AUSTRALIA/CHINA (MACAU). Australian winemaker Penfolds has launched an O2O campaign in Sydney and Macau to support the Asia Pacific travel retail roll-out of the Penfolds California Collection.
As reported, The Penfolds California Collection is described as a winemaking endeavour of more than 20 years in the making. It includes two pure California wines and two that blend Californian and South Australian grapes.
The expressions are the 2018 Bin 600 Cabernet Shiraz and three Cabernet Sauvignons – 2018 Quantum Bin 98, 2018 Bin 149 and 2018 Bin 704.
Sydney
Penfolds has partnered with Heinemann Tax & Duty Free Sydney to roll out a high-profile California Collection display at Sydney Airport, where it will run for 12 weeks.
The striking display was designed to capture the attention of travellers with high impact visuals and a brand video. Heinemann is the first to market the new range in Australian travel retail.
In addition, Heinemann is promoting the California Collection on its own Instagram page, with the range also available at www.heinemanndutyfree.com.au.
“We’re excited to partner with Heinemann to launch the Penfolds California Collection at Sydney Airport,” said Penfolds Global Travel Retail General Manager Simon Carter.
[Click on the Moodie Davitt Podcast icon to hear Penfolds’ Peter Gago talk about the decision to blend a wine from multi-country sources]
Heinemann Asia Pacific Head of Liquor, Tobacco and Confectionery Daniel Licari added: “We would like to thank Treasury Wine Estates for their continued partnership despite the challenges currently facing the duty free channel. This latest collaboration is a true testament to the strength and resilience of that partnership.
“First to market in Australian duty free, the Penfolds California Collection is a bold move to create in the United States what has been an Australian icon since 1844. We are proud to bring the new range, which exemplifies Penfolds’ utmost standards, exceptional branding and deep investment for our travellers at Sydney Airport.”
Macau
Penfolds partnered with DFS Group to launch the California Collection in Macau. The launch also marked the debut of Penfolds’ first-ever livestream hosted on the retail floor of the T Galleria by DFS, Shoppes at Four Seasons, Macau.
The livestream was hosted by Miss Macau 2019 first-runner up Emily Yau and Penfolds Brand Ambassador Amber Luo. It was broadcast on the DFS WeChat platform and reached a total viewership of 138,000.
The Penfolds California Collection is showcased on a dedicated floor-to-ceiling light box display at a high-profile location near the entrance of the T Galleria by DFS Wines & Spirits store. Online, the Penfolds California Collection is also available on www.dfs.com.
The livestream and in-store promotion were timed to coincide with the May Golden Week holidays.
Click here to read an interview by Martin Moodie with Penfolds Chief Winemaker Peter Gago.
A winemaking endeavour more than 20 years in the making The Penfolds California journey started decades ago in the Camatta Hills vineyard, Paso Robles. In the 1980s, Penfolds initiated an ambitious viticultural programme in Australia called ‘Heritage Selections’. From its most prized vineyards, winemakers sought to identify single vineyards, blocks and vines that produced the best quality fruit. Cuttings from these exceptional Heritage Selections were propagated and sent to California.  During 1998 and 1999, a selection of Magill Estate and Kalimna Heritage Selection vines were planted in Californian soil, at Block 30 of the newly-purchased Camatta Hills Estate, Paso Robles, formerly known as Creston 600 Ranch. The 11.5-acre Block 30 (the original and most prized block on the estate) was fully propagated and planted by 2001. While planting the vineyards, viticulturists discovered another bonus: prized limestone or, in geological terms, ‘Camatta’ soils – hence, the name ‘Camatta Hills’. While experimental Camatta Hills vintages occurred in 2006 and 2007, the bottles were never commercially released by Penfolds. More recently in 2018, Chief Winemaker Peter Gago, Senior Winemaker Stephanie Dutton and Winemaker Andrew Baldwin re-established the Penfolds footprint within the northern hemisphere and embarked on the 2018 California harvest. Over the past three years, Penfolds has sourced grapes from some of the best Californian vineyards to complement the Penfolds house style and deliver exceptional and distinctive quality wine. Winemakers spent time meticulously selecting fruit from Californian vineyards including Napa Valley AVAs at Oakville, Diamond Mountain District, Howell Mountain and Rutherford. Grapes were also sourced from Camatta Hills, Paso Robles, from the original vine cuttings planted in 1998 and 1999. |
