Podcast Episode 27: Growing Visibility with Michael Cuffe & Glass with a Grower, Remi Cohen

This episode of Grown in Napa Valley highlights both the business realities and opportunities facing Napa Valley grape growers. In the first segment, Caleb Mosley speaks with Michael Cuffe of Napa Valley Creative Agency about a marketing audit program offered through NVG and funded by the Western Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) program. Cuffe discusses how many growers, particularly those who have relied on long-term contracts for decades, now find themselves needing to market their vineyards for the first time. He emphasizes the importance of basic branding tools such as websites, professional photography, storytelling, and social media presence, while encouraging growers to highlight the prestigious wineries and wines their vineyards have supplied over the years. Despite current industry challenges, Cuffe remains optimistic about Napa Valley's future and believes growers who invest in telling their story will be better positioned for long-term success. 
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In the second segment, Remi Cohen, President and CEO of Domaine Carneros, joins Caleb for Glass with a Grower and shares her journey from vineyard-focused viticulturist to winery executive. Cohen reflects on the importance of connecting vineyard practices to consumer storytelling, noting that every grower plays a critical role in promoting Napa Valley wine. The conversation explores Domaine Carneros' history, sparkling wine production, sustainability initiatives, and the challenges of the 2026 growing season, including an unusually early start followed by erratic weather. While acknowledging ongoing market pressures, Cohen encourages growers to remain positive, continue sharing the value of Napa Valley agriculture, and focus on innovation, hospitality, and long-term resilience as the industry adapts to changing conditions.

Interested in a marketing audit? Sign up through the NVG grant program here. 
*This grant program ends at the end of September 2026

Episode Highlights: 

• "If you're a grape grower, you should have a website. Do you need an Instagram page? Not really. But should you have a website that's just a well-produced profile piece of your property? Absolutely." - Michael Cuffe 
• "I really, really want growers to start lifting and talking more about the really amazing things they're doing in their vineyards." - Caleb Mosley 
  
• "If you're growing grapes in Napa Valley, you are a wine grower. You need to think all the way through to that end product." - Remi Cohen 
  
• "Wine's not cool right now. But I do believe wine is going to be cool again. That's the way things work. It flips back and forth." - Michael Cuffe 
  
• "It's an all hands-on deck moment. We all as an industry need to be selling what we do, the magic of our industry, the magic of Napa Valley." - Caleb Mosley 
  
• "The strong producers, the smart producers are going to be thriving after this turn. Think smart, work smart, be strategic, and be as positive as you can." - Remi Cohen