annual WINnovation Awards are now open. North Coast Wine Industry Expo exhibitors and WIN clients are invited to submit their innovations for consideration.
If your company has developed a new product, technology, service, or approach that’s moving the wine industry forward, we want to hear about it. And if you’ve benefited from a supplier’s innovation, encourage them to throw their hat in the ring.The industry’s quiet innovators deserve the loud applause. Help Us Recognize the Industry’s Best – Nominate your own innovation, or champion a supplier whose product or service has made a real impact on your business.
