Drinks Insider

Rowena Curlewis is the woman behind some of the most iconic designs in the drinks space — not only has she worked on brands like Penfolds and 19 Crimes, but she recently created the labels for Dolly Wines, the first wines released by legend Dolly Parton.

Rowena is, with Margaret Nolan, the co-founder of Denomination Design, a brand design agency headquartered in Sydney, with offices in San Francisco and London.

In this conversation, she covers everything from current trends, to collaborations with fashion designers, to how to make a bottle stand out:

1. Connect through storytelling

Storytelling takes consumers down a path where they will fall in love with your brand. Authenticity is an important quality signal.

2. The name is everything

How will the product look on a wine list? When it’s written up on a chalkboard? Does the name jump out? Is it easy to pronounce? All these things will prompt the customer to buy it.

3. If you can get the consumer to pick up the bottle...

...it’s now much more likely that they will buy the product. If they like it, they’re more likely to buy it again, because once they’ve handled it, they’ve built a sensory memory around it that will give them a feeling of trust.

4. Design differently for the dark

If your product is going to be served in a dark bar at night, you need to consider how the bartender or sommelier will find it. Spirits brands are very good at creating distinctive shapes, so that people can tell what the bottle is, just by touch.

5. Don’t forget the capsule

The capsule does a lot more work than people realise, particularly if the bottle is going to sit in an ice bucket, or it’s going to poke from a rack. The capsule may be the only thing that customers get to see, so use that space effectively.

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How do you break into a category that’s completely dominated by one major, very cashed-up player?

If you’re Tyson Branz Destileria Barako Corp, you test the local market and build up a fan base who spread the word wherever they go, helping to do the marketing for you.

In this episode, Tyson explains how he and his team developed Ube Cream Liqueur, and how they turned it into an export dynamo by turning locals into true fans. He covers:

1. Why entering competitions is a good strategy

The power of a medal can open doors and he explains how and why.

2. Trade fairs versus the direct approach

There’s a time to run a booth at a trade fair, and a time to get out and meet people. Tyson explains how he decided on his trade strategy.

3. Know the occasion for your brand

Destileria Barako is in the Philippines, where people consume alcohol in a very particular way. By knowing how the drink would be consumed, the team turned Ube into the must-have party drink.

4. Identify your export market

Sometimes it’s not the country you need to target, but the ex-pat community within that country. Here’s how and why to do it — and how to respect your target audience.

5. Market data vs gut instinct

When to pull the trigger and launch a new product.

What’s better than marketing your brand yourself? Getting other people to talk about your brand. The more (positive) attention you get, the easier it is to get people to try your product, and to convince distributors, retailers and the off-trade to stock it.

The man who knows more about this than just about anybody else in the US is Gino Colangeo, founder of Colangelo & Partners, which has a huge team dedicated to promoting wine and spirits and offices in New York, San Francisco and Miami.

He’s also a great storytelling and in this lively episode, Gino gives plenty of useful insights into the do’s and don’ts of spreading your message through both traditional media and social media channels:

1. Prepare yourself before you dive in

What do you need in place before you start a PR campaign? How much money? What time period do you need to plan for?

2. When to target trade media vs when to target consumer

There’s the right time to target sales channels through the trade media, and a better time to engage with consumers through mainstream press and social media. Gino offers tips on working out which channel to use and when.

3. You need targeted pitches

If your PR agency is sending out mass press releases, they may be wasting your time and money. What usually works better is the personalised pitch — but how do you get in front of those powerful gatekeepers?

4. Are you in the right place?

Everybody wants national distribution, but working state by state might be a better strategy. But in this case, how do you know which states to tackle first?

5. You need social media

Brands that don’t have a social media presence lack credibility. Gino explains why.

All this and more in this very insightful and fast-paced episode.

Everybody says they want to attract a new generation of consumers to wine, but Jess Druey’s gone and done it.

In this episode of Drinks Insider she tells the unlikely story of how a college dropout launched a wine brand at 22, after Googling how to make wine. From getting her Mom to help package and send the bottles to partnership with the McBride Sisters, to taking home the $250,000 first prize on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, this is one of the unlikeliest stories in wine.

But it works. Jess honed her skills at Red Bull, and she brings her relentless focus on social media and community building to Whiny Baby, along with a completely new way of looking at packaging.

If you need some inspiration, this is the episode for you. Jess shows that there’s a new consumer group out there who is not just open to wine — they’re waiting to hear more.

[2:08] Jess discusses the brand lessons she learned at Red Bull.

[5:10] The impetus for Whiny Baby and how she developed the brand.

[10:54] Early experiences, mistakes and reversals.

[14:13] Jess explains how she got her strategic partnership with the McBride sisters.

[28:58] Jess talks about her experience on Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars and that quarter of a million dollars.

[52:07] How to build a social community who’ve got your back and will help you develop your brand.

Your Host, Felicity Carter

Based in Europe, Felicity Carter is a well-known journalist, editor and researcher. Among other roles, she is currently Editorial Director of Areni Global, the fine wine think tank headquartered in London. Previously, she was founding Executive Editor of The Drop at Pix, editorial consultant for Liv-ex, and Editor in Chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International, which she built into the world’s premier business publication, with subscribers in 38 countries. Her work has appeared in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers in Australia, and in The Guardian US, among many others.

She was named a 2024 Industry Leader by WineBusiness Monthly.

And her other podcast is A Question of Drinks with the fabulous Lulie Halstead. It’s like the Freakonomics of Drinks. Check it out!

The wine trade is facing its worst trading conditions in 30 years — but it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s according to long-time wine industry observer and well-known journalist Jeff Siegel, who’s been immersed in the US market for going on 40 years.

This alternate title for this episode could be ‘Bitchin’ With Jeff’ as he offers his no-holds-barred take on what’s gone wrong and why.

Is there any hope? He says yes, and outlines what needs to be done to appeal to new consumers while retaining the old ones, and securing the future of wine for at least another generation.

In this episode of Drinks Insider we discuss:

[00:10:00] Premiumization, a term coined around 2010-2012. It’s the idea that Americans wanted to drink 'better' wine, leading to a focus on more expensive bottles, which increased margins for wineries, growers and retailers, but pushed out affordable options.

[00:14:09] The wine market has become very brand-focused and consumers are now brand loyal. But as the big brands become more homogenous and take up more shelf space, consumer choice is being narrowed.

[00:21:58] The restaurant industry's focus on high-priced wine to make up for costs has also hurt the industry, with many restaurants now selling poor-quality wine at high prices, with little appeal to consumers.

[00:28:21] How the wine trade can woo back entry-level wine drinkers.

[00:31:59] Despite a current grape glut, the moment for another "Two Buck Chuck" style wine is gone because the wine business has changed.

[00:41:08] Jeff knows exactly when the temperance movement re-emerged and why.

Sounds like fun? It is! It’s a lively conversation with someone who knows what they’re talking about and who can point the way forward.

And don’t miss the next episode, with Jess Druey, founder of Whiny Baby, who is living proof that a different approach can bring a whole new audience to wine.