Boutique Wine & Spirit Brands - Getting The World to know you!

It is so great to see so many new amazing boutique brands of wines and spirits from Australia being launched recently, and its great seeing younger 21+ people especially, taking more interest in what they consume in way of boutique wines and spirits. The world it seems has developed a new generation of thoughtful and quality seeking people who choose wisely and for many other factors, instead of drinking just to get drunk!

In Australia, we have seen recently the rapid growth of our premium quality & boutique wine producers, with that, an encouraging increase in their market share, and the BIG boy's & girls are taking note and buying into this new wave of thinking by way of buying up these upstart brands and also tailoring their brands to be more boutique in style.

In a recent report by the Australian Government run agency "Wine Australia", which overseas and assists with quality control, marketing and brand management of our wine industry, it was found that:

"The trend is helping producers with estimated annual crushes of less than 500 tonnes make inroads into a market dominated by huge wine companies in recent decades. Small winemaking businesses generated $1.1 billion in wine sales revenue in 2015–16, an average increase of 12 per cent, according to the Small Winemaker Production and Sales Survey 2016 released this week by Wine Australia in South Australia." By Andrew Spence / The Lead Publication 11th of January, 2017

• Production was up 7 per cent, with the highest average growth in wineries that produce 70,001–170,000 litres (8000–20,000 cases) (up 11 per cent).
• Average revenue growth was 12 per cent in 2015–16.
• Nearly half (48 per cent) of the wineries surveyed make all of their wine in their own facilities.
• On average, two-thirds of grapes used by small wineries were grown in their own vineyards.

All encouraging for sure, however our emerging boutique producers need now to use that new found energy and momentum and use it for future sustainable growth, not let it be just a flash in the pan growth spurt that will die on the vine when competition gets tough. As in battle.. taking ground and keeping that ground is what it's all about!

My business and my passion, Wines To The Stars has therefore an important role to play in keeping this momentum high, and is in a privileged position to ensure the Key Influencers we take care of, get the message as they tour here, that there are many other wine & spirit producers to consider than the already known great well marketed brands of Australia. And that these boutique limited production producers are are as good, if not better than the well mass produced brands.

In my selection process for the tours I look after, I choose wines that of course firstly meet a quality of taste I am looking for to suit the artists, but also as important is the story behind the brand. Sometimes I find the story and the people behind the brand sells the wine more than the wine itself. People just love to have something special and love to on tell the story to their friend circle, and this goes to the heart of what I am all about.

The message I try to expound as I pour these great discoveries of wines for the Stars, is to really enjoy what you are tasting, take in the wine and the story of the region it was made, the vine age, a snapshot of the vintage, its history, and its maker..all goes to making a fantastic story and experience.

Therefore most of what I bring to the backstage, are wines that are not available in the major liquor supermarkets or to be found easily overseas, not saying the mass produced well known brands are not important, or good quality at all, just that there needs to be more attention and therefore more opportunity for brand recognition for the smaller producers who can't afford the costs of having their wines marketed to the extent of the major producers.

I was shocked to hear from a senior Penfold's (TWE) staff member that there are over 10,000 cases (60,000 bottles) of it's iconic brand Grange Shiraz (Retail $700+) released every year! Yet I take great pleasure when I find a small batch handcrafted wine of equal and better quality, with only maybe 64 cases produced, at a price of $50-$100 price point, I am pleased to say that I will champion that small producer to my celebrity client base, and they all appreciate it! Just because the people I look after earn large through their fame and art, doesn't mean they don't appreciate something of great quality for less $!!

WTTS therefore wishes to extend to all boutique producers (wine & spirits) a genuine opportunity to take part in our "Boutique Brand Awareness Program" where we will provide you the opportunity to have your brand showcased proudly to the greatest names of music & film on the planet. As well as having your wines backstage at every Australian event we work with, we will be introducing an Australian Wine Showcase tour of America and Europe in 2018/19/20 where we will showcase the great boutique brands of Australia with our great food right into the very homes and cellars of the celebrities we have built wine relationships with over the years.

As well, as part of our program, we have been approached by, and are working with some of the world's major music & film festivals (USA, ASIA & Europe) to provide our world renowned "Wines to the Stars - Backstage Cellar Door" where we will be pouring the boutique wines & spirits from each region or Australia to the celebrities right backstage at their premier events.

All WTTS events are about celebrity endorsement where a focus on social media is paramount. We have therefore enlisted the very best international social media experts and photographers to ensure we get the very best images and your message to the world.

Brand Awareness through Brand Endorsement and then managed professionally through Social Media platforms is what can make a real difference for you and your product. The celebrity influence we work close with is great, and by getting the thumbs up! or the #1 finger sign next to your label can do absolute wonders!

Contact me direct through email [email protected] or by way of LinkedIn's In-mail service for information about this program and how to be involved.

Music & Wine - a perfect combination!

*Picture above is of US rock band Disturbed holding the Sandscrub Shiraz by Rusden Wines of Barossa Valley, South Australia - voted as "BEST WINE ON TOUR" from their 2016 tour of Australia/NZ. This picture was posted on the bands social media and was liked/seen by over 500,000 people within 2 weeks of posting. Rusden Wines will attest to the recognition they have received by our work.