Harvest is underway across New York, and October brings a ready-made reason to invite customers back to the table. Come Over October (COO), the national campaign encouraging people to gather with friends and family over a bottle of wine, returns this month. New research shows it gives wineries a practical way to drive visits, club engagement, and sales.
The New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) is supporting COO again this year and encouraging wineries, retailers, restaurants, and industry partners across the state to take part.
What Is Come Over October?
COO is a national campaign founded by wine journalist Karen MacNeil and industry veterans Gino Colangelo and Kimberly Noelle Charles. Its message is simple: invite someone over, open a bottle, and make time for each other.
The campaign celebrates wine as an agricultural product that has brought people together for generations. New York’s family-owned wineries and multigenerational growers tell that story every day.
The Case for Participating: 2026 Research
This year COO partnered with LocalWineEvents.com on its 2026 Wine & Gathering Study, which surveyed 1,553 wine consumers nationwide. Survey questions were developed with Christian Miller of the Wine Market Council. Key findings:
- People want a reason. 41% said a specific occasion, such as Come Over October, would make them more likely to host a gathering with wine.
- Make it easy. 44% said easy recipe and food-pairing ideas would make them more likely to host. 32% want wine recommendations for different budgets or occasions.
- October intent is high. 74% said they are very or somewhat likely to host or attend a wine gathering this October.
The takeaway for New York wineries: give customers a reason, make hosting easy, and meet them both in the tasting room and at home.
How Your Business Can Participate
Participation is free and fits into programming you already have planned:
- Host a themed tasting or event. Try a harvest dinner, a library wine weekend, or a seasonal pairing experience.
- Launch an October offer. Use bundles, 2-for-1 tastings, or shipping discounts that encourage customers and club members to bring a friend.
- Add COO to fall club shipments. Include pairing ideas, invitation templates, or reorder options so members can host their own gatherings.
- Tie into a local celebration. Pair COO with a harvest festival, a community event, or a partner restaurant or wine shop.
- Put pairings front and center. Share the New York Wines Food Pairing Guides, available in four languages. Pairing ideas are the top thing consumers say would help them host.
Retailers, restaurants, and distributors can take part too. Feature New York wines in October flights, shelf displays, by-the-glass lists, or pairing menus. From Lake Erie, the Niagara Escarpment, and the Finger Lakes to the Hudson Valley, Champlain Valley, and Long Island, New York offers the range to fit any gathering.
Free campaign materials, including email banners, rack cards, posters, and social graphics, are available at comeoveroctober.com/trade.
How NYWGF Can Support You
- Tag us to get shared. Tag @newyorkwines and @comeoveroctober in your COO posts, and NYWGF and COO will reshare your content to our channels.
- Use the campaign hashtags. #newyorkwines #comeoveroctober and #cometogetherforwine.
- Social content through our New York Wines channels.
- Consumer stories in the Press Deck newsletter.
- Shareable consumer resources on our COO landing page at newyorkwines.org/come-over-october, including the Food Pairing Guides, winery maps, and the Certified Sustainable Vineyards & Wineries map.
Questions or ideas? Contact Meg Hopkins at meghopkins@nywgf.org.