The Top 10 Powerful Wine Brands

Top 10 Most Powerful Wine Brands -- The Drinks Business 

Every year nearly 10,000 drinks brands are analysed by Intangible Business in partnership with the drinks business to produce the Power Brands 100 – comprehensive overview of the most powerful wine and spirits brands in the world.

Every year the drinks business work with Intangible Business to produce the Power 100 – a list of the top 100 most powerful spirits and wine brands in the world.

Each brand is given a score by which its power, and the brand’s ability to generate value for its owner, is calculated by factors including its share of the market, growth, brand awareness, relevance and heritage.

A panel of leading experts then rank each brand out of 10 on each factor to calculate an average score for each brand.

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My Comment: These are the best brands???? Mondavi ... I can drink. The rest ... hmmm ... no.

How Social Media Is Revolutionizing Wine Marketing & Sales

How Social Media Revolutionized Wine Marketing & Sales -- WebProNews

Wineries now have a great online presence and are experiencing increased sales.

Social media is taking over as the recognized way to spread the word about your brand and its products. Today it is essential to have an online component to your marketing efforts and sites like Facebook and Twitter are some the hottest spaces available. The wine industry has been one of the fields to take the most advantage of the new platforms. In fact, wineries have an online presence rivaling anything they have ever tried before.

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My Comment: It's where people now go for information .... wine included.

A Father's Day Gift From Remy Martin XO

Remy Martin XO and Thomas Lyte Gift Set for Father's Day

Remy Martin XO and Thomas Lyte Gift Set for Father’s Day -- Extra Vaganzi

Here is a chance to express your gratitude and respect to that special man for all the unconditional love and affection on Father’s Day (June 17th) – a day of commemoration and celebration dedicated to the extraordinary man in your life. Remy Martin XO , the French house’s Extra Old fine champagne cognac and Thomas Lyte, English luxury brand renowned for their leather goods and silver, have collaborated together and are launching a limited edition set ideal for Father’s Day Gift.

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My Comment: Nice gift set.

Hennessy Unveils It's Newest Advertising Campaign

Pacquiao, Scorsese, Badu Unleash ‘Wild Rabbits’ for Hennessy -- Mediabistro

Nearly a year to the day since picking up Hennessy’s creative duties, Droga5 is unleashing a new star-studded campaign for the “very special” cognac featuring boxing phenom Manny Pacquiao, legendary film director Martin Scorsese, and the “First Lady of Neo-Soul,” Erykah Badu.

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Update: Photos: Pacquiao Stars in Hennessy's Massive Campaign -- Boxingscene

Pairing Italian Wine With High Fashion

Italy Winemakers Seek Fashion Boost On Global Stage -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Italy's top winemakers are joining forces with the country's luxury goods elite as the world's second-biggest wine producer tries to give itself an edge in the battle for U.S. and emerging market customers amid falling consumption at home.

Sales of Italian wine were flat at 12 billion euros last year and recession at home, as the country drives through austerity measures to tackle a sovereign debt crisis, means the industry is becoming increasingly reliant on exports.

Italy is already the world's top wine exporter by volume and number two only to France by value. It saw wine exports climb 13 percent to 4.4 billion euros in 2011, when 2.4 billion litres, or about 55 percent of total sales volume, was sold abroad.

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My Comment: The competition is killing them. Now is the time to find an edge.

New Marketing Campaign For Hennessy Cognac

An ad from the new Hennessy campaign.

Hennessy Goes ‘Wild’ For The Pursuit Of Achievement -- New York Times

Captain Ahab had his white whale. Don Quixote had his quest to restore the age of chivalry. Dorothy wanted to find a way to get home to Kansas. Now, a campaign for a Cognac seeks to celebrate aspiration and the pursuit of goals.

The campaign is for Hennessy Cognac, the best-selling brand in the United States and the world. The campaign personifies the search for success as a “wild rabbit,” asking drinkers, “What’s your wild rabbit?” before declaring: “Never stop. Never settle.”

The campaign is the brainchild of the Droga5 agency in New York, which was selected as the creative agency for Hennessy in April 2011.

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My Comment: This ad does nothing for me .... but then .... that's just me.

It's All In The Wine Label's Name

Robert Fuller of Deodoro Cellars in Paso Robles, Calif. holds a bottle of his 2008 cabernet sauvignon while talking about the rules and regulations that govern wine labels. Joe Johnston/San Luis Obispo Tribune/MCT

What's In A Wine Label? Notes Of Bureaucracy -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — Pimpnho raspberry wine is not, perhaps, everyone's picture of good taste.

Still, regulators gave the sassy beverage label out of Lodi, Calif., a go-ahead several years ago. Much tamer names, too, win approval, such as the green light that Wavelength got in January.

But when the same Paso Robles, Calif., winery that succeeded with Wavelength sought approval for "Antidote," the federal label bosses said no.

"That was knocked back, as curative claims can't be made," Deodoro Cellars owner Robert Fuller said.

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Mixing Art And Wine

People enjoy wine in the sculpture garden at the Ma(i)sonry tasting room in Yountville. John Storey / Special to The Chronicle

Napa: Winery Galleries Pair Works Of Art With Wine -- SFGate

Napa Valley wineries don't usually lack for the "wow" factor, with art often celebrated nearly as much as the critically acclaimed wines they produce.

There's the stunning architecture of places such as Castello di Amorosa, a 121,000-square-foot, 13th century Tuscan castle that lords over Calistoga; or Quixote Winery in Stags' Leap, which looks like a Salvador Dali-inspired crazy casa with undulating mosaic design capped by a gold-leaf wrapped onion dome.

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My Comment: The "wow factor" helps in marketing wines .... and there is no question that for many wineries in California .... they have been successful in employing that "wow factor" to the extreme.

Selling Luxury Wine By The Glass

Photo: Wines in the $20-plus category were the fasting growing segment in 2011. One online retailer has begun selling high-end wine by the glass directly to consumers. Source: www.tastingroom.com

Luxury Wine By The Glass — Coming To A Mailbox Near You -- CNBC

Thirsty for Napa Valley’s best without the high price tag? You’re in luck.

The online wine retailer TastingRoom.com now offers a solution for wine connoisseurs who wish to indulge in high-end wine by the glass at home.

"Consumers want to enjoy quality wine without necessarily opening an entire bottle," said the company's CEO Tim Bucher. "Our innovative product allows consumers to drink luxury and premium wines exactly how they want, when they want, wherever they want."

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Yuan Jiang, Chinese Wine Mogul

People visit France exhibition area during the Top Wine China 2011 fair at China World Trade Center on May 25, 2011 in Beijing, China. ChinaFotoPress / Getty Images

Yuan Jiang, Chinese Wine Mogul: 10,000 Bottles a Day and Counting -- Time

This post is in partnership with Worldcrunch, a new global-news site that translates stories of note in foreign languages into English. The article below was originally published in Economic Observer.

Yuan Jiang started his first business, a direct marketing services provider called Roadway, in 2001. Seven years later, Roadway ranked first in its sector in China, with profits twice that of its nearest rival. At that moment, Yuan agreed to a merger with the American firm D&B (Dun & Bradstreet) for more than $40 million.

It was 2008, when the financial crisis occurred. There wasnt much hope for my company to be listed, Yuan says.

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My Comment: I expect this trend to continue to grow as China's economy expands and more people have disposable incomes to enjoy wine.

Wine in A Glass

Marks & Spencer is struggling to keep up with demand for James Nash's 'cup-a- wine' concept

Wine-In-A-Glass Entrepreneur Ridiculed In Dragons' Den Toasts M&S Success -- Daily Mail

When every member of the BBC's Dragons' Den panel says an invention is rubbish, most people scurry off back to their day jobs, vowing never to come up with a silly idea again.

But James Nash refused to give up on his dream and he is having the last laugh as Marks & Spencer struggle to keep up with demand for his 'cup-a-wine' concept.

Mr Nash's invention – a single-serve plastic glass of French wine with a tear-off lid – solves the problem of feeling like a glass of wine but not having a glass or a corkscrew.

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My Comment: This is actually a smart concept. This wine is not to be stored for any period of time .... and it serves a quick and cheaper need to just have a glass of wine .... instead of opening a bottle.

Scotch In A Can

Scotch In A Can: A Cautious Endorsement -- Esquire

Well, that didn't take long: A Scottish company's proposed canned whisky, which is set to hit U.S. shelves soon, has made its way around the Internet. The product, produced by Scottish Spirits Imports, is facing critics in its home country, who say putting 12 ounces (about eight shots) of 80-proof booze in a nonresealable can naturally invites too much drinking. And Jacob Sullum over at Reason already wonders if it will go the way of Four Loko once it hits our shores.

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My Comment: How much ... and if it is cheap (probably is) .... I can guarantee a lot of drinking. More news and info here.