(PD) - In the intensely competitive world of wine sales, wholesale and retail sectors are consolidating. Amazon, WineDirect and other online outlets are expanding direct-to-consumer sales, making wine-buying as easy as clicking a button. Local governments are tightening visitor restrictions on tasting rooms, narrowing a crucial road wineries use to drive sales to consumers. There are more labels today than ever, making it difficult for a wine to stand out from the crowd.

What’s a winery to do? Go old school.

Landing on the wine lists of the top restaurants in the country is still an effective way to distinguish a wine. In an effort to do that, more and more wineries and wine companies are increasing their outreach to sommeliers, or wine stewards, and wine directors to personalize and distinguish their brands.