Sutter Home Winery’s motto has been around for more than 50 years, but it pretty well caters to the mindset of today’s savvy consumer: “A great product for a fair price.”

Known for creating the White Zinfandel back in 1972, the family-run Sutter Home received an award from Wine Spectator magazine back in 1974 for “having introduced more Americans to wine on the table than anyone in history.” Not too shabby.

Read more why Sutter Home has wine in its veins.

Source :: Brandchannel

Can the Sinatra name sell wine? The Sinatra Family Estates has announced its first wine offering, Come Fly With Me, a limited-production 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.The winery partnered with the Frank Sinatra Estate and his three children (Tina, Nancy and Frank Jr.) to produce the wine.

The wine is being produced from a five-acre vineyard site in Napa Valley, and only 500 cases will be bottled and are selling at a steep price of $570 for six bottles. The website says the wine has notes of cherry with hints of leather and spice and says it has a 92 rating but no indication of where that rating came from. Each vintage will be named after a Sinatra classic and the wine label features a logo of a record.

By Deidre Woollard | www.luxist.com

Gordon Ramsay is putting his name on a wine for the first time. That in and of itself isn’t particularly startling but what is interesting is that the wine is inexpensive and Ramsay lent his name for free.

Decanter reports that Ramsay has let Château Bauduc, in Entre Deux Mers, Bordeaux brand their wines with the words ‘Gordon Ramsay Selection’ across four different labels the Ramsay Rose 08, Ramsay Blanc 2008, Ramsay Clos Quinze and Ramsay Les Trois.

In the latest edition of Château Bauduc’s newsletter Ramsay says: "My sommeliers swear by Bauduc, even if the accountants swear every time someone orders a bottle instead of Chablis or Pétrus" A 12 bottle collection with two dry whites, a red and a rosé sells for £99.90.

By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com

Scarlett Johansson is the new face of Moet & Chandon.

Traditional branding strategy would say that a label should tell the consumer what the product is all about. New research suggests that just the opposite might be true – the consumer should see himself in the label.

Read the article.

Moet & Chandon has been doing a big push with the awards ceremonies lately. They had a red carpet presence at the Golden Globes and now they been designated the exclusive champagne of the 81st Annual Academy Awards. This is the first time that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has had a champagne designation for Oscar and pre-Oscar events (I’m guessing LVMH had to pay a hefty fee for the privilege). Moet & Chandon will be the only champagne or sparkling wine served at the 2009 Oscars.

For those of us not attending the show, there is an Oscars "party kit" on the Oscars website that includes recipes from Wolfgang Puck and a champagne cocktail, the Red Carpet Fizz, which features pomegranate juice, orange liqueur, fresh raspberries and Moet & Chandon White Star.

By Deidre Woollard. Source :: www.luxist.com

In my experience the life cycle of wine packaging is generally about 2 – 3 years. After that it becomes tired and needs to be rejuvenated and refreshed. This can prove a costly exercise (although it needn’t be so) so wouldn’t it be more cost efficient to spend more on advertising rather than packaging?

Ted Mininni, president of Design Force, argues that investing in packaging is the way to go and he gives us some advice:

• It’s no secret that most conventional advertising isn’t cutting it. When marketers think about how to allocate their budgets, maybe they ought to be spending less on advertising. Why not take those dollars that aren’t going to be spent on advertising, and invest them in packaging instead?
• Many marketers would scratch their heads and say that they already do invest substantially in product packaging. If that is so, why does a plethora of category packaging out there look so boring, so similar, so uninspiring? Remember that consumer packaging may be the only opportunity many brands have to “sell” consumers, since so much advertising is lost on them.
• What does the consumer interface with first—the product, or the package the product comes in? The package. So, it is expected to do a great deal. Get the consumer’s attention in three seconds flat. Stand out from competitors’ products. Hold the consumer’s attention long enough to identify with the message, lifestyle and emotive cues in the imagery and communications prompting them to pick up the product. Make an all-important connection. Take it home.
• Now be honest and ask yourselves whether your packaging is doing the job. Even if your products represent category leaders, is your packaging really selling the brand? Given the mercurial nature of fast-changing consumer desires and today’s retail environments, a change may be in order. That change might be subtle, yet make a huge difference, while requiring a fairly modest investment.
• If packaging isn’t doing the job, it’s time to reinvest in this most crucial element in your marketing mix in a significant manner. That might even involve—gulp—radical new thinking. That takes courage. But look at it this way: It’s less risky to break new ground if a brand has little equity or market share, and it might be just what the doctor ordered.

Bottom line: brands demanding unique positioning in the consumer’s mind demand unique packaging. Whether the challenge is to market heritage brands to newer generations of consumers or to launch new brands to the marketplace, the packaging focus has to be the same: owning mindshare. Packaging may be marketers’ first and only opportunity to make that vital connection with the consumer. If your products are lost in the retail shuffle, or you’re about to jump into the marketplace foray, you’ve got a big challenge on your hands.

Now tell me there’s a better way to allocate marketing funds than trail-blazing new packaging.

Read the full article.

By Mike Carter.

Jake Kloberdanz, CEO of Hope Wine, has taken the idea of “cause branding” where for-profit corporations partner with non-profit organizations to release limited edition products and services to raise money for charities and created a company around it. Realizing that these short term relationships were beneficial for everyone involved – corporations could promote themselves as socially conscious while simultaneously bolstering sales, non-profits received much needed funding and customers could make purchases they felt good about – Kloberdanz didn’t see any reason these same ideals couldn’t function as a sustainable business model year round.

Launched in early 2007, the Southern California based company currently donates 50% of its profits to organizations that fight against Breast Cancer, AIDS and Autism, support U.S. troops and their families and search for ways to save the environment. Inc.com reports:

This year, the company did $1 million in sales, gave away $150,000 in cash and in-kind donations to 20 not-for-profit organizations, and donated 3,400 volunteer hours at 200 charity events. At this point, Hope is “giving away our profit margin”, but Kloberdanz says the company will be in the black in 2009. He’s hired an executive from a major spirit company, and is negotiating with a big distributor to take the brand national (it’s now sold in ten states and on the company’s website.)

Though the company has made great strides in a relatively short time, according to their website they have even loftier goals for the future, hoping “to grow Hope Wine into one of the largest and most recognized brands in the Wine industry.”  And even if they’re only partially successful with their plans, Hope Wine is certainly one brand that will give causes and consumers alike something to celebrate over.  

Inc.com: ’Tis the Season for Hard Core Capitalism?

By Scott Lachut. Source :: PSFK

One has to always start at the beginning, this is very important when creating a brand, a “brand footprint”. This is a strong identity onto which on can build upwards and onwards. Therefore ones initial imagery has to be something that the producer can emote to, and is a strong enough image to withstand the test of time.

Frivolity will be here today and gone tomorrow. However doing something that may be striking and gimmicky can serve it’s purpose, however in the right place and time, and part of your marketing/promotional long term strategy.

Packaging is not about creating pretty pictures, but about building strong long lasting loyal relationships. Therefore prior to any design being executed a strong broad based marketing structure should be in place. Craftsmanship, following tried and tested simple design rules, being clever and unique with your design, and colour with the assistance of latest technologies in printing and bottling is always a good start. Try to be a leader rather than a follower, this will immediately create a shelf presence. One way that I find very successful, is to create your own hand drawn name or image (that is not computer generated), that way your name becomes it’s own logo, brand name or signature.

Finally – what may be a phenomenal success in one country or brand should not make one want to copy the same trend in your own.

By Vanessa Fogel : Vanessa Fogel Design