How Much Should a Winery Spend on Digital Marketing?

Marketing Empire Group
Sep 25
3 min read

Running a winery today means competing in a crowded market where wine lovers have endless options. Between local tasting rooms, subscription wine clubs, and e-commerce stores, it’s no longer enough to rely on word-of-mouth or foot traffic alone. That’s why many winery owners ask us:

“How much should my winery budget for digital marketing?”

It’s a great question — and the answer depends on your revenue, growth goals, and the audiences you’re trying to reach. Let’s break it down.

A woman pours wine for a man under a wooden pergola. Bottles and plants on a table. Mountains visible in the background. Relaxed mood.

Why Marketing Budgets Matter for Wineries

For most businesses, marketing isn’t just an expense — it’s an investment that fuels long-term growth. Wineries face unique challenges:

Seasonality: Traffic often spikes during harvest season and key events.
Competition: You’re not just competing with other wineries in your region, but also with national brands selling online.
Customer Loyalty: Wine club memberships, subscriptions, and repeat purchases require consistent nurturing.

Without a clear marketing budget, it’s easy to overspend in some areas (like events) while underinvesting in high-return digital channels (like email or paid ads).

General Guidelines: How Much Should Wineries Spend?

Across industries, most companies invest 5–15% of annual revenue into marketing. For wineries, the range tends to be closer to 7–12%, depending on whether you’re focused on growth or maintenance.

Here’s a simple way to think about it:

Small wineries (< $1M revenue): $2,000–$5,000 per mont
Mid-sized wineries ($1M–$5M revenue): $5,000–$15,000 per month.
Large wineries ($5M+ revenue): Often $20,000+ per month or 7–10% of revenue.

If your goal is rapid growth (expanding your wine club, entering new markets, or scaling e-commerce sales), you’ll want to lean toward the higher end of those ranges.

Where Should That Budget Go?

Digital marketing for wineries isn’t one-size-fits-all, but here’s a proven breakdown:

Website & SEO (20–25%) Your website is your digital tasting room. A mobile-friendly, search-optimized site helps visitors find you, book tastings, and buy wine online.
Paid Advertising (30–40%) Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram campaigns are powerful for targeting wine lovers by location, interest, and buying habits.
Email Marketing & Automation (10–15%) Email remains one of the highest ROI channels. Nurture subscribers with club offers, seasonal promotions, and event invitations.
Social Media Content (15–20%) Consistent posting, storytelling, and behind-the-scenes content help you build brand loyalty and drive engagement.
Analytics, Tools & Testing (5–10%) Tracking what’s working ensures you get the best return from every dollar.

This kind of balanced approach keeps your marketing diversified — so you’re not relying on just one channel.

A Realistic Example

Let’s say a mid-sized winery has $2M in annual revenue and budgets 8% for marketing. That’s $160,000 per year, or about $13,000 per month. A smart allocation might look like:

$3,250 → Website, SEO, and content

$5,200 → Paid ads
$1,950 → Email marketing
$2,600 → Social media management
$1,000 → Tools, analytics, and testing

This type of plan ensures steady traffic, stronger wine club signups, and measurable ROI.

Barrels stacked in a dimly lit winery cellar, with a bright door at the end. The floor reflects soft light, creating a quiet, orderly mood.

What This Means for Your Winery

There’s no universal answer to how much a winery should spend on digital marketing — but the most successful wineries treat marketing as a core growth investment, not an afterthought.

New or growing wineries may need to invest more aggressively to build awareness.
Established wineries can focus spending on retention and loyalty programs.
Every winery should track results and adjust budgets based on performance.

At Marketing Empire Group, we specialize in helping wineries find the sweet spot between budget and growth. Whether your goal is to boost tasting room visits, grow your wine club, or expand e-commerce sales, we can create a digital winery marketing plan tailored to your winery.