August 2004

Sonoma County, CA – Tincknell & Tincknell, Inc., Wine Sales and Marketing Consultants, continue to lead the wine industry in the branding, positioning, and development of the super-premium, 3-liter, boxed wine packaging. T&T and Erickson Design of San Francisco, California, teamed together to create the branding, positioning, and packaging design for Brutocao Cellars’, of Mendocino County, California, new Bliss Box. T&T has been advisory consulting firm for Amicus Cellars of Napa Valley, California, on its rollout of the X Box, including branding and introduction into their national sales markets. The X Box complements the winery’s label, X Winery, by extending their high-value, super-premium wines into the new format.

The Bliss Box is a “milk-carton” style 3-liter boxed wine, similar in shape to the Black Box (see below), but expanding the wine label design concept into a loosely thematic triptych wrapping around the box. The name “Bliss” is a family name from the Brutocao family’s ancestry, and has been used to designate a single vineyard bottling as well as a branded second label.

“The intent was to create an upscale package that had a level of intrigue in the design to motivate the wine drinker to pick it up and explore it,” said Paul Tincknell, Partner in Tincknell & Tincknell. “The existing brand in bottle had a musical theme adding a level of romance to the branding, and the box’s design refines and extends that by placing the musical element into a more complete atmosphere.”

“The fine art pieces were set against a simple, elegant box design to showcase the triptych,” adds Maureen Erickson, Proprietor of Erickson Design. “I wanted the art and the design to convey the high quality of Brutocao Cellars’ Mendocino County wines, building on the themes they already had for the Bliss label: music, family, and people celebrating together with wine and food.”

The inaugural releases of the Bliss Box will include a 2002 Mendocino County Chardonnay and 2002 Mendocino County Cabernet Sauvignon, all estate fruit from Brutocao Cellars’ vineyards. Suggested retail price in California will be $32.00 per 3-liter box for the Chardonnay, and $36.00 per 3-liter box for the Cabernet Sauvignon. 750-ml bottle versions of the same wines will sold alongside their box brethren.

During a sales strategy meeting at Tincknell & Tincknell’s office in Healdsburg, California, the General Manager and Winemaker for Amicus Cellars, Reed Renaudin, became intrigued by the benefits of the 3-liter box packaging after examining samples of the Black Box and Blackburn Fine Wine Cache, two previous T&T projects. Soon after Amicus Cellars greenlighted a test run of 3-liter boxes of the winery’s high-value, super-premium Lake County “Eutenier Sylar Vineyard” Sauvignon Blanc, “Tri-County” Cabernet Sauvignon, and Los Carneros Chardonnay for 2004. Breaking new ground in the 3-liter box package will be the Sauvignon Blanc, becoming the first vineyard-designated wine in a box when it is launched. Tincknell & Tincknell advised Amicus Cellars throughout the project, including suggesting the name, X Box. Given the suggestive name, the X Box is positioned to appeal to young, trendy, adventurous wine drinkers. The test run of the X Box will be targeted towards restaurateurs for their wine-by-the-glass programs. Like the Bliss Box, the same wine in bottle will be in the X Box, giving a restaurateur the option placing it on their wine list, their by-the-glass list, or both. The box package is ideal for BTG programs as it costs less than bottled goods and eliminates waste due to loss from old, oxidized, or cork-tainted wine and breakage. The X Box will have a suggested retail price in California of $43.00 per 3-liter box.

Tincknell & Tincknell were founded in 1997 with the recognition that the wine industry needed expertise in applying new business strategies and technology to compete in the global wine industry. Tincknell & Tincknell provide services and consultation in sales, marketing, and technology to wineries, wine industry business partners, and other companies specializing in luxury products. Located in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, T&T have assisted such clients as Louis M. Martini Winery, Groth Vineyards and Winery, Hanzell Vineyards, Howell Mountain Vineyards, Lynmar Winery at Quail Hill Vineyards, Via Pacifica Imports, Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery of North Carolina, Dragon Seal Wines of Beijing, China, and the Qingdao Fushiwang Putaojiu Company of Pingdu, China. Tincknell & Tincknell assisted with the development of the industry’s first super-premium, 3-liter boxed wine, Black Box, with Ryan Sproule in 2002.

August 2003

Sonoma County, CA – Tincknell & Tincknell, Wine Sales and Marketing Consultants, of Healdsburg, California, and Bauermeister Design of Sonoma, California, teamed together to create the packaging for a new, upscale, super-premium, three-liter boxed wine, the Blackburn Fine Wine Cache from Sonoma Hill Winery in Graton, California. The metallic gold, embossed design took First Place in the Best Application of Single Face Laminating category in the 11th International Corrugated Packaging Design Competition held by the Associated of Independent Corrugated Converters (AICC).

“The goal for the packaging design was to create for the Blackburn Fine Wine Cache a strong, visual, upscale image that would assure fine wine drinkers of the quality of the wine inside the box,” comments Paul Tincknell, Partner in Tincknell & Tincknell. “Boxed wine has been traditionally marketed in the U.S. at lower prices with value or premium priced wine inside. Our work first with Black Box Wines and then with the Blackburn Fine Wine Cache from Sonoma Hill Winery has been to create a new tier of high quality boxed wines for wine drinkers interested in the many advantages of the box package.”

The Blackburn Fine Wine Cache packaging design originated with Sonoma Hill Winery. Tincknell & Tincknell and Bauermeister Design took the preliminary design concepts – the gold foil exterior, the embossed pin-stripe, and the existing logo – and refined it to a complete package with a strong, branded identity. That effort resulted in a First Place win in the annual AICC design competition for the printer of the project, Pacific Southwest Container in Modesto, California. “PSC, with their knowledge and expertise in their business, assisted us greatly as the design was being developed and refined,” adds Tincknell, “They deserve the award for the stellar job they did in producing the package.” “It has been an exciting and rewarding experience to work with a team of experts in developing a high-end design that takes the packaging of wine to a new level,” says Karen Bauermeister, Owner of Bauermeister Design.

The super-premium category of boxed wines is a new, emerging product niche that started with the introduction of the Black Box 2001 Napa Valley Chardonnay in January, 2003, another project Tincknell & Tincknell worked on. The Blackburn Fine Wine Cache is positioning itself as “the gold standard of wine in a box” with a 2002 Barrel Aged Sonoma County Chardonnay, a 2002 Barrel Aged Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2001 Barrel Aged Sonoma County Merlot with a suggested retail price of around $35.00 per three-liter box. Three liters is the equivalent to four regular bottles of wine.

Tincknell & Tincknell were founded in 1997 with the recognition that the wine industry needed expertise in applying new business strategies and technology to compete in the global wine industry. Tincknell & Tincknell provide services and consultation in sales, marketing, and technology to wineries, wine industry business partners, and other companies specializing in luxury products. Located in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, T&T have assisted such clients as Louis M. Martini Winery, Groth Vineyards and Winery, Hanzell Vineyards, Howell Mountain Vineyards, Lynmar Winery at Quail Hill Vineyards, Via Pacifica Imports, and the Qingdao Fushiwang Putaojiu Company in Pingdu, China.

Bauermeister Design, established 2001, is a full-service graphic arts and design firm owned by Karen Bauermeister. Located in Sonoma, California, Bauermeister Design assists businesses in all industries in designing, developing, and producing branded materials such as packaging, collateral marketing support materials, direct marketing materials, business systems, and other corporate identity pieces.

AICC, a part of the independent corrugated industry success story for over 25 years, represents a majority of the independent corrugated packaging manufacturers and their suppliers. They are dedicated to strengthening the independent’s position in the marketplace through programs and publications that empower their members to compete successfully in a rapidly changing industry and an increasingly competitive and global business environment. The 11th International Corrugated Packaging Design Competition was held September 18 and 19, 2003, in San Francisco, California. 175 entries from 47 companies were submitted for judging in 17 categories.

January 2003

Healdsburg, CA – Tincknell & Tincknell were retained by Black Box Wines, LLC, to assist them with marketing and sales for the startup and launch of packaging high-quality, vintage-dated wines from fine wine appellations. Black Box Wines will release the inaugural 2001 Napa Valley Chardonnay in their signature black three-liter box to the Northern California marketing in January 2003.

Since the company startup in July 2002, Tincknell & Tincknell has assisted founder Ryan Sproule and Black Box Wines, LLC, with consultation in the concept, packaging design, taste profile and product development, operations, general marketing, public relations, and sales.

Black Box Wines is breaking convention by releasing America’s first, high-end, super-premium, boxed wine. In January of 2003 Black Box will launch a 2001 Napa Valley Chardonnay in their signature black three-liter box, which is the equivalent amount to four regular bottles of wine. Unlike the inexpensive boxed wines currently found in the US market, Black Box Wines will release high quality, vintage-dated wines from California’s premier wine-growing regions, known as appellations. Throughout Europe and Australia boxed wines are accepted among wine drinkers as a good deal; the savings from not buying costly bottles are passed on to the wine drinker who gets a better wine at a better price. Europeans and Australians have acknowledged that a box is better for fine wines crafted to be enjoyed immediately. The suggested retail price of the Black Box 2001 Napa Valley Chardonnay will be $24.99 or the equivalent of $6.25 per bottle. A comparable a wine of similar quality would likely retail for about twice the price.

Besides price, Black Box has other key advantages over bottled wine. The wine comes in a vacuum-sealed bag inside the box that deflates when poured, preventing oxidation that spoils bottled wine a few days after opening. There is no glass, reducing transportation costs and breakage. The box is easy to open by consumers, requiring no corkscrew or additional tool. Since there is no cork there is no possibility of cork taint.

The inaugural release of Black Box Wines will be in California, though the company plans on developing national distribution. Further vintage-dated appellation varietals, including red wines, are planned for national release in early 2003.

Tincknell & Tincknell was founded in 1997 with the recognition that the wine industry needed expertise in applying new economic business models and technology to compete in the burgeoning global wine industry. Located in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, T&T offer services and consultation in business, marketing and branding strategies; direct, internet and national sales strategies; packaging and web site design; media relations strategies; and information systems and technology management strategies.