Free “Pour Outside the Lines” toolkit helps wineries and partners join a shared conversation and amplify California wine’s many voices
September 9, 2026 (Sacramento, CA) — Wine Institute has launched “Pour Outside the Lines,” a social-first initiative for California Wine Month designed to encourage consumers who choose to drink to rethink when, where and how wine fits into their lives. A free digital toolkit gives California wineries, regions and industry partners ready-to-use resources to join the conversation while contributing their own voices and stories.
Recent consumer research conducted by Material for Wine Market Council points to consumers’ desire for wine to feel simpler, more relatable and easier to make their own, with fewer rules about what to choose, what to pair it with or how to enjoy it. “Pour Outside the Lines” translates those insights into a flexible, social-first effort built around community engagement and storytelling.
One Starting Point, Many Voices
At the center of the effort is a social media toolkit with ready-to-use creative content, messaging, weekly themes and ideas that can be used as-is or customized for individual brands and audiences.
Each of the four weekly themes is designed to make California wine feel more relevant and relatable to consumers who already choose to drink, while giving industry participants common creative territory they can make their own.
- Little Moments, Pour Differently explores the everyday occasions and connections that can become opportunities to enjoy wine without requiring a special celebration.
- Pairing Plot Twist encourages people to rethink traditional wine-pairing expectations and experiment with California wine alongside foods they already love.
- Beyond the Tasting Room showcases the many ways to experience California wine country beyond a traditional tasting, from vineyard walks and live music to food, outdoor activities and behind-the-scenes experiences.
- Wine, Your Way gives people permission to enjoy wine according to their own tastes and traditions — without worrying about doing it the “right” way.
The Toolkit in Action
The effort is also intended to test something bigger: how greater coordination across California wine’s many voices can help shared stories travel further. It reflects a broader communications priority for Wine Institute — creating more opportunities for wineries, regions and industry partners to align around common themes while authentically communicating them to their own audiences.
“California wine is represented by thousands of individual voices, each with its own story to tell,” said Steve Gross, President and CEO of Wine Institute. “There is tremendous opportunity in finding more ways to come together around the ideas we share and amplify them collectively. Wine Institute can help convene that work, but it isn’t something any one organization can do alone. We look forward to working with partners across the California wine community to build on what works, learn together and find new ways to strengthen the voice of California wine.”
A Changing Communications Landscape
Consumers have more choices competing for their attention. Discovery increasingly happens through social media, AI and other digital platforms, and traditional assumptions about how people learn about and engage with wine continue to evolve.
For Wine Institute, that creates an opportunity to rethink not simply what the California wine community communicates, but how it invites people into the conversation.
“Breaking through today takes more than any one organization or brand saying something louder. It takes many credible voices reinforcing ideas that resonate with people,” said Julie Berge, Vice President of Communications and Member Relations for Wine Institute. “Our approach is to identify the stories California wine can own, translate them in ways that feel relevant to today’s audiences and make it easier for the wine community to join the conversation in their own voice.
Wine Institute will gather feedback from participating wineries, regions and partners during and after California Wine Month to understand what resonates, how the tools are being used and where greater communications alignment can add value in the future.
“California Wine Month gives us an opportunity to put that thinking into practice and, equally important, to learn from it,” Berge continued. “This is just the beginning and we look forward to what we will learn.”
Download the California Wine Month toolkit and join the conversation.
For more information about California Wine Month, visit Discover California Wines.
About Wine Institute
Established in 1934, Wine Institute represents nearly 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses and serves as a leading voice for California wine. Wine Institute works to strengthen and advance California’s wine sector by bringing together public policy advocacy, strategic communications, sustainability leadership and global marketing. As the only organization advocating for wine at the state, federal and international levels, it helps create an environment that supports the responsible production, marketing and enjoyment of wine. Wine Institute members account for more than 80% of the nation’s wine production and 95% of U.S. wine exports. Learn more at wineinstitute.org.
