Custom Wines are the same as any grape-to-bottle or traditional wine that you’re contracting with a winery to produce for you. 

Custom wines can come from grapes or bulk wines that you want to design. The endeavour is as much as growing a wine on your own. 

Just because you put a label on a wine that you may not have produced yourself, that wine still has to be important in the marketplace. It has to have meaning. It has to belong someplace, it has to fit on a shelf, and it has to fit in a portfolio. That's what a brand promise is. 

When you tell us what your brand promise is, it helps us to produce a wine that is more in line or in sync with your overall marketing message. We produce 150 new labels every year, but we end up replacing 30-40% every year in the marketplace because they don’t have a brand message.

Joe Padilla, Current: Chief Operating Officer - MBA at Sonoma State University Wine Business Institute

One thing to keep in mind is - 

The larger the appellation, the less expensive the wine is, the more abundant choices you have, and the larger production levels are available. That is why single vineyard wines are more expensive and exclusive and sometimes, we may not even get the IP to use those vineyards.

These are just some of the things to consider when building a custom wine program for a client. 

Then, of course, contracting is the next natural step. 

From there, wine-making decisions can be classified into - 

1) Blending

2) “Wine Magic”

3) Fining and Filtering

4) Bottling

To watch details about each of the above points, watch the entire talk at - the 2018 IBWSS Conference | Art of Custom Wines – From Procurement to Fulfillment | Joe Padilla - YouTube

Or listen to it if you prefer, here - Art Of Custom Wines_From Procurement To Fulfillment - Joe Padilla: IBWSS SF - Episode#04 by The Wine Whiskey Weed Show (soundcloud.com)

Last is the packaging. There are various elements that play a role depending on if you’d like high-end packaging, medium packaging, or value packaging. There are so many choices out there, including Glass, Closure (Cork, Screwcap, Alternative), Label, and Box Art. 

Before the whole process mentioned above starts, it cannot be emphasized enough that it cannot be made next week. A good average is 3 months. Joe produces a detailed and realistic time schedule as below.

Joe further elaborates on how to save taxes, build relationships with distributors, and have fun building your brand.

What stays pivotal is - “Don’t make the wine for yourself. Keep the promise.”

Watch another IBWSS talk by Joe titled, the “MBA of running a bulk private label business” here - 2021 IBWSS Conference | MBA Of Running A Bulk & Private Label Business | Joe Padilla (ibwsshow.com)

No-show offers buyers a greater opportunity to meet producers who offer private label wine, spirits, bulk wine, bulk spirits, and contract manufacturing. IBWSS is the ONLY show in the US that will bring the world to you. Over the course of two days leading figures from the global and US wine industry will share their advice, insights, and experiences on how bulk wine and spirits can help grow your private label and branded product business. The event will include a combination of conference sessions and workshop-style sessions.

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Who Should Attend?

IBWSS buyers are other wineries and distilleries looking to meet up their demand, Importers, Retailers, Distributors looking for private label programs, and negotiants who are looking to meet the growers and producers. Get your visitor pass today and meet the leading bulk and private label suppliers from all over the world.

Know more about IBWSS SF on International Bulk Wine & Spirits Show

Written by Stuti Khetan, Beverage Trade Network