None of us were looking for this to happen. But the dynamics of the industry right now are realigning relationships across the board, and we are here to embrace this one, enthusiastically.

Our announcement today of Alison Smith Story as Vice President of Supplier Relations at Enolytics is both serendipitous and completely in alignment with next steps for Ali herself and Enolytics as a whole. We are honored by her decision to join our team. It inspires us to commit again, and even more deeply, to facilitating the changes – in technology, data and omnichannel – that the wine industry is ripe to adopt as we move forward together.

For the last ten years, Alison and Eric Smith Story have built their wine business into one of the most authentically beloved and recognized brands in the country. Ali will always be associated with Smith Story Wine’s narrative and success. It has come time for her to take a step back, and realign for a different work-life balance. In practice, this means that Eric will take on the day-to-day running of Smith Story while Ali turns her attention to a relationship role with suppliers who work with Enolytics.

Enolytics’ strength to date has been in Direct To Consumer (DTC), and who better to model success in wine DTC (and leveraging DTC data to assist wholesale partners) than Ali Smith Story? A relatively untapped offering of Enolytics so far has been servicing the wholesale tier, namely importers, distributors, retailers and restaurants. You might already know the part of Ali’s history, even prior to Smith Story Wines and certainly during it, working in retail, representing wineries and importers, and working closely with wholesalers.

“I’m more energized than ever before to bridge the gap between wine and our sales channels,” Ali said. “This opportunity with Enolytics provides a rather large sense of purpose for me and for the greater good of the industry. Over twenty years ago, I fell hard into fine wine and saw the world of wine through rose-colored glasses. The view has never dissipated. The future’s so bright and smart data is going to help us all for the better.”

Having been in the seat of both supplier and distributor creates a breadth of advantage and deep understanding that Ali brings to the table. That advantage is the crux of her role as VP of Supplier Relations with Enolytics: Ali will be an advisor, negotiator, empath, idea generator, solution-finder, insight-provider.

Ali will join the Enolytics team for the WIN Wine Sales Symposium in Santa Rosa this Thursday, May 16. Please stop by the booth and start a conversation. Most of all, help us welcome Ali to the team.

Thank you, always, for your support and encouragement. It makes a difference.
- Cathy

PS Today’s announcement also marks a new schedule for Enolytics 101, which will now be released on Wednesdays instead of Fridays. Our next Enolytics 101 will run Wednesday, May 22.