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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.
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Tincknell &
Tincknell are specialists in innovative wine
packaging, from single-serves, to boxes, to
Tetra-Paks, to aluminum bottles, to plastic
bottles, to goat skins. We were at the cusp of
the innovative wine packaging movement with
branding, start-up assistance, marketing, and
the sales launch of Black Box Wines. When it
comes to packaging, no idea is out of the
question at T&T.
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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.
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