Come Together founders target global growth in 2026
The team behind Come Over October and Share & Pair Sundays is planning international expansion after a year of strong growth for its wine advocacy campaigns.
The founders of COME TOGETHER — A Community for Wine have unveiled plans to expand their wine advocacy campaigns in 2026, building on what they describe as a highly successful year for Come Over October and Share & Pair Sundays.
Announced this week, the next phase of growth will see the campaigns push for wider consumer reach, deeper retail engagement and increased international participation, following strong momentum in 2025 across the US and Canada.
“Starting from a simple yet powerful idea — wine’s unique ability to bring people together — we have created a movement that affirms wine’s value in society and culture,” said Karen MacNeil. “It’s more critical now than ever to talk about wine’s positive role in communities.”
Campaigns centred on connection
COME TOGETHER’s advocacy work centres on two grassroots initiatives. Come Over October encourages consumers to share wine with friends, colleagues and family, while Share & Pair Sundays promotes coming together over a meal with wine.
The campaigns were positioned as particularly timely against the backdrop of rising social isolation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on Social Connection, “Social isolation and loneliness are widespread, with around 16% of people worldwide experiencing loneliness.” The report adds: “High-quality social connections are essential to mental and physical health and well-being. Social isolation and loneliness are important, yet neglected, social determinants for people of all ages.”
Reflecting on the results, Kimberly Charles said: “We wildly exceeded our expectations. I’m very happy to say that we grew our programmes by every metric.”
Strong growth and wider reach
In 2025, the campaigns expanded beyond the US to include a nationwide integrated marketing campaign in Canada. The founders also appointed Barbara Fitzgerald as project director.
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“This is an important cause that’s united the wine industry in ways that feel especially powerful in trying times,” said Fitzgerald. “I’m honoured to be working with a team of leaders who care deeply about our wine community.”
The movement reported a 40% increase in financial contributions last year, alongside growth of more than 35% in participation by wine companies. It also attracted high-profile support from across food, entertainment and sport, including chefs Lidia Bastianich and Charlie Palmer, an interview between MacNeil and Alecia Moore (stage name P!nk), and an interview with NBA star and winery owner CJ McCollum.
In total, the campaigns have generated more than 2.5 billion earned media impressions, over 10 million social media impressions, activations in more than 2,000 retail stores, and direct consumer reach of upwards of eight million wine drinkers.
Ambitions for 2026
Looking ahead, the founders say their targets for 2026 are even more ambitious.
“We plan to grow our consumer reach by 50% through more retail engagement and direct marketing as well as owned content and social media,” said Gino Colangelo. “We also want to dramatically increase the number of participants throughout the wine community ecosystem and expand international participation.”
Next year will see the second annual Share & Pair Sundays campaign, the third annual Come Over October, and a second annual Come Over October, Canada campaign.
Foundational partners of COME TOGETHER — A Community for Wine include Freixenet Mionetto, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Jackson Family Wines and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. Retail participants in 2025 included Total Wine & More, Wine.com and Kroger. Preferred partners include Wine America, Lyft and Yelp, while media sponsors range from Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator to VinePair and the Wine Industry Network.
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