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Black Friday and holiday emails for cheese and wine shops

Your customers are planning a table: the Thanksgiving spread, the Christmas Eve board, the hostess gift. A cheese and wine shop is part of that plan, as long as the email arrives before the plan is finished.

Updated October 25, 2026 · By Doorbuster Studio

Your busiest weeks come early

For a cheese and wine shop, the holiday rush is not Black Friday. It is the days before Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas, when people need a board for twelve and a bottle that goes with it. Black Friday still matters, but mostly as a gift-box and gift-card moment. The emails that earn the most are the ones that give customers a deadline and make ordering easy.

So work backward from the dates people care about. When is the last day to pre-order for Thanksgiving pickup? When is the last day to order a gift box that ships? When do you close on Christmas Eve? Put those dates in your calendar first, then write the emails around them.

Sell the board, not the cheese

Most customers do not want to choose six cheeses from a case. They want to be told what to buy. Build a few set offerings and name them: a small board for four, a large board for ten, a cheese-and-charcuterie box, a gift box with a bottle. List what is in each one, the size, the price and the order-by date. A short list of finished choices sells better than a long catalog.

Say what you do with the extras too. A note on how long a wedge keeps, how to serve cheese at room temperature, and what to pair with it turns the email into something people keep. Keep the pairing advice short and in your own voice.

Be careful with wine

Wine is where a cheese shop can get into trouble. Whether you can ship wine, to which states, and how it must be handled varies by state and by license. Before you promise anything in an email, check your own state rules and your license, and the rules of the states you ship to. If you are not sure, say “local pickup and delivery only” for wine and ship only the cheese, charcuterie and non-alcoholic items. Add age checks where the rules require them, and never imply you can ship wine anywhere you have not confirmed.

Cheese has its own limits. Soft and fresh cheeses and cured meats can suffer in warm weather or long transit, so name your shipping days and any cold-weather or cold-pack choices you really use.

The five emails

1. Early access and Thanksgiving pre-orders (a week or two before Black Friday). Show your boards and boxes, give the order-by date for Thanksgiving pickup, and tell your list when ordering closes. This is the email that fills your calendar.
2. Black Friday: gift boxes and gift cards. One offer, clearly stated: a gift box at a set price, a bonus on a gift card over a certain amount, or a free small item with a box. Name the dates. Do not discount wine in a way your license or local rules do not allow; check first.
3. Small Business Saturday: come taste. Invite people in for a tasting, a flight, or a sample table, with the hours and any limits on space. If tickets or a reservation are needed, give the link. Examples.
4. The December gift guide and shipping dates. Gifts at three price points, plus the last day to order for delivery before Christmas and the last day for local pickup. Include a clear note on what can and cannot ship, and where.
5. Last call: Christmas and New Year’s boards. Final pre-order deadline, holiday hours and gift cards by email. Many people plan New Year’s Eve late, so keep one more email for that. Last-day template.

What to put in every email

• Order-by dates in the first lines, with the pickup or delivery window beside them.
• Portion guidance, such as how many people a board serves. Say it plainly and only if you have worked it out.
• Allergens and dietary notes, where you know them: nuts, gluten in crackers, vegetarian rennet if you track it.
• Pickup details, including where to park, what time, and what to say at the counter.
• Real photos of the boards you build, not stock images.

A short template: holiday board pre-order

Hi [First Name],

Holiday boards at [Shop Name] are open for pre-order.

The small board, serves about 4
[Cheese], [cheese], [cheese], [charcuterie], [extras]
[$ price]

The large board, serves about 10
[Cheese], [cheese], [cheese], [cheese], [charcuterie], [extras]
[$ price]

The gift box
[What is in it]
[$ price]. Ships [where, on which days]. [Wine is available for local pickup only, or confirm your own rules.]

Order by [date] for pickup on [date and window].

[Order your board -> link]

Gift cards by email are also available. We are open [holiday hours].

Thank you for gathering with us,
[Your name], [Shop Name]

If your shop sells packaged foods too, the specialty food shop guide covers gift boxes and shipping. See the Black Friday email calendar for dates and the sample emails for finished campaigns.