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Napa Agency to Provide Public Relations and Marketing Services

Napa, CA – Shannon Ridge Vineyards and Winery, a family-owned wine company based in Lake County, California, has retained Balzac Communications & Marketing, the leading wine public relations and marketing agency, as their agency of record. As the acting agency, Balzac will be responsible for promoting the wine and the story of Shannon Ridge to wine industry trade, media, and consumers.

“Our wines are really taking off, and the company is seeing tremendous growth,” says Clay Shannon. “It’s about time that we told the whole story of who we are, and what we are doing with our family ranches and vineyards. These days Americans want to know where the products they purchase come from, and who makes them. And Balzac is going to help us tell our story.”

“Lake County is ideally positioned for the future of the US wine market, with delicious wines at very competitive prices,” says Paul Wagner of Balzac. “Clay Shannon is the clear leader of Lake County, and we are really excited about working with him and his family to make these brands into household names. And the sheep, too!”

The portfolio of Shannon Ridge wine includes the Single Vineyard Collection and Ranch Collection, of which the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon won DOUBLE GOLD at this week’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The 2009 Sauvignon Blanc won the GOLD MEDAL at the 2011 Dallas Morning News and TexSom Wine Competition, the Riverside International Wine Competition, and the Critics Challenge Wine Competition.

Shannon Ridge’s vineyards are certified sustainable, and are known for their wooly compost machines – a flock of 1,000 sheep, complete with shepherds and a team of highly trained sheepdogs. The sheep do an excellent job of canopy management and leaf removal, and pick the vineyard clean after harvest. They also manage the cover crop in the spring and work hard to reduce fire danger in the surrounding hills the remainder of the year.

About Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery

The Shannons are committed to preserving their land, not only for the great vineyard sites but also for the bear, elk, mountain lions, eagles and other creatures which live there. Of the approximately 1,400 acres on the ranch, only about 35% have been converted to vineyards. The balance of the land has been preserved for the wildlife which wanders through the property from the expansive wilderness area to the north and east. The vineyards were carefully planned out, leaving corridors open to migrating animals and protecting sensitive nesting areas.

About Balzac Communications & Marketing

Balzac Communications & Marketing is a marketing communications agency with a no-nonsense approach to combining the strategies and tactics of marketing, public relations, advertising and graphic design to achieve the marketing goals of its clients. The experience, creativity and determination of the staff distinguish Balzac from their competition. They use these assets to develop and execute cost-effective campaigns, which have won international communications awards. The results speak for themselves. The agency is located in Napa, California, and provides services to national, regional, and local companies based in Northern California and throughout the world.

 More than 100 Italian wine producers from four pre-eminent DOCG regions of Italy will be represented at the Italian Wine Masters events, which will be held in early February of 2012. The Italian Wine Masters will tour New York on February 7 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, andSan Francisco on February 9 at the San Francisco Terra Gallery.

 “We will be featuring wines from among the leading wine regions of Italy, and the tastings really offer a superb overview of the world of Italian wines as it continues to evolve to meet the demands of the global market,” say representatives from the Italian Wine Masters.

The events, which will be organized by Balzac Communications & Marketing, will include both seminars and trade tastings. Trade tasting participants will experience a rare opportunity to preview and taste the finest selections from Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, Nobile di Montepulciano, and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore.

The seminars, held earlier in the day, will focus on Prosecco and the great appellations of Tuscany. The New York seminars will be taught by wine educator Tracy Ellen Kamens, CWE, DWS, and the San Francisco seminars will be taught by Tim Gaiser, MS, and Education Chair for the Master Sommeliers.

For more information, or to register for either of these events, contact Tiffany van Gorderat tvangorder@balzac.com.

Por cuestiones de trabajo solo pude asistir a las sesiones del viernes. Hoy emulando a mi admirado Pablo Neruda y sus 20 poemas de amor y una canción desesperada he querido recoger mis impresiones en dos post. Hoy os presento la primera parte

La verdad es que estuvo fantástico, fue todo un repaso a lecciones aprendidas pero que por lo que parece nos resistimos a poner en práctica, aunque la razón y el corazón nos digan lo contrario.

Había oído hablar del Sr. Paul Wagner pero desconocía su capacidad de seducción y convencimiento.

Como ya sabéis en esta comunidad hemos discutido largo y tendido sobre los porqués de que Cataluña no sea California o incluso España no llegue a su mismo nivel

De una forma suave, simpática y totalmente pedagógica fue desgranando gran parte de los problemas que aun nos acucian, mediante preguntas lanzadas al auditorio sin buscar ningún tipo de respuesta  concreta.

A mí me parecieron como bocanadas de aire fresco y renovador

De entrada vino a despertar a muchos de su letargo diciendo que el ENOTURISMO NO EXISTE¡¡.

No puede existir el enoturismo porque nadie se desplaza a una región solo para  beber. Solo existe TURISMO y punto.

Todos podemos ser turistas del vino ¡¡¡ Todos somos potenciales consumidores de experiencias.

Read the rest.

Stereotypes exist for a reason. Mainly, they are rooted in some level of truthiness: However, here’s a bit of stereotypical truthiness that is no longer valid.  Box wines don’t suck.

In fact, these days, depending on where you look in the wine aisle, much of the box wine in the U.S. is quite good. Yet, like most wine matters, this truth isn’t always obvious when fighting against perception. And, popular perception holds that Franzia’s ubiquitous boxed wine, long the top-selling wine in the U.S. based on volume, is rot gut swill.  While I’ll abstain from giving my own Franzia opinion, I will note that wine enthusiasts are missing an opportunity to find drinking value and enjoyment across a number of other box wine offerings if they let one box spoil the pallet, as it may be.

With that in mind, as a summer public service, driving to the essential truth between “perception” and “reality,” here is my short course on box wine:  The least you need to know to navigate the box wine options at the grocery store.

First things first: A proof point

Let’s get this out of the way immediately: Few people cop to following wine scores, but they are a qualitative measure for the wine business and a guiding force in consumer purchases. So, when Wine Spectator magazine reviewed 39 box wines in the fall of 2009 and 37 of them received a score higher than their “Good” score of 80 points, it’s validation for the whole box wine category. If the critics believe, generally speaking, so too should the skeptics.

Read the rest.

The Napa Valley has been a little short on legends lately. Not legendary wines- there are still plenty of those- but legendary figures. It’s almost three years since the last legendary man, Robert Mondavi, passed away and much longer since he was the one man most synonymous with this great California wine region.

According to Napa grape grower Andy Beckstoffer, the time of legendary men may be over. “The vineyards are the next Robert Mondavi. The vineyards are what matters,” he said.

One could argue that this position was either born of great knowledge or was rather self-serving, since Mr. Beckstoffer owns 1,000 acres of vineyard land in Napa.

Unlike many growers, Mr. Beckstoffer only sells grapes to other wineries; he doesn’t make wine himself. “That’s an entirely different business,” he said. It simplifies matters and reduces expenses and also answers the inevitable question about growers who also make wine from their grapes: Don’t they keep the best fruit for themselves?

Read the rest.

Napa Agency to Provide Public Relations and Social Media Marketing Services

Napa, CA (May 25, 2011) – True & Daring, a family-owned wine company based in Christchurch, New Zealand, has retained Balzac Communications & Marketing, the leading wine public relations and marketing agency, as their agency of record for the United States. As the acting agency, Balzac will be responsible for promoting the wine and family story of True & Daring to wine industry trade, media, and consumers. True & Daring produces one wine, a classic, complex Riesling that was just awarded Best New Zealand Riesling at London’s 2010 International Wine Challenge.

“We were looking for a firm that could help us tell the story of our True & Daring wine,” said Hennie Bosman, Owner and Winemaker of True & Daring. “Balzac was the perfect fit for us. They are incredibly creative and have enormous amounts of energy and ideas. Their strategies fit into our goals and objectives, and we are very happy to have them as part of our team.”

“We’re delighted to become a part of the True & Daring team,” said Paul Wagner, President of Balzac Communications & Marketing. “As an agency, we love to work with such enthusiastic owners who are passionate about creating a wine that can compete with the best Rieslings in the market. We look forward to making a positive impact on their business.”

Since discovering their New Zealand winery in 2005, owners Celia and Hennie Bosman have cultivated award-winning success with their wine. True & Daring was founded on the belief that the winery would stay true to one grape and be daring enough to take on Riesling, and only Riesling, as the wine they produce. Having successfully secured the Best New Zealand Riesling trophy and a Gold medal at London’s 2010 International Wine Challenge, Celia and Hennie thought it only right to introduce True & Daring into the U.S.

Please visit www.trueanddaring.com. The full website will launch in June 2011.

From the St. Helena Star:

The year 1976 was a pivotal one for the Napa Valley. It marked a turning point in California as two wines from the Valley took top honors over several French rivals in a competition which later became known as the “Judgment of Paris.” While the impact of the event was unknown at the time, thanks to a brief mention in Time Magazine by George M. Taber, who was the only journalist in attendance, it soon became evident that California wine had established a beachhead on the world stage.

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From the St. Helena Star:

While vintners in Napa Valley have been growing grapes and making wine for century and a half, the last 10 years have seen an incredible amount of change and growth. The year 2000 marked the beginning of the first post-Phylloxera decade in the modern era. By 2000, most growers had pulled out all their diseased vines and replanted with heartier rootstock and more appropriate varieties of grapes. In essence, it was a “do-over” and gave most wineries and growers an incredible opportunity to leverage new knowledge and technologies to better their wines.

Read the rest.