Campaign will Support Leading National DtC Wine Retailer’s Continued Expansion and Promote Elite Offerings
San Francisco Calif., March 20, 2019 — Wine Access (https://www.wineaccess.com/), a leading Direct-to-Consumer wine company that offers fine wines from around the world and a selection of wines made through exclusive partnerships with distinguished winemakers, today announced Colangelo & Partners (www.colangelopr.com) as its agency of record to develop and execute a communications program targeted to key trade, consumer and media stakeholders.
Under the new partnership, Colangelo & Partners will work to strengthen Wine Access’ market presence through a strategic combination of media outreach, press trips, experiential marketing, and events. Wine Access joins Colangelo & Partners’ renowned portfolio that includes Aveníu Brands, Frescobaldi Toscana, Long Meadow Ranch, Charles Krug and Maisons Marques & Domaines USA among many other prestigious wine companies and institutions.
“Working with a leading online retailer like Wine Access complements our fine wine portfolio and fits very much within our wheelhouse,“ said Juliana Colangelo, West Coast Director of Colangelo & Partners. “Wine Access has a selection of wines that I truly believe is unmatched in the DtC world, and we’re very much looking forward to working with their incredibly talented team of wine experts, marketing specialists, and engineers.”
Established in 1997, Wine Access began as a web hosting service for wine shops and other wine businesses. Over time, the company has evolved into the robust DtC wine retailer that it is today, with a carefully vetted selection of both ephemeral daily offers and a more permanent inventory of bottles. Available wines, all painstakingly selected by the Wine Access team of experts, can range from the popular premium wine category to ultra-rare vintage bottles of Chateau Margaux, along with a selection of exclusive wines made in collaboration with top winemaking talent in the country, such as Julien Fayard.
“We have a team of wine professionals qualified not only by their titles but by what inspired them to earn those titles in the first place: a limitless passion for wine,” says Joe Fisch, Chief Executive Officer for Wine Access. “Whether they’re working to secure a small allocation of a single-vineyard rarity, a single case of a Grand Cru showpiece bottle, or 50 cases of a California classic, it’s all about their passion to tell the story of the wines that drives them.”
Wine Access has an unprecedented level of wine expertise, and each bottle sold must first pass through a tasting panel; only one percent of the wines the panel tastes ends up making it to the online store. The team of Wine Access experts include:
Vanessa Conlin: Vanessa is the Head of Wine for Wine Access. She has passed the closed-book Theory and Practical portions of the Master of Wine exam and is writing a research paper as the final stage. Vanessa was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing for several of Napa’s most prestigious estates including Arietta Wines, Dana Estates, and Realm Cellars. She was also a retail buyer and wine bar wine director in New York. Vanessa holds the WSET Diploma, was the recipient of the Niki Singer Memorial Scholarship from the International Wine Center, and is the Chairman of the Board of the Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch, a Napa-based non-profit.
Sur Lucero: Sur is the 14th Krug Cup recipient, passing all three sections of the Master Sommelier exam on his first attempt. Previously National Director for Wine Education at Jackson Family Wines, he has been wine director or sommelier at restaurants such as The French Laundry, The Little Nell, Cyrus, Meadowood, and Daniel Boulud. In 2011, Wine & Spirits Magazine named Sur one of the country’s Top New Sommeliers.
Eduardo Dingler: Eduardo served as Corporate Beverage Director for the Global Morimoto Group and has worked at some of Napa Valley’s most iconic restaurants including Tra Vigne and Bistro Don Giovanni. He is a professional wine, sake and spirits Judge for many competitions in the US and Japan and writes for both the Napa Valley Register and Decanter Magazine. He is an Advanced Sommelier Candidate and is also a Certified Sake Professional.
Robert Emery: Robert holds the Diploma from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust and is a student with the Institute of Masters of Wine, having passed the Theory portion of the MW exams. He was most recently General Manager for a winery in Napa Valley and previously a Manager for Total Wine & More. Robert has also traveled extensively in over seven countries in pursuit of a greater understanding of wine, judging numerous wine competitions throughout his career.
Along with the daily offers and more permanent retail items, Wine Access is an ongoing producer of written and video content that helps consumers learn and engage with the wine world. Both Colangelo & Partners and the Wine Access team will leverage the Wine Access content for syndication to a variety of other media outlets.
About Wine Access
Wine Access was founded on the philosophy that the barrier to the world’s best wines isn’t price, it’s access. For over 25 years, their sourcing team has traveled the globe’s wine trails in search of the world’s finest wines. These rare wines are made in small quantities and finding them is hard part, which is what they do. They have over 50 years of combined experience traveling the globe’s wine trails in search of the world’s finest wines. And they share their experiences with their members, enabling them to tell the stories behind the wines they serve to family and friends.then again at their judging panel, where every wine must be approved by an impressive team that includes a Master Sommelier and Master of Wine candidates. The team prides itself on only offering wines that over-deliver on quality compared to price that is simply unmatched by the wines in many brick-and-mortar stores as well as other online retailers.
About Colangelo & Partners
Colangelo & Partners (http://www.colangelopr.com) specializes in premium food, wine and spirits brands, and has long established relationships with the key press that drive these business categories and help determine the industry leaders. Agency principals have years of experience in retail and distribution as well as communications, a rare combination that gives Colangelo & Partners invaluable insights into consumer purchasing behavior. The agency focuses on ‘closing the loop’ between creative communications programs, distribution, promotion, publicity and the consumer in order to maximize the efficiency of its communications programs and deliver measurable results. Founded in 2006, Colangelo & Partners was honored as one of the year’s top integrated communications firms at the 2013 Agency Elite Awards and for one of the best digital marketing campaigns at the 2014 Digital PR Awards.
