Seavey Vineyard: The Move to 100% Direct-to-Consumer

How a historic Napa estate secured high margins and deepened customer loyalty during a market downturn.

In 2023, Seavey Vineyard, a historic 40-year-old Napa Valley estate, faced a disconnect: they were producing 97-point wines but operating with “aw-shucks” hospitality and legacy technology that didn’t match their quality. By pivoting to a 100% direct-to-consumer (DTC) model and migrating to Commerce7, Seavey Vineyard began to successfully elevate their brand status.

By 2025, the wine industry was facing what General Manager Charley Seavey described as 'the worst year in the wine business in this century.' Yet, while the market stalled, Seavey Vineyard saw consistent growth. By leveraging Commerce7 to create a premium, loyalty-driven experience, the estate achieved back-to-back revenue and membership increases across 2024 and 2025. Most impressively, they realized a 50% increase in revenue per bottle used compared to 2022. This growth proved that a focus on DTC excellence could drive record-breaking margins even in a downturn..

The Challenge: An Identity Crisis

For decades, Seavey Vineyard produced wines in the company of the best in the world, garnering consistent scores in the high 90s from top critics. However, their digital presence and pricing strategy lagged behind,

“We were Morton's in every way, but we were presenting ourselves as a Sizzler," explains Charley. "If you present yourself as a Sizzler, people see you as a Sizzler. We had 97-point scores, but if you looked at a price-versus-quality graph, we were this little dot way off the curve. It didn’t make sense.”

*Editor’s Note: Not up on your American steakhouse lore? "Sizzler" represents a casual, discount chain, while "Morton's" is the gold standard for luxury fine dining. Think of it as trading paper napkins for linen.

Their operations were equally misaligned. Reservations were managed manually on Google Calendar, and their legacy ecommerce platform was clunky and “off-putting”, requiring too many clicks to purchase. This digital friction was preventing them from commanding the respect - and the margins - their wine deserved.

The Strategy: The Premium Pivot

Seavey Vineyard's General Manager, Charley Seavey, made a bold strategic move: he cut the winery’s wholesale distribution to zero, raised prices to reflect true market value, and committed to a 100% DTC model.

To execute this, Seavey needed a technology stack that could support a luxury strategy. They required a platform that offered:

Seamless Hospitality: Unified data between the tasting room and the web.
Customer Control: A modern club experience that prioritized flexibility and user choice, rather than obligation.
Data Visibility: The ability to identify high-value members instantly.

They selected Commerce7 as their core platform, and integrated key partners, including Tock for reservations and WinePulse for advanced reporting.

The Solution: Unlocking Loyalty Through Unified Commerce

Building Trust Through Customer Control

Contrary to the industry fear that “easy cancellation” leads to attrition, Seavey Vineyard found that empowering customers increased loyalty. They utilized Commerce7’s club tools to give members full control over their shipments.

"I totally embraced Commerce7's philosophy: give people the freedom to cancel and don't be afraid of that," says Seavey. "It put the power into the members' hands. For the first time, we had a true digital platform where members could control their holds, customizations, and cancellations."

By evolving the wine club to meet modern consumer standards – offering customization and flexibility, Seavey removed the friction and anxiety often associated with long-term commitments, deepening the trust between the winery and its members.

Data-Drive Hospitality and Personalization

Moving to a high-price, exclusive model required a higher level of service. The integration between Commerce7 and Tock automated what used to be a 30-minute manual reservation process. More importantly, it ensured staff knew exactly who was walking through the door.

“The CRM is extremely useful. Our staff looks at it every time to see the history: 'They were a member, then canceled, then rejoined, and they love old Cabernet,'" Seavey shares.

Furthermore, through the WinePulse integration—which has since been acquired by Commerce7 to provide a fully unified data experience—Seavey was able to activate their data for “Market Visits.” By pulling reports of high-LTV customers within a 30-mile radius of travel destinations like Cincinnati, the team could host intimate, targeted tastings that were previously impossible

Polishing the User Experience

To shed the ‘Sizzler’ image, the digital buying experience had to be sleek. Commerce7 modernized Seavey’s web presence, reducing the clicks-to-purchase and handling complex library inventory effortlessly.

“Commerce7 modernized our look and feel. It professionalized everything," Seavey says. "There is no question that raising our prices engendered respect, but the software supported that by ensuring there were no 'off notes' in the customer journey."

The Results: Sustainable, High-Margin Growth

In 2025, while many wineries struggled with the drying up of the wholesale channels and a dip in visitation, Seavey Vineyard thrived by owning their margins and knowing their customers.

Metric: Revenue Per Bottle Used increased by 50%, jumping from $90 to $135.
Efficiency: Reservation administrative time was reduced from ~30 minutes per booking to near-zero.
Resilience: By eliminating wholesale dependency and using Commerce7 to maximize DTC value, Seavey insulated itself from one of the toughest market cycles in decades.

Conclusion

Seavey Vineyard proves that legacy brands can successfully reinvent themselves by combining bold pricing strategies with the right technology. By using Commerce7 to treat their customers with respect – giving them control over their shipments and recognizing them across every touchpoint—Seavey didn't just survive the "worst year of the century"; they became more profitable.

"The way Commerce7 allows you to customize shipments... that’s huge," Seavey concludes. "It puts the power into the members' hands. The platform presents information in an intelligent, thoughtful way, allowing us to deliver the experience our customers expect."

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