Now in its second year, the “Come Over October” industry campaign to boost the wine category is continuing to expand its reach. “The Come Over October campaign—now becoming more of a movement—is picking up momentum every day,” says Gino Colangelo, president of Colangelo & Partners, who created the campaign with fellow industry veterans Karen MacNeil and Kimberly Noelle Charles. The purpose of the push is to highlight wine’s power to bring people together at a time when the industry is facing well-documented headwinds.

Southern Glazer’s, Jackson Family Wines, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, and Freixenet-Mionetto are the four foundational partners of Come Over October, which now has the backing of 150 wine companies, media, and trade organizations at various levels of support, marking a 25% increase over last year. Wine Spectator is among the media sponsors backing the push. So far, the campaign has raised 40% more money than in its inaugural edition last year, which reached 10 million people and 1.7 billion media impressions.

Over 1,000 retail stores are participating this year, including Kroger, Total Wine, and Wine.com, all of which are patrons, and celebrities Alecia Moore (Pink), Lidia Bastianich, Charlie Palmer, and CJ McCollum are also onboard. Come Over October is also taking its message to Washington this fall, holding its second Congressional Wine Caucus tasting and press event on Capitol Hill on October 8.—Daniel Marsteller